Olsztyn
Categories: Cities in Poland | Urban counties of Warmia-Masuria | Olsztyn | Warmia-Masuria
| Olsztyn | |||||
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| Motto: none | |||||
| Image:Olsztyn Mapa.png | |||||
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| Voivodship | Warmia i Mazury | ||||
| Municipal government | Rada Miasta Olsztyn | ||||
| Mayor | Czesław Jerzy Małkowski | ||||
| Area | 87,89 km² | ||||
| Population - city - urban - density | 173 850 - 1972/km² | ||||
| Founded City rights | - -31.10.1353 | ||||
| Latitude Longitude | 53°47' N 20°30' E | ||||
| Area code | +48 89 | ||||
| Car plates | NO | ||||
| Twin towns | Calpe, Chateauroux, Gelsenkirchen, Kaliningrad, Łuck, Offenburg, Richmond, Rouaniemi | ||||
| Municipal Website | |||||
Olsztyn (pronounce: Image:Ltspkr.png [:ɔlʃtin], German Allenstein) is a city in northeast Poland, historically capital of Warmia, on the Lyna River, with a population of 173,850 (2005). Olsztyn is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship, previously Olsztyn Voivodship.
Contents |
Geography
The town is beautifully situated in a lake region of forests and plains, barely touched by man. There are 13 lakes inside the administrative bounds of the town and many more surrounding it: (Krzywe, Długie, Żbik, Redykajny and others).
History
- 500 B.C(circa) Prussian tribes settle the area
- 1226 Teutonic Knights start their invasion of Prussian lands
- 1348 first mentioned.
- 1353 town located.
- 1410 captured temporary by Polish army
- 1414 captured temporary by Polish army
- 1440 Olsztyn accessed pro-Polish Union of Prussia
- 1454 Uprising against Teutonic Knights. Olsztyn and Union of Prussia ask Polish King for incorporation of the city into the Polish Crown.
- 1455 captured by Teutonic Knight mercenaries
- 1463 recaptured by Polish army
- 1464 officially annexed to Poland
- 1466 Treaty in Toruń confirms that Olsztyn belongs to Poland
- 1655 captured temporarily by Swedish army
- 1708 burned down by Swedes
- 1709 epidemic
- 1772 to Prussia
- 1807 visit of Napoleon
- 1846 population 4000
- 1867 city hospital founded
- 1871 German Empire
- 1873 railway connection to Toruń
- 1875 population 6000
- 1886 "Gazeta Olsztyńska" Polish newspaper in Warmia founded
- 1890 city gas infrastructure founded
- 1892 first telephone line
- 1895 population 25 000
- 1898 water system
- 1907 electricity
- 1914 start of WWI. Russian army captures the city
- 1920 Olsztyn remains in Germany in exclave of East Prussia
- 1921 Polish activists emigrate to Poland
- 1933 Nazis in power – persecutions of Poles and Jews
- 1935-1939 fast development of the city
- 1939 population 50 000
- 1939 deportation of Polish minority to concentration camps (see Union of Poles in Germany)
- 1939 WWII German invasion of Poland
- 1945 Olsztyn captured by Red Army (January 22)
- 1945 Taken over by Polish administration (May 23)
- 1946 population 23 000
- 1950 population 45 000
- 1967 tyre manufacturing plant founded
- 1980-1981 Solidarity revolution
- 1989 democratic elections
Economy
For industry, it features a tire company, Stomil, a subsidiary of Michelin. There are also food processing plants and furniture manufacturers.
Buildings
- FM- and TV-mast Olsztyn-Pieczewo, height 360 metres, since the collapse of the Warsaw radio mast the tallest structure in Poland
Education
- University of Warmia and Mazury - http://www.uwm.edu.pl/
- Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Ekonomii TWP - http://wsiie.olsztyn.pl/
- Olsztyńska Szkoła Wyższa im. Józefa Rusieckiego - http://www.osw.olsztyn.pl/
- Olsztyńska Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania im. Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego - http://www.owsiiz.edu.pl/
- Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne HOSIANUM
Regional and scientific societies
- Masurian Institute (est. 1943)
Sports
- PZU AZS Olsztyn - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS)
- OKS 1945 Olsztyn - men's football team, (8th season in Polish Ekstraklasa as Stomil Olsztyn)
- Warmia Traveland Olsztyn - men's handball team (1st league seria A in season 2005/2006)
Famous people
- Nicolaus Copernicus for some time lived at the Olsztyn castle, where he was administrator and was in charge of defence of the city against the Teutonic Order.
- Lucas David, a historian of Olsztyn wrote a number of volumes on Prussian history; some are in the collection (Prussica Sammlung Trunz) started by Dr. August Trunz (1875-1963) of Olsztyn.
- Krzysztof Hołowczyc, race driver
- Erich Mendelsohn, architect
- August Trunz, the founder of the Prussica-Sammlung Trunz
- Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski, politician
- Johannes Knolleisen
Politics
Olsztyn constituency
Members of the Seym (Sejm) elected from Olsztyn constituency in 2005
- Mieczysław Aszkiełowicz, Samoobrona, (Self-Defence)
- Beata Bublewicz, PO (Platforma Obywatelska, Civic Platform)
- Jerzy Gosiewski, PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law And Justice)
- Tadeusz Iwiński, SLD (Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej, The Alliance Of The Democratic Left)
- Edward Ośko, LPR (Liga Polskich Rodzin, The League Of Polish Families)
- Adam Puza, PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law And Justice)
- Sławomir Rybicki, PO (Platforma Obywatelska, Civic Platform)
- Lidia Staroń, PO (Platforma Obywatelska, Civic Platform)
- Aleksander Marek Szczygło, PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law And Justice)
- Zbigniew Włodkowski, PSL (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, Polish Peasant Party)
Members of the Senate (Senat) elected from Olsztyn constituency in 2005
- Ryszard Józef Górecki, PO (Platforma Obywatelska, Civic Platform)
- Jerzy Szmit, PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law And Justice)
Postage stamps
Originally the town was in a district of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights. Then, as of 1466, it was a capital city of the Polish province of Warmia. In 1920 a plebiscite was held to determine whether the people wished to become part of East Prussia or Poland. In order to avoid bias, and to advertise the plebiscite, special postage stamps were produced by overprinting German stamps and sold from 3 April. One kind of overprint read PLÉBISCITE / OLSZTYN / ALLENSTEIN, while the other read TRAITÉ / DE / VERSAILLES / ART. 94 et 95 inside an oval whose border gave the full name of the plebiscite commission. Each overprint was applied to 14 denominations ranging from 5pf to 3m.
The plebiscite was held on 11 July, and produced 362,209 votes (97.8 percent) for Germany and 7,980 votes (2.2 percent) for Poland. The stamps became invalid 20 August. Despite the short period of use, almost all the types of these stamps are cheaply available both used and unused. The relatively large portion of southern East Prussia contained in the plebescite area thus remained part of Germany until after World War II, when it was transferred to Poland.
External links:
- Olsztyn's City Hall
- Official City Information Service
- Virtual Olsztyn (this site in Polish language only)
- The Official Site of PZU AZS Olsztyn volleyball club
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