Olsztyn
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Olsztyn ([['ɔlʃtɨn]][Media help?]·[i]; German: [] ([Media helphelp]·[info])) is a city in northeast Poland, on the Łyna river. Historically the capital of Warmia, Olsztyn is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship, previously Olsztyn Voivodship.
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).Demographics
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1772 | 1,770 |
| 1846 | 4,000 |
| 1875 | 6,000 |
| 1885 | 11, 555 |
| 1890 | 19,373 |
| 1895 | 25,000 |
| 1939 | 50,000 |
| 1941 | 54,300 |
| 1946 | 23,000 |
| 1950 | 45,000 |
| 1972 | over 100,000 |
| 1994 | 165,000 |
| 2000 | 170,000 |
| 2005 (December 31) | 174,950 |
History
- 2000 - 500 B.C. (circa) Prussian people settle the area
- 1224 Pope Honorius III assigns bishop William of Modena as Papal legate to lands along the Baltic coast
- 1226 Golden Bull of Rimini, issued by Emperor Frederick II, allows the Teutonic Knights to start a crusade against the native Baltic Prussians
- 1280 Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights established after the territory was conquered
- 1346 old forests cleared and place on the Łyna (German: Alle) selected for a new settlement
- 1348 Allenstein first mentioned
- 1347 construction of a castle to protect settlers from attacks
- 1353 (October 31) Allenstein receives municipal rights from the Bishopric of Warmia
- 1397 completion of the castle
- 1410 captured temporarily by Poland
- 1414 captured temporarily by Poland
- 1440 Allenstein joined Prussian Confederation
- 1454 Uprising against Teutonic Order, Prussian Confederation asks Polish Crown for protection
- 1455 captured by Teutonic Knights
- 1463 captured by Polish army and annexed to Poland in 1464
- 1466 2nd Peace of Toruń confirms that Allenstein is capital city of the province of Warmia
- 1655 captured by Swedish army
- 1708 burned down by Swedes
- 1710 city population nearly wiped out in an epidemic (bubonic plague, cholera)
- 1772 annexed to Kingdom of Prussia during Partitions of Poland
- 1772 Prussian census counts population of 1770 people, predominantly farmers
- 1807 visit of Napoleon
- 1867 city hospital founded
- 1871 German Empire
- 1873 railway connection to Toruń
- 1886 Polish language newspaper "Gazeta Olsztyńska" founded
- 1890 city gas infrastructure founded
- 1892 first telephone line
- 1898 water system
- 1907 electricity
- 1914 Russian army captures the city after start of WWI
- 1920 plebiscite, Allenstein remains in Germany in the exclave of East Prussia
- 1921 Polish activists emigrate to Poland
- 1933 Nazis in power – persecutions of Poles and Jews
- 1935 The Wehrmacht made Allenstein the home of the 11th Infanterie Division; the 11th Artillery Regiment and the 217th Infanterie Division which was organized in 1939 at Allenstein, of East Prussians of the Landwehr age group
- 1939 (October 12) German Wehrmacht established an Area Headquarters of Wehrkreis I that controlled the subareas of Allenstein, Lötzen (Giżycko) and Ciechanów
- 1939 deportation of Polish minority to concentration camps (see Union of Poles in Germany)
- 1945 (January 22) Allenstein plundered [link] and burned down by Red Army, Expulsion of Germans
- 1945 (August 2) to Poland
- 1967 tyre manufacturing plant founded
- 1980-1981 Solidarity revolution
- 1989 democratic elections
Economy
The tyre company Stomil is a subsidiary of Michelin. There are also other industry, 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
- Masurian Institute (est. 1943)
- [University of Warmia and Mazury]
- [University of Computer Science and Economics]
- [Olsztyńska Szkoła Wyższa im. Józefa Rusieckiego]
- [Olsztyńska Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania im. Tadeusza Kotarbińskiego]
- [Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne HOSIANUM]
Sports
- PZU AZS Olsztyn - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS)
- OKS 1945 Olsztyn - men's football team, (8 seasons in Polish Ekstraklasa as Stomil Olsztyn)
- Warmia Traveland Olsztyn - men's handball team, 1st league (seria A) in 2005/2006 season
Notable persons
- Johannes von Layß [link] near Mehlsack, Allenstein's administrator since 1353, in charge of the town development
- Nicolaus Copernicus lived at the Allenstein castle from 1516 to 1521 when he was administrator of Allenstein and Mehlsack, and in charge of defence of the city and Prince-Bishopric Ermland against the Teutonic Order
- Johannes Knolleisen, supported students from Allenstein in the early 16th century
- Lucas David (1503-1583), a historian of Allenstein who wrote a number of volumes on Prussian history
- August Trunz (1875-1963), founder of the Prussica-Sammlung Trunz [link] that also features works from Lucas David
- Erich Mendelsohn, architect
- Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski, politician
- Krzysztof Hołowczyc, race driver
- Artur Wojdat, swimmer
Politics
Olsztyn constituency
Members of (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)
- Ryszard Józef Górecki, PO (Platforma Obywatelska, Civic Platform)
- Jerzy Szmit, PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, Law And Justice)
Postage stamps
In 1920 a plebiscite was held to determine whether the people wished to become part of East Prussia or Poland. In order 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 5 Pf to 3 M.
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 plebiscite area thus remained part of Germany until after World War II, when it was put under Polish administration by the victors and the German inhabitants were largely expelled.
External links
- [Olsztyn Information Service]
- [City's History]
- [Statistics of inhabitants, birth, marriage, death from 1667]
| Voivodeships of Poland |
|
|---|---|
| Greater Poland | Kuyavia-Pomerania | Lesser Poland | Lower Silesia | Lublin | Lubusz | Łódź | Masovia | Opole | Podlachia | Pomerania | Silesia | Subcarpathia | Świętokrzyskie | Warmia and Masuria | West Pomerania | |
| Principal cities: Warsaw | Łódź | Kraków | Wrocław | Poznań | Gdańsk | Szczecin | Bydgoszcz | Lublin | Katowice | Białystok | Częstochowa | Gdynia | Gorzów Wielkopolski | Toruń | Radom | Kielce | Rzeszów | Olsztyn | |
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