Samland, a peninsula of Germany, in the province of East Prussia, on the Baltic. It separates the Frisches Haff on the W. from the Kurisches Haff on the N.E., and is bounded on the S. by the river Pregel and on the E. by the Deime. Its shape is oblong; it is 43 m. long, and 18 broad, and has an area of 900 sq. m. The surface is mostly flat, but on the W. sand-hills rise to a height of 300 ft. The chief product is amber. The former episcopal see of Samland was founded by Pope Innocent IV. in 1249 and subordinated to the archbishop of Riga. Bishop Georg von Polentz embraced the Reformation in 1523, and in 1525 the district was incorporated with the duchy of Prussia.
See Reusch, Sagen des preussischen Samlandes (2nd ed., Konigsberg, 1863); Jankowsky, Das Samland and seine Beviilkerung (Konigsberg, 1902); Hensel, Samland Wegweiser (4th ed., Konigsberg, 5905); and the Urkundenbuch des Bistums Samland, edited by Wolky and Mendthal (Leipzig, 1891-1904).
'See Michael Praetorius, Synt. Mass. (Wolfenbiittel, 1618), p. 248 and pl. 42, where the illustration resembles a tambourine, but the description mentions strings, showing that the author himself was puzzled.
