Waplewo in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries was dominated by several noble families but the most important was the Zawadzki family. When the sole key to the Waplewo estate was in the hands of Kazimierz Zawadzki, he was able to build a stately residence. Towards the end of his life, Kazimierz became the castellan of Chełmno. He was a politician, an active participant in the Royal Prussia diets, a member of the parliament (Sejm) a dozen times and finally he was nominated as a senator. He was also known as a writer and publicist, but he was also known as a restless man who fell under the sentences of tribunals. He had been suing Gdańsk over the eldership of Puck for a long time. He was married to Ludwika Katarzyna Schlieben, and she left their only son, Jan Aleksander. After Jan Aleksander’s death, the Zawadzki Waplewo line died out. Waplewo became dominated by Konstancja Zawadzka, the only daughter of Jan Zawadzki, brother of Kazimierz. Waplewo was ruled over by other noble families and from 1760 by the Sierakowskis. This article outlines the process of the rise and fall of noble fortunes in Royal Prussia.