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Revision as of 22:06, 18 February 2006 by 24.23.39.36 (talk) (edit)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Szczytno (German: Ortelsburg) is a town in north-eastern Poland with 27,500 inhabitants (1995). Szczytno is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship (since 1999), but was previously in Olsztyn Voivodship (1975-1998).
Szczytno-Szymany International Airport is the most important airport of the Masurian region.
History
The town was previously a Prussian settlement. The name is derived from the founder Ortulf. Around the year 1350 Ortolf von Trier (1349-1371), a knight of the Teutonic Order that had received the land grant by the emperor and pope, conquered the region, led the construction of a castle in this region. The first mentioning of the castle as Ortulfsburg was in 1360, after Ortolf invited Masovian colonists to help develop the town. The first custodian of the settlement was Heinrich Murer. The town received civil rights in 1616, and had its city rights reaffirmed in 1723. The town suffered from plundering and occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, but became the seat of Landkreis Ortelsburg in 1818.
The town began to quickly expand economically after the opening of a railway line in 1888. According to the German census of 1900, Lutheran Masurs constituted 74.5% of Ortelsburg (Szczytno's) population. The city was almost completely destroyed by the Russian Empire at the beginning of World War I, but its recovery was aided by Berlin and Vienna. After the war ended, a campaign of persecution was organised against Polish population. Poles were beaten and threatened by German activists, meetings of Poles were attacked. As Bolsheviks invaded the reborn Polish state, a plebiscite was held in 1920 to determine if Ortelsburg (Szczytno)would join Poland. Plebiscite on Warmia and Mazury took place on VII 1920 during the bolshevik offensive against Warsaw. As a result, 97.9% of the people voted for remaining part of Germany. Despite harsh persectutions Poles organised Masurian Selfhelp, an organisation devoted for protection of Polish people under German rule.The struggle for Polish school in the region has led to death of Polish activist Jerzy Lanc. Most of Ortelsburg population fled before the Red Army during World War II, who gave the city to Poland in 1945 and who renamed it Szczytno.
Human Rights Watch alleged in 2005, that close to the airport exists a jail for prisoners of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The Polish government disclaimed those rumours, while HRW has failed to present any proof or evidence supporting their accusations.
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