The forest received its death stroke when a Russian army invaded in 1757 and chopped down its trees to build hundreds of shallow - draft boats for the siege of Königsberg (Kaliningrad), an important city in Prussia.
Surmalöögi sai aga mets 1757. aastal, mil maasäärele tungis Vene armee ning hakkas puid maha võtma, et ehitada Preisimaa tähtsa linna Königsbergi (Kaliningradi) vallutamiseks sadu madala süvisega laevu.