Ełk

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Ełk
View of Ełk across lake

Coat of arms
Ełk is located in Poland
Ełk
Coordinates: 53°49′17″N 22°21′44″E / 53.82139°N 22.36222°E / 53.82139; 22.36222
Country  Poland
Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian
County Ełk County
Gmina Ełk (urban gmina)
Established 1237
Town rights 1445
Government
 • Mayor Tomasz Andrukiewicz
Area
 • Total 22.07 km2 (8.52 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 60,156
 • Density 2,700/km2 (7,100/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: About this sound 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.

Contents

[edit] History

Old castle in Ełk

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 name has various postulated origins both from Polish and German, its German version Lyck, is postulated to be derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka), other theory holds that the name comes from Polish word "łęg" meaning meadow.[1] It received its town rights in 1445.

In 1537 Duke Albert of Prussia donated an estate to Jan Małecki (Johannes Maletius), a Polish Protestant from Cracow who had fled to Prussia,[2] to establish a printing house.[3] Małecki would translate and publish Martin Luther’s Small Catechism in Polish[4] 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[5]

In 1709/10 the plague claimed 1,300 victims.[6] In 1831 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the Cholera, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852[7] A Polish-language school was organised in the city by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz at the beginning of 19th century[8] According to Gerard Labuda in 1825 Lyck was inhabited by 1394 Poles and 1748 Germans.[9] In 1820 Fryderyk Tymoteusz Krieger became the superintendent of the local school and became active in defending rights of Polish language, as well as preparing Polish educational programs, due to Germanization attempts of local authorities he fell in conflict with them in 1829.[10]

In 1840 the German-language newspaper "Lycker gemeinnütziges Unterhaltungsblatt", later called "Lycker Zeitung" was founded.[11] In the timeperiod of 1842-1845 a Masurian newspaper "Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki" was printed in the city, according to Eugenia Sławińska its aim was to resist Germanisation and cultivate Polish folk traditions as well as educating local rural population[12][13] In May 1845 Polish resistance movement in the city was organized by Kazmierz Szulc, whose aim was to prepare local Polish youth for an uprising.[14]

From 1896 to 1902 the "Gazeta Ludowa", a Polish-language newspaper heavily subsidised by banks from Greater Poland[15][16] representing the Polish national movement in Masuria, was published in the city.[17] It soon faced repressions and discrimination from the German authorities which led to its demise;[18] its paid circulation dropped from 357 copies in 1896 to less than 250 in the turn-of-the-century,[19] to German-American author Richard Blanke the "demise marked the end of the second major effort by Polish nationalists to establish a journalistic foothold in Masuria".[20]

In 1896 local Polish and Masurian activists resisting Germanization founded Masurska Partia Ludowa (Masurian Peoples Party) in the city, aiming at resisting efforts of German authorities, the co-founder of the party was poet Michał Kajka, today honoured in Ełk with a monument in the centre of the city.[21] From the start it was subjected to severe repressions and attacks by Prussian authorities;[22] in the German federal elections the MPL received 229 votes in 1898 and 20 in 1912 in the Lyck constituency.[23]

In 1910 Lyck had more than 13,000 inhabitants.[24] Mateusz Siuchniński gives the percentage of Poles in 1900 as 35,7% but warns that the numbers come from lowered German estimates; masses in Polish were performed as late as 1912.[25] 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[26] 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. Under the new German state the town experienced anti-Semitism which led to persecution of the local Jewish population, already before Nazis took power, anti-Semitic publication called „Die jüdische Überlegenheit”(Jewish Supremacy) was circulated attacking the Jews in 1927 during a local gathering of fascist sympathizers[27] In 1932 the local pharmacist Leo Frankenstein was attacked when a hand grenade was thrown to his home.[28] The wave of anti-Semitic repressions intensified after Nazis gained power in Germany during 1933 elections and many local merchants and intellectuals of Jewish descent were arrested in Lyck[28] During Kristallnacht Jewish shops and synagogue were plundered and devastated in the town[28] Facing these events, several Jews in Lyck decided to escape, some abroad, some to Berlin, others fled from Germany as far as Shanghai[28] Of those who remained 80 were murdered in various German concentration and death camps[28] The city also was site of prisoner camps for Norwegian and Soviet PoWs during the war[29][30] Lyck was again heavily destroyed by bombardments in World War II; rule by Nazi Germany ended when it 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] Population

  • 1875: 5,912
  • 1880: 6,846
  • 1890: 9,981
  • 1925: 15,159
  • 1933: 15,512
  • 1939: 16,243[31]

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] Presidents

  • Adam Puza (1990–1994)
  • Zdzisław Fadrowski (1994–2002)
  • Janusz Nowakowski (2002–2006)
  • Tomasz Andrukiewicz (since 2006)

[edit] Education

[edit] High school

  • Zespół Szkół nr 3 im. J. H. Małeckich (www)
  • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. S. Żeromskiego (www)

[edit] Religion

Before World War II, the town and its surroundings were almost entirely (>95%) Lutheran.[33] 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

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

[edit] Twin towns — sister cities

Ełk is twinned with:

[edit] Coat of arms

Old 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.[34]


[edit] References

Notes
  1. ^ Program Rewitalizacji Ełku, page 20 Załącznik nr 1 do Uchwały Nr LIII/493/10 Rady Miasta Ełku z dnia 25 maja 2010 roku
  2. ^ Kossert, Andreas (2005) (in German). Ostpreussen – Geschichte und Mythos. Siedler. p. 60. ISBN 3-88680-808-4. 
  3. ^ *Popp, Dietmar; Suckale, Robert (2002) (in German). Die Jagiellonen: Kunst und Kultur einer europäischen Dynastie an der Wende zur Neuzeit. Germanisches Nationalmuseum. p. 205. http://books.google.de/books?ei=TZQmT5roO8ju-gb3hfTjCA&hl=de&id=ZKGfAAAAMAAJ&dq=herzog+albrecht+lyck+maletius&q=maletius. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
    *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
  4. ^ Jakobson, Roman (1985). Selected Writings: Early Slavic Paths and Crossroads. Walter de Gruyther. p. 51. ISBN 3-11-010605-1. http://books.google.de/books?hl=de&id=2mdIpkJ5QWoC&dq=jan+malecki+luther&q=malecki#v=snippet&q=malecki&f=false. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ Kossert, Andreas (2001). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden. pp. 132. ISBN 3570550060. 
  8. ^ Karty z dziejów Mazur: wybór pism, Tom 1 Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina Pojezierze,page 68 1972
  9. ^ Historia Pomorza:(1815-1850),Gerard Labuda, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk,page 157, 1993
  10. ^ Tadeusz Oracki,page 173, Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1983
  11. ^ Weber, Reinhold (1983) (in German). Masuren: Geschichte, Land und Leute. Rautenberg. p. 200. http://books.google.de/books?id=-P8rAAAAMAAJ&q=%22lycker+zeitung%22+1840&dq=%22lycker+zeitung%22+1840&hl=de&sa=X&ei=wUcmT9HtE8Hs-gb5iIXkCA&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBA. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  12. ^ Wielka encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Polska-Robe Bogdan Suchodolski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe,page 566, 1967
  13. ^ Koncepcje i rozwój literatury dla ludu w latach 1773-1863 Eugenia Sławińska, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna w Bydgoszczy,page 45 1996
  14. ^ Rocznik gdański, Tom 48,Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I--Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe,page 73, 1990
  15. ^ 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. 
  16. ^ 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. 
  17. ^ Zarys historii polskiego ruchu ludowego: makieta: Tom 1 Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe. Naczelny Komitet. Zakład Historii Ruchu Ludowego, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Józef Kowal, page 223- 1963
  18. ^ Szkice z dziejów Pomorza: Pomorze na progu dziejów najnowszych, Gerard Labuda Książka i Wiedza,"12.Gazeta Ludowa w Ełku", page 303 1961
  19. ^ Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", pages 68, 72
  20. ^ Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", page 73
  21. ^ *[1]
    *Mały słownik historii Polski Witold Sienkiewicz Wiedza Powszechna,page 59, 1991
    *Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN , Tom 4, Barbara Petrozoliń-Skowrońska Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN,page 136 1996
  22. ^ Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Jerzy Mazurek, page 281, Biblioteka Iberyjska, 2006
  23. ^ Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", page 71
  24. ^ Andreas Kossert: Masuren - Ostpreußens vergessener Süden, page 33
  25. ^ Miasta polskie w tysiącleciu: Tom 1 Mateusz Siuchniński - Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich,page 275 1965
  26. ^ 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"
  27. ^ Ełk Historia Wirtualny Sztetl
  28. ^ a b c d e Ełk Historia...
  29. ^ Teczka specjalna J.W. Stalina:raporty NKWD z Polski 1944-1946, page 159 Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 199
  30. ^ Cudzoziemcy w polskim ruchu oporu: 1939-1945, Stanisław Okęcki, page 136 "Interpress,"
  31. ^ verwaltungsgeschichte.de (German)
  32. ^ "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. 
  33. ^ historical religious statistics at verwaltungsgeschichte.de
  34. ^ "Ełk - Przedwojenny herb miasta". Castles of Poland. 2003-04-30. http://www.castlesofpoland.com/prusy/elkdzis_po044.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 

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Coordinates: 53°50′N 22°21′E / 53.833°N 22.35°E / 53.833; 22.35
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