Ełk
City in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
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Key Takeaways
- Ełk ( Polish pronunciation: [ɛwk] ; German: Lyck ) is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021.
- It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a glacier, and is surrounded by extensive forests.
- The town was founded by the Teutonic Order and settled by Poles in the late 14th century and received town rights in 1445.
- Ełk is historically considered the capital of Masuria.
- One of the principal attractions in the area is legal hunting.
Ełk (Polish pronunciation: [ɛwk] ; German: Lyck) is a city in northeastern Poland with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of Ełk County in the 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 of Masuria.
The town was founded by the Teutonic Order and settled by Poles in the late 14th century and received town rights in 1445. In the 16th century, it became a leading center for Polish printing and education in Masuria. Ełk is historically considered the capital of Masuria.
Today Ełk is an important rail and road junction and food industry hub in north-eastern Poland, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ełk. 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.
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