Mońki

Mońki
Mońki
	The parish church
; Flag	; Coat of arms
	Mońki
	Coordinates: 53°24′N 22°48′E / 53.4°N 22.8°E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Podlaskie
County	Mońki County
Gmina	Gmina Mońki
Established	16th century
Town rights	1965
	Government
• Mayor	Zbigniew Karwowski
	Area
• Total	7.66 km2 (2.96 sq mi)
	Population (2006)
• Total	10,455
• Density	1,364.9/km2 (3,535.0/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	19-100, 19-101
Area code(s)	+48 85
Car plates	BMN
Website	http://www.monki.info.pl

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Mońki [ˈmɔɲkʲi] is a town in northeastern Poland and, as of 1999, is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. From 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Białystok Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is the capital of Mońki County.

Mońki is a young town that arose at the beginning of the 20th century. It owes its existence to the railway station between Białystok (the capital of Podlaskie Voivodeship) and Ełk. Mońki gained city rights (pl. prawa miejskie) in 1965. At the time the town was inhabited by about 3,000 people; there are currently about 11,000 inhabitants. Many of Mońki's inhabitants have moved abroad, particularly to the US, so they can send remittances to their families.

Near Mońki there are some of the greatest swamps in Europe, the Biebrza River Swamps, and in 1993 the government created the Biebrza National Park (BNP) to recognise and protect their unique nature. The Biebrza River Swamps are an important habitat for rare birds such as the ruff (pol. batalion), which is a symbol of the BNP.