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Revision as of 04:14, 11 September 2020 by Merangs (talk | contribs) (→Notable residents: no links)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Place in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Ełk
  • From top, left to right: View of Ełk across the Ełk Lake
  • Art School
  • Ełk Cathedral
Flag of EłkFlagCoat of arms of EłkCoat of arms
Ełk is located in Warmian-Masurian VoivodeshipEłkEłkShow map of Warmian-Masurian VoivodeshipEłk is located in PolandEłkEłkShow map of Poland
Coordinates: 53°49′17″N 22°21′44″E / 53.82139°N 22.36222°E / 53.82139; 22.36222
Country Poland
Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian
CountyEłk County
GminaEłk (urban gmina)
Established1237
Town rights1445
Government
 • MayorTomasz Andrukiewicz
Area
 • Total22.07 km (8.52 sq mi)
Population
 • Total61,523
 • Density2,800/km (7,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code19-300
Area code+48 87
Car platesNEL
Websitehttp://www.elk.pl

Ełk (Polish pronunciation: [ɛwk]; former Template:Lang-pl; Template:Audio-de; Old Prussian: Luks; Template:Lang-lt), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city 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 seat of Ełk County. 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

Old castle in Ełk

By 1283, the last Sudovian Prussian leader, Skomand (Lithuanian: Skalmantas), capitulated to the Teutonic Knights in the 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 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. 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 Lyck 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 came under Polish suzerainty as a fief.

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 Lyck 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.

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.

Old Gymnasium around 1830

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 Masurian 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.

The court building, built in 1880, nowadays an elementary school

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 Lyck 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).

Ełk around 1900

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".

Michał Kajka monument in the Solidarity Park

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.

25 Pfennig Notgeld banknote of 1920 with a view of the town on the reverse

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, which 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. It was heavily damaged by bombardments. The county of Lyck had 53,000 inhabitants when the Soviet Army approached in January 1945. The town was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and its German inhabitants were dispossessed and forcibly expelled. It was rebuilt and renamed Ełk (before 1939, Polish names for the town included Łek, Łęg and Łęk). 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. 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.

Historical population

In year 1832, the county of Ełk (including the town) had 32663 inhabitants, including (by mother tongue): 29246 (~90%) Polish, 3413 (~10%) German and 4 Lithuanian.

Population

Historical bridge on the Ełk Lake, connecting the city with Castle Island
The water tower, built in 1895
Elaborate tenement houses on Mickiewicz Street

Number of inhabitants by year

Year Number
1499 600
1600 800
1782 2,000
1831 2,945
1875 5,912
1880 6,846
1890 9,981
1925 15,159
1933 15,512
1939 16,243
2010 61,156
2011 59,274
2017 61,523

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

Demographic changes

Districts

City centre and the Solidarity Park

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 residents

Mayors

Education

Higher Catholic Seminary

High school

High school No. 1 in Ełk

Religion

Sacred Heart Church in Ełk

Before World War II, the town and its surroundings were almost entirely (>95%) Lutheran. After the German populace fled or 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) and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.

International relations

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

Twin towns and sister cities

Ełk is twinned with:

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.


Gallery

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

References

  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. ^ Robert Klimowicz, Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic, Ełk, 2009, p. 56
  3. Robert Klimowicz, Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic, Ełk, 2009, p. 57
  4. Robert Klimowicz, Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic, Ełk, 2009, p. 19
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. *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
  8. Jakobson, Roman (1985). Selected Writings: Early Slavic Paths and Crossroads. Walter de Gruyther. p. 51. ISBN 3-11-010605-1. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  9. 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
  10. Memorial plaque on the Zespół Szkół Mechaniczno–Elektrycznych w Ełku, photo
  11. Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie 2, 2006, p. 231 (in Polish)
  12. Confirmed by the Treaty of Oliva of 1660.
  13. 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.
  14. Kossert, Andreas (2001). Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden. p. 132. ISBN 3-570-55006-0.
  15. Historia Pomorza:(1815-1850), Gerard Labuda, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, page 157, 1993
  16. Karty z dziejów Mazur: wybór pism, Tom 1 Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina Pojezierze, page 68, 1972.
  17. Tadeusz Oracki, page 173, Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1983.
  18. Weber, Reinhold (1983). Masuren: Geschichte, Land und Leute (in German). Rautenberg. p. 200. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  19. Wielka encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Polska-Robe Bogdan Suchodolski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 566, 1967
  20. Koncepcje i rozwój literatury dla ludu w latach 1773–1863 Eugenia Sławińska, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna w Bydgoszczy, page 45 1996
  21. Rocznik gdański, Tom 48, Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I--Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, page 73, 1990
  22. Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI, Warsaw, 1885, p. 206
  23. Blanke, Richard (2001). Polish-speaking Germans? Language and national identity among the Masurians since 1871. Böhlau. p. 65. ISBN 3-412-12000-6.
  24. 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
  25. Zarys historii polskiego ruchu ludowego: makieta: Tom 1 Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe. Naczelny Komitet. Zakład Historii Ruchu Ludowego, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Józef Kowal, page 223- 1963
  26. Szkice z dziejów Pomorza: Pomorze na progu dziejów najnowszych, Gerard Labuda Książka i Wiedza,"12.Gazeta Ludowa w Ełku", page 303 1961
  27. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", pages 68, 72
  28. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", page 73
  29. *
    *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
  30. Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Jerzy Mazurek, page 281, Biblioteka Iberyjska, 2006
  31. Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", p. 71.
  32. Andreas Kossert: Masuren - Ostpreußens vergessener Süden, page 33
  33. Miasta polskie w tysiącleciu: Tom 1 Mateusz Siuchniński - Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, page 275 1965
  34. Butler, Rohan, Massachusetts., Bury, J.P.T., MA., & Lambert M.E., MA., editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, 1st Series, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1960, vol.x, Chapter VIII, "The Plebiscites in Allenstein and Marienwerder January 21 - September 29, 1920"
  35. ^ Historical Jewish Press website; retrieved May 21, 2014.
  36. Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Virtual Sztetl
  37. ^ Ełk History
  38. Teczka specjalna J.W. Stalina:raporty NKWD z Polski 1944-1946, page 159 Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 199
  39. Cudzoziemcy w polskim ruchu oporu: 1939-1945, Stanisław Okęcki, page 136 "Interpress,"
  40. Zawadzka, Anna. "Drinking vodka with anti-Semites. A case study of ‘Polish-Jewish relations’ today." Adeptus 11 (2018): 1-23.
  41. Tunisian charged over Poland stabbing that sparked riot, BBC, 2 January 2017
  42. ^ Died by the kebab knife, NRC Handelsblad, 29 December 2017, Roeland Termote & Pieter van Os
  43. "Ełk: Pomnik Marszałka Piłsudskiego na 100-lecie Niepodległości, Ełkdlawas.info". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  44. "Nowy mural na 100-lecie niepodległości, Miasto Ełk - tu wracam". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  45. von Haxthausen, August (1839). Die ländliche verfassung in den einzelnen provinzen der Preussischen Monarchie (in German). Königsberg: Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung. pp. 78–81.
  46. Jasiński, Grzegorz (2009). "Statystyki językowe powiatów mazurskich z pierwszej połowy XIX wieku (do 1862 roku)" (PDF). Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie (in Polish). 1: 97–130 – via BazHum.
  47. Belzyt, Leszek (1996). "Zur Frage des nationalen Bewußtseins der Masuren im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (auf der Basis statistischer Angaben)". Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung (in German). Bd. 45, Nr. 1: 35–71 – via zfo-online.
  48. (in Polish)
  49. (in Polish)
  50. August Eduard Preuß: Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde. Königsberg 1835, pp. 454–455, no. 65.
  51. wspolczesna.pl (in Polish)
  52. Johann Friedrich Goldbeck: Volständige Topographie des Königreichs Preussen. Part I: Topographie von Ost-Preussen, Marienwerder 1785, p. 39, no. 2.
  53. "Siegfried Lenz zum Ehrenbürger seiner Geburtsstadt ernannt" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  54. historical religious statistics at verwaltungsgeschichte.de
  55. "Ełk - Przedwojenny herb miasta". Castles of Poland. 2003-04-30. Retrieved 2009-05-05.

External links

53°50′N 22°21′E / 53.833°N 22.350°E / 53.833; 22.350

Gminas of Ełk County
Seat: Ełk (urban gmina)
Rural gminas
Gmina Ełk
Seat (not part of the gmina)
Villages
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