Rapa, Poland


Rapa is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Banie Mazurskie, within Gołdap County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approximately north of Banie Mazurskie, west of Gołdap, and north-east of the regional capital Olsztyn.
The village existed in the early seventeenth century. In 1750, the owner Jacob John Hoffmann built a palace, taken in 1793 by Johann Friedrich Wilhelm von Fahrenheid. Before 1945, the area was part of Germany.

Fahrenheid Mausoleum

In 1811, a mausoleum was built in Rapa for the Fahrenheid family, designed by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. The building is shaped like a pyramid with a height of and is loosely inspired by the architecture of ancient Egypt. The family members buried there were mummified. In 1945, the mausoleum was severely damaged by soldiers of the Red Army.