State of the Teutonic Order coat of arms Hitch Cover

The State of the Teutonic Order (German: Staat des Deutschen Ordens, Latin: Civitas Ordinis Theutonici; Lithuanian: Vokiečių ordino valstybė; Polish: Państwo zakonu krzyżackiego), also called Deutschordensstaat or Ordensstaat was a medieval Crusader state, located in Central Europe along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the 13th century Northern Crusades in the region of Prussia. The Livonian Brothers of the Sword merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as its branch, the Livonian Order, while their state (Terra Mariana) became a part of the Teutonic Order State. At its greatest territorial extent, in the early 15th century, it encompassed Chełmno Land, Courland, Gotland, Livonia, Neumark, Pomerelia (Gdańsk Pomerania), Prussia and Samogitia, i.e. territories nowadays located in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Russia, and Sweden.