Ełk
| Ełk | |||
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 Ełk
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| Coordinates: 53°49′17″N 22°21′44″E / 53.82139°N 22.36222°E | |||
| Country |  Poland |
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| Voivodeship | Warmian-Masurian | ||
| County | Ełk County | ||
| Gmina | Ełk (urban gmina) | ||
| Established | 1237 | ||
| Town rights | 1445 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Tomasz Andrukiewicz | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 22.07 km2 (8.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 60,156 | ||
| • Density | 2,725.7/km2 (7,059.5/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 19-300 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 87 | ||
| Car plates | NEL | ||
| Website | http://www.elk.pl | ||
Ełk [ɛu̯k] (before 1945 German: 
Lyck (help·info); before 1939 rendered in Polish as Łęg or Łęk; Old Prussian Luks) is a town in northeastern Poland with 61,156 inhabitants (as of 2010). It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, after belonging to Suwałki Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. Ełk is the capital of Ełk County.
The city lies on a shore of Ełckie Lake, which was formed by a glacier. Surrounded by forests, the area is part of the region of Masuria. One of its principal attractions is hunting, which is carried out in extensive forests.
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[edit] History
By 1283 the last Sudovian Prussian leader, Skomand (Lithuania:Skalmantas), capitulated to the Teutonic Knights in the Lyck area. After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the Komturship of Brandenburg, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Komturship Balga. A former Old Prussian settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around an Ordensburg built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's German name, Lyck, is derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka). It received its town rights in 1445. In 16th century the city was the location of Polish printing press founded by Polish writer Jan Małecki [1][2] In 1546 the first school for secondary education in Masuria was founded in the city where Polish nobility from Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussian Germans were taught in Polish language; the position of Polish teacher remained in place till 1819[3] In 1709/10 the plague claimed 1,300 victims.[4] In 1831 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the Cholera, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852[5] A Polish school was organised in the city by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz at the beginning of 18th century[6] According to Gerard Labuda in 1825 Lyck was inhabited by 1394 Poles and 1748 Germans.[7] In the timeperiod of 1842-1845 a Masurian newspaper "Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki" was printed in the city, aiming at resisting Germanisation and cultivating Polish folk traditions as well as educating local rural population[8][9] From 1896 to 1902 the "Gazeta Ludowa", a heavily subsidised Polish-language newspaper[10][11] representing the Polish national movement in Masuria, was published in the city.[12]
Before World War I, Lyck had 13,000 inhabitants. Many citizens fled during World War I, when Imperial Russian troops attacked, but returned after the battles of Tannenberg and at the Masurian lakes. English and Italian troops were deployed at the town after the Treaty of Versailles to supervise the[13] East Prussian plebiscite, which resulted 8,339 votes for Germany and 8 for Poland in Lyck, thus the town remained part of Weimar Germany. The town was reconstructed after suffering heavy damage from the Russian attack.
Lyck was again heavily destroyed by bombardments in World War II and was captured by the Soviet Union in 1945. The county of Lyck had 53,000 inhabitants when the Soviet Army approached in January 1945; 20% of the populace did not survive[citation needed]. The town was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and since then remains as part of Poland. It was rebuilt and renamed Ełk (before 1939, Polish names for the town included Łęg and Łęk). Only a few hundred German East Prussians were able to return[citation needed] and to remain, with Poles making up the majority of the new population.
[edit] Notable residents
- Ludwig von Baczko (1756–1821), historian (1956), politician
- Michał Kajka(1858-1940) Polish poet and activist resisting germanisation
- Theodor Simon Flatau (1860–1937), physician
- Carl Contag (1863–1934), mayor in Nordhausen
- Hugo Zwillenberg (1885–1966), businessman
- Otto von Schrader (1888–1945), admiral
- Walter Tanau (1911–1971), artist
- Horst Biernath (1905–1978) author
- Kurt Symanzik (1923–1983), physicist
- Siegfried Lenz (born 1926), author, honorary citizen of Ełk since 18 October 2011.[14]
- Ingrid Gamer-Waller (* 1936), egyptologist
- Klaus Gerwien (* 1940), former soccer player
- Leszek Błażyński (1949–1992), boxer
- Joseph Manczuk (born 1950), footballer
- Roman Czepe (born 1956), politician
- Andrzej Zgutczyński (born 1958), footballer
- Cezary Zamana (born 1967), cyclist
- Dorota Sarnowska (1973- ----) Singer & tiler
- Michał Olszewski (born 1977), author
- Paweł Sobolewski (born 1979), footballer
[edit] Presidents
- Adam Puza (1990–1994)
- Zdzisław Fadrowski (1994–2002)
- Janusz Nowakowski (2002–2006)
- Tomasz Andrukiewicz (since 2006)
[edit] Education
- University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn
- Private Economic Academy
- Nursery School
- Higher Catholic Seminary
[edit] High school
- Zespół Szkół nr 2 im. K. K. Baczyńskiego (swww)
- Zespół Szkół nr 3 im. J. H. Małeckich (www)
- I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. S. Żeromskiego (www)
- Zespół Szkół Rolniczych im. M. Rataja
- Zespół Szkół Samorządowych
- Zespół Szkół nr.6 im. M. Rataja (www)
[edit] Religion
Before World War II, the town and its surroundings were almost entirely (>95%) Lutheran.[15] After the German populace was expelled, the main religion in Ełk became Roman Catholicism, although a number of Protestant churches are also represented and play an important role in the religious life of the population. These include the Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal (Assemblies of God - Kościół Zielonoświątkowy), Charismatic (Kościół Chrześcijański "Słowo Wiary" or Word of Faith Christian Church, with its Ełk congregation being probably one of the few local churches in Poland pastored by a woman, Ms Teresa Odolecka) and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.
[edit] International relations
[edit] Twin towns — sister cities
Ełk is twinned with:
Grajewo, Poland
Hagen, Germany
Lida, Belarus- Nettetal, Germany
Nemenčinė, Lithuania
Burlington, United States
Galatone, Italy
[edit] Coat of arms
The current coat of arms of Ełk were adopted in 1999, after the town was visited by the Pope John Paul II. The colors have been changed (from green to yellow), the deer is different than in the former emblem. Lastly is the addition of the insignia of the Papacy.
Until 1967, a different emblem with the two-faced head of the god Janus was used, but its origin is unknown.[16]
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Hołd pruski Maria Bogucka, Wydawnictwo Interpress,page 137 1982
- ^ Archiwa, biblioteki i muzea kościelne, Tomy 69-70 Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski. Ośrodek Archiwów, Bibliotek i Muzeów Kościelnych, page 131 1998
- ^ Dzieje Warmii i Mazur w zarysie, Tomy 1-2 Jerzy Sikorski, Stanisław Szostakowski, Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego w Olsztynie Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 190, 1981
- ^ Kossert, Andreas (2006). Masuren. Ostpreußens vergessener Süden. Pantheon. ISBN 3570550060. (German)
Kossert, Andreas (2004). Mazury, Zapomniane południe Prus Wschodnich. ISBN 83-7383-067-7. (Polish) - ^ Kossert, Andreas (2001). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden. pp. 132. ISBN 3570550060.
- ^ Karty z dziejów Mazur: wybór pism, Tom 1 Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina Pojezierze,page 68 1972
- ^ Historia Pomorza:(1815-1850),Gerard Labuda, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk,page 157, 1993
- ^ Wielka encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Polska-Robe Bogdan Suchodolski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe,page 566, 1967
- ^ Koncepcje i rozwój literatury dla ludu w latach 1773-1863 Eugenia Sławińska, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna w Bydgoszczy,page 45 1996
- ^ Blanke, Richard (2001). Polish-speaking Germans? Language and national identity among the Masurians since 1871. Böhlau. pp. 65. ISBN 3-412-12000-6. http://books.google.de/books?id=vNV5uIIKJjkC&pg=PA65&dq=gazeta+ludowa&hl=de&sa=X&ei=rgYlT4CTFJDs-gazz5XKCA&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22gazeta%20ludowa%22&f=false.
- ^ Kossert, Andreas (2001) (in German). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden. Siedler. pp. 210. http://books.google.de/books?id=0g5pAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gazeta+ludowa%22+lyck&dq=%22gazeta+ludowa%22+lyck&hl=de&sa=X&ei=YBolT8qbBMma-wa9-7WyCA&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAg.
- ^ Zarys historii polskiego ruchu ludowego: makieta: Tom 1 Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe. Naczelny Komitet. Zakład Historii Ruchu Ludowego, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Józef Kowal, page 223- 1963
- ^ Butler, Rohan, MA., Bury, J.P.T.,MA., & Lambert M.E., MA., editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, 1st Series, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1960, vol.x, Chapter VIII, "The Plebiscites in Allenstein and Marienwerder January 21 - September 29, 1920"
- ^ "Siegfried Lenz zum Ehrenbürger seiner Geburtsstadt ernannt" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. http://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/article2063541/Siegfried-Lenz-zum-Ehrenbuerger-seiner-Geburtsstadt-ernannt.html. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
- ^ historical religious statistics at verwaltungsgeschichte.de
- ^ "Ełk - Przedwojenny herb miasta". Castles of Poland. 2003-04-30. http://www.castlesofpoland.com/prusy/elkdzis_po044.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ełk |
- Municipal website (Polish)
- Ełk information (Polish)
- Kreisgemeinschaft Lyck e.V. (German)
- Historical postcards from Lyck (Ełk)
- Google satellite photo
Coordinates: 53°50′N 22°21′E / 53.833°N 22.35°E
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