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Ełk
From top, left to right: View of Ełk across the Ełk Lake Art School Ełk Cathedral
FlagCoat of arms
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
• City mayor	Tomasz Andrukiewicz
Area
• Total	22.07 km (8.52 sq mi)
Population
• Total	61,677
• Density	2,930/km (7,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	19-300
Area code	+48 87
Car plates	NEL
Website	http://www.elk.pl

Ełk (Polish pronunciation: [ɛwk]; former Template:Lang-pl; Template:Lang-de; Old Prussian: Luks), also spelled Elk in English, is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of Ełk County in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a glacier, and is surrounded by extensive forests. It is the largest city and unofficial capital of historical Masuria. One of the principal attractions in the area is legal hunting.

History

Middle Ages

The area where the town of Ełk is located was originally inhabited by Jatvingians, a Baltic peoples, during the early middle ages. By 1281, Skomand the last leader of the pagan Jatvingians, capitulated to the crusading Teutonic Knights, who initially were invited in 1226 by Konrad I of Masovia from the Polish Piast dynasty to put an end to the constant pagan raids into his territory.

After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the commandery of Brandenburg, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Balga commandery. A former Old Prussian settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around a castle built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's name has various postulated origins. Its German version Lyck is postulated to be derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka), while another theory holds that the name comes from Polish word "łęg" meaning meadow. Old Polish names of the town included Łek, Łęg and Łęk. It received its town rights in 1445.

After the outbreak of the Thirteen Years' War in 1454, the town sided with the Prussian Confederation, at whose request the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon announced the incorporation of the region into the Kingdom of Poland, which resulted in the town becoming part of the Polish state. The town was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455, and later on, it was conquered alternately by the Poles and the Teutonic Knights. After 1466 it was a part of Poland as a fief.

Early modern era

In 1537, Duke Albert of Prussia donated an estate to Jan Malecki, a Polish printer from Kraków who had either fled or moved to Ducal Prussia for material reasons, to establish a printing house. After converting to Lutheranism, Malecki translated and published Martin Luther's Small Catechism in Polish In 1546 the first school for secondary education in Masuria was founded in the city, where Polish nobles from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as well as Poles and Germans from Ducal Prussia were taught in Polish; the position of a Polish teacher remained in place until 1819. Polish pastor, translator, publisher and co-creator of the literary Polish language, Hieronim Malecki, was the school's first rector. In the mid-16th century Ełk was one of the most thriving centers of Polish-language printing. In 1639 the King of Poland Władysław IV Vasa visited the town. It remained under Polish suzerainty until 1660.

18th and 19th centuries

In 1709-10, the plague claimed 1,300 victims. In 1831, 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the cholera, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852.

In 1825, Lyck was inhabited by 1,748 Germans and 1,394 Poles. At the beginning of the 19th century, a Polish-language school was organised in the city by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz In 1820, Fryderyk Tymoteusz Krieger became the superintendent of the school and actively defended the rights of local Poles to use the Polish language. Kireger also prepared Polish educational programs, in opposition to attempts at Germanization by Prussian authorities.

In 1840, the German-language newspaper "Lycker gemeinnütziges Unterhaltungsblatt", later called "Lycker Zeitung", was founded. Between 1842 and 1845, a Polish newspaper "Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki" (Łek's Friend of the People) was printed in the city, whose aim was to resist Germanisation and cultivate Polish folk traditions as well as educate the local rural population.

In May 1845, a Polish resistance movement in the city was organized by Kazmierz Szulc, whose aim was to prepare local Polish youth for an uprising.

In 1885 the city, under its modern name Ełk, was named capital of Masuria by the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland. In the late 19th century it was the largest town of the region (according to data from 1880 and 1890), before being surpassed by Osterode (Ostróda) (according to data from 1905 and 1925).

From 1896 to 1902, "Gazeta Ludowa", a Polish-language newspaper, heavily subsidised by banks from Greater Poland representing the Polish national movement in Masuria, was published in the city. It soon faced repression and discrimination from the German authorities which led to its demise; its paid circulation dropped from 357 copies in 1896 to less than 250 at the turn-of-the-century. According 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".

In 1896, Polish and Masurian activists founded the Masurian People's Party in the city, which sought to resist efforts of German authorities at forced Germanization. The co-founder of the party was poet Michał Kajka, today honoured in Ełk with a monument in the centre of the city. From the start, the party was subject to severe repressions and attacks by Prussian authorities. In the German federal elections, the MPL received 229 votes in 1898 and 20 in 1912 in the Lyck constituency.

20th century

In 1910, Lyck had more than 13,000 inhabitants. Mateusz Siuchniński gives the percentage of Poles in 1900 as 35.7% but warns that the numbers come from lowered German estimates. Many citizens fled during World War I, when Imperial Russian troops attacked the region, but returned after the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. English and Italian troops were deployed in the town after the Treaty of Versailles to supervise the East Prussian plebiscite. The plebiscite was preceded by a campaign of violence and terror by the Germans against the Poles and even against Allied soldiers. The Germans vandalized Polish information boards and held an anti-Polish rally at which they encouraged the beating of Poles and the devastation of their homes and property. Voting under such conditions resulted in 8,339 votes for Germany and 8 for Poland.

It was in Lyck that the first-ever weekly newspaper in the Hebrew language, Ha-Magid ("the preacher") was founded in 1856 by Eliezer Lipmann Silbermann, a local rabbi. The paper was eventually moved to Berlin. In Weimar Germany anti-Semitism became prevalent, which led to persecution of the local Jewish population even before the Nazis took power. An anti-Semitic publication, Die jüdische Überlegenheit (The Jewish Supremacy) attacking the Jews circulated in 1927 at a local gathering of fascist sympathizers In 1932, the local pharmacist Leo Frankenstein was attacked; a hand grenade was thrown into his home. The wave of anti-Semitic repressions intensified after Nazis gained power in Germany in 1933 and many local merchants and intellectuals of Jewish descent were arrested. During Kristallnacht, Jewish shops and synagogue were plundered and devastated in the town. Facing these events, several Jews of Lyck decided to escape, some abroad, some to Berlin, others as far as Shanghai Of those Jews who remained, 80 were murdered in various Nazi concentration and death camps.

The city also was the site of German prison camps for Norwegian and Soviet PoWs during World War II. The Polish resistance was active and operated one of the region's main smuggling points for underground Polish press in the city. It was heavily damaged by bombardments. The Soviet Army approached in January 1945. The city was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and the remaining German inhabitants were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. It was rebuilt and its modern Polish name Ełk was confirmed as official.

Contemporary times

In 1999, Ełk was visited by Pope John Paul II. About 300,000 people attended a papal Mass.

In 2017, the anti-Muslim Ełk riots occurred after a fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old man by a Muslim kebab cook. Several hundred men surrounded the Prince Kebab restaurant, tossing firecrackers, stones, and Molotov cocktails at the shop. Police initially stood by and did not intervene for several hours; however, when they did intervene the crowd turned against them as well. Following the riots in Ełk, other attacks on kebab restaurants took place throughout Poland.

In 2018, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, a monument to Józef Piłsudski was erected in front of the town hall. The Marshal of Poland was also honored with a mural on one of the townhouses in the city center.

Population

Number of inhabitants by year

Note that the above table is based on primary, possibly biased, sources:

Demographic changes

Districts

The city of Ełk is divided into 13 administrative units, known in Polish as osiedla:

• Baranki
• Centrum
• Jeziorna
• Konieczki
• Osiedle Bogdanowicza
• Osiedle Grunwaldzkie
• Osiedle Kochanowskiego
• Osiedle Tuwima
• Osiedle Wczasowe
• Pod Lasem
• Północ I
• Północ II
• Szyba
• Zatorze

Notable people

• Arthur Ludwich (1840–1920) a German classical philologist who specialized in Homeric studies
• Charles Edward Moldenke (1860–1935) was an American Lutheran minister and Egyptologist
• Theodor Simon Flatau (1860–1937), German physician
• Karol Bahrke (1868–1935), Polish activist, journalist and book publisher
• Otto von Schrader (1888–1945), German admiral
• Theodor Horydczak (1889–1971), American photographer
• Alfred Müller (1905–1959) a German middle-distance runner, competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics
• Kurt Symanzik (1923–1983), German physicist
• Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014), German author; honorary citizen of Ełk since 2011.
• Klaus Gerwien (1940–2018), German soccer player
• Leszek Błażyński (1949–1992), Polish boxer
• Roman Czepe (born 1956), Polish politician
• Andrzej Zgutczyński (born 1958), Polish footballer
• Dariusz Zgutczyński (born 1965), Polish footballer
• Cezary Zamana (born 1967), Polish cyclist
• Paweł Sobolewski (born 1979), Polish footballer
• Tomasz Abramowicz (born 1979), Polish footballer

Mayors

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

Education

• Private Economic Academy
• Nursery School
• Higher Catholic Seminary

High schools

• Zespół Szkół Ekonomicznych
• Zespół Szkół Mechaniczno - Elektrycznych
• Zespół Szkół nr 1
• 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)

Sports

Local sports clubs include football club Mazur Ełk, boxing club Mazur Ełk, cycling club LUKK Ełk, judo club MKS Żak Ełk and basketball club Wilki Ełk.

The Polish Cyclo-cross Championships were held in Ełk in 1998, 2005 and 2012.

Religion

Since the medieval Christianization of the region, the city's population was Roman Catholic, and after the Reformation, it was almost entirely Lutheran until World War II. After the war, the main religion in Ełk became again 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) and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Ełk is twinned with:

• Galatone, Italy
• Lørenskog, Norway
• Nettetal, Germany
• Alytus, Lithuania
• Orbassano, Italy

Former twin towns:

• Ozyorsk, Russian Federation
• Lida, Belarus

In March 2022, Ełk ended its partnership with the Russian city of Ozyorsk as a reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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.

Gallery

• Baptist church
• Town hall
• Bridge on the Ełk Lake
• Polish War Cemetery
• Józef Piłsudski monument
• Ełk railway station
• The Ełk narrow gauge railway station
• Solidarity Park at night
• Armii Krajowej Street (Ulica Armii Krajowej)
• Technical school
• John Paul II Square
• Ełk bypass route
• City Stadium
• Shopping mall
• Southern districts of Szyba and Jeziorna

References

1. ^ "Local Data Bank". Statistics Poland. Retrieved 2022-08-02. Data for territorial unit 2805011.
2. Program Rewitalizacji Ełku, page 20 Załącznik nr 1 do Uchwały Nr LIII/493/10 Rady Miasta Ełku z dnia 25 maja 2010 roku
3. ^ Klimowicz, Robert (2009). Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic (in Polish). Ełk. p. 56.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. p. 54.
5. Klimowicz, Robert (2009). Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic (in Polish). Ełk. p. 57.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
6. Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215
7. Klimowicz, Robert (2009). Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic (in Polish). Ełk. p. 19.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
8. Kossert, Andreas (2005). Ostpreussen – Geschichte und Mythos (in German). Siedler. p. 60. ISBN 3-88680-808-4. Seit 1537 entfaltete der aus Polen geflüchtete protestantische Pfarrer Jan Maletius eine rege Übersetzungstätigkeit in Lyck
9. Frick, David (1989). Polish Sacred Philology in the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation: Chapters in the History of the Controversies (1551-1632). University of California Press. p. 13. ISBN 0520097408.
10. *Popp, Dietmar; Suckale, Robert (2002). Die Jagiellonen: Kunst und Kultur einer europäischen Dynastie an der Wende zur Neuzeit (in German). Germanisches Nationalmuseum. p. 205. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
    *Hołd pruski Maria Bogucka, Wydawnictwo Interpress, p. 137, 1982.
    *Archiwa, biblioteki i muzea kościelne, Tomy 69-70 Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski. Ośrodek Archiwów, Bibliotek i Muzeów Kościelnych, page 131 1998
11. Jakobson, Roman (1985). Selected Writings: Early Slavic Paths and Crossroads. Walter de Gruyther. p. 51. ISBN 3-11-010605-1. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
12. 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
13. Memorial plaque on the Zespół Szkół Mechaniczno–Elektrycznych w Ełku, photo
14. Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie 2, 2006, p. 231 (in Polish)
15. Confirmed by the Treaty of Oliva of 1660.
16. Kossert, Andreas (2006). Masuren. Ostpreußens vergessener Süden (in German). Pantheon. ISBN 3-570-55006-0.
    Kossert, Andreas (2004). Mazury, Zapomniane południe Prus Wschodnich (in Polish). ISBN 83-7383-067-7.
17. Kossert, Andreas (2001). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden. p. 132. ISBN 3-570-55006-0.
18. Historia Pomorza:(1815-1850), Gerard Labuda, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, page 157, 1993
19. Karty z dziejów Mazur: wybór pism, Tom 1 Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina Pojezierze, page 68, 1972.
20. Tadeusz Oracki, page 173, Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1983.
21. Weber, Reinhold (1983). Masuren: Geschichte, Land und Leute (in German). Rautenberg. p. 200. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
22. Wielka encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Polska-Robe Bogdan Suchodolski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 566, 1967
23. Koncepcje i rozwój literatury dla ludu w latach 1773–1863 Eugenia Sławińska, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna w Bydgoszczy, page 45 1996
24. Rocznik gdański, Tom 48, Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I--Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, page 73, 1990
25. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI (in Polish). Warszawa. 1885. p. 206.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
26. Blanke, Richard (2001). Polish-speaking Germans? Language and national identity among the Masurians since 1871. Böhlau. p. 65. ISBN 3-412-12000-6.
27. Kossert, Andreas (2001). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden (in German). Siedler. p. 210. 1896 wurde die Gazeta Ludowa (Volkszeitung) gegründet, die zum großen Teil von Banken aus Großpolen massiv unterstützt wurde. Nach einem Jahr hatte die hochsubventionierte Zeitung eine auflage von 2500 Exemplaren erreicht
28. Zarys historii polskiego ruchu ludowego: makieta: Tom 1 Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe. Naczelny Komitet. Zakład Historii Ruchu Ludowego, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Józef Kowal, page 223- 1963
29. Szkice z dziejów Pomorza: Pomorze na progu dziejów najnowszych, Gerard Labuda Książka i Wiedza,"12.Gazeta Ludowa w Ełku", page 303 1961
30. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", pages 68, 72
31. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", page 73
32. *
    *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
33. Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Jerzy Mazurek, page 281, Biblioteka Iberyjska, 2006
34. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", p. 71.
35. Andreas Kossert: Masuren - Ostpreußens vergessener Süden, page 33
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38. "W Warmji i na Mazurach". Robotnik (in Polish). No. 163 (951). Warszawa. 18 June 1920. p. 4.
39. ^ Historical Jewish Press website; retrieved May 21, 2014.
40. Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Virtual Sztetl
41. ^ Ełk History
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45. Zawadzka, Anna. "Drinking vodka with anti-Semites. A case study of ‘Polish-Jewish relations’ today." Adeptus 11 (2018): 1-23.
46. Tunisian charged over Poland stabbing that sparked riot, BBC, 2 January 2017
47. ^ Died by the kebab knife, NRC Handelsblad, 29 December 2017, Roeland Termote & Pieter van Os
48. "Ełk: Pomnik Marszałka Piłsudskiego na 100-lecie Niepodległości, Ełkdlawas.info". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
49. "Nowy mural na 100-lecie niepodległości, Miasto Ełk - tu wracam". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
50. (in Polish)
51. (in Polish)
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53. wspolczesna.pl (in Polish)
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External links

• Municipal website (in Polish)
• Ełk information (in Polish)
• Jewish community of Ełk on Virtual Shtetl
• Google satellite photo

v t e Gminas of Ełk County
Seat: Ełk (urban gmina)
Rural gminas	Gmina Ełk Gmina Kalinowo Gmina Prostki Gmina Stare Juchy

v t e Gmina Ełk
Seat (not part of the gmina)	Ełk
Villages	Bajtkowo Barany Bartosze Białojany Bienie Bobry Borecki Dwór Borki Brodowo Buczki Buniaki Chełchy Chojniak Chruściele Chrzanowo Ciernie Czaple Ełk POHZ Giże Guzki Janisze Judziki Kałęczyny Karbowskie Konieczki Koziki Krokocie Lega Lepaki Małe Lepaki Wielkie Mącze Mąki Maleczewo Malinówka Mała Malinówka Wielka Małkinie Miluki Mołdzie Mostołty Mrozy Małe Mrozy Wielkie Niekrasy Nowa Wieś Ełcka Oracze Piaski Pisanica Pistki Płociczno Przykopka Przytuły Regiel Regielnica Rękusy Rostki Bajtkowskie Rożyńsk Ruska Wieś Rydzewo Rymki Sajzy Sędki Siedliska Skup Śniepie Sordachy Straduny Suczki Szarejki Szarek Szeligi Talusy Tracze Wityny Woszczele Zdedy Zdunki

• Ełk
• Populated places established in the 14th century
• Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship
• Holocaust locations in Poland