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Olsztyn
City
City centre
FlagCoat of arms
Motto(s): Olsztyn - Miasto Młode Duchem… (Olsztyn — city of a young spirit…)
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Warmian-Masurian
Powiat	city county
Gmina	Olsztyn
Established	14th century
City Rights	1353
Government
• Mayor	Czesław Jerzy Małkowski
Area
• City	87.89 km (33.93 sq mi)
Elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Population
• City	175,241
• Density	1,991/km (5,160/sq mi)
• Metro	270,000
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	10-001 to 11-041
Area code	+48 89
Car Plates	NO
Website	www.um.olsztyn.pl

Olsztyn (Audio file "Olsztyn.ogg" not found; Template:Lang-lt, Template:Audio-de, Old Prussian: Alnāsteini) is a city in northeast Poland, on the River Łyna. Historically the capital of Warmia region, Olsztyn is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999, previously Olsztyn Voivodeship (1945-1975 and 1975-1998 in differing units).

Geography

The city is situated in a lake region of forests and plains. There are 15 lakes inside the administrative bounds of the city (13 with the area greater than 1 ha). The overall area of lakes in Olsztyn is about 725 ha which constitutes 8.25 % of the total city area.

Olsztyn greenery

More than a half of the forests occupying 21.2 % of the city area forms a single complex of the Municipal Forest (1050 ha) used mainly for recreation and tourism purposes. Within the Municipal Forest area, two sanctuaries of the peat-land flora: Mszar and Redykajny, are situated. Municipal greenery (560 ha, 6.5 % of the town area) developed in the form of numerous parks, green spots and also three over 100 years old cemeteries includes 910 monuments of nature and groups of protected trees in the form of beech, oak, maple and lime lined avenues.

History

• 1346 old forests cleared and place on the Alle river (Polish: Łyna) selected for a new settlement for German settlers
• 1348 Allenstein first mentioned
• 1347 construction of the castle to protect German settlers from attacks by Old Prussians
• 1353 (October 31) Allenstein receives municipal rights from the Bishopric of Warmia
• 1397 completion of the castle
• 1410 captured temporarily by the Kingdom of Poland
• 1414 captured temporarily by Poland
• 1440 Allenstein joined Prussian Confederation
• 1454 Uprising against Teutonic Order, Prussian Confederation asks Polish Crown for protection
• 1455 retaken by Teutonic Knights
• 1463 captured by Polish-Lithuanian army and annexed to Poland in 1464
• 1466 Second Peace of Toruń makes Olsztyn the capital town of the province of Warmia
• 1516-1521 Nicolaus Copernicus lived at the Olsztyn castle as administrator of Olsztyn and Melzak (Mehlsack), (today Pieniężno), and in charge of defence of the town and Prince-Bishopric of Warmia.
• 1655 captured by Swedish army
• 1708 burned down by Swedes
• 1710 town 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 town hospital founded
• 1871 East Prussia becomes part of the German Empire
• 1873 railway connection to Thorn (Toruń)
• 1886 first Polish language newspaper Gazeta Olsztyńska founded
• 1890 town gas infrastructure founded
• 1892 first telephone line
• 1898 public water supply system
• 1905 seat of Regierungsbezirk Allenstein in East Prussia
• 1907 electricity supply
• 1914 Russian army briefly captures the town at start of World War I
• 1920 Plebiscite, Allenstein votes to remain in Germany, in the province of East Prussia
• 1933 Nazis in power – discrimination of Poles and Jews
• 1935 The Wehrmacht made Allenstein the Allenstein Militärische Bereich Hauptsitze. It was 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 groups.
• 1939 (October 12) German Wehrmacht established an Area Headquarters of Wehrkreis I that controlled the sub-areas of Allenstein, Lötzen (Lec) (today Giżycko) and Ciechanów
• 1939 deportations of some of the Polish-speaking minority to concentration camps (see Union of Poles in Germany)
• 1945 (January 22) city plundered and burnt by the invading Soviet Army . expulsion of Germans
• 1945 (August 2) city returns to Poland as per decision of Yalta Conference and to its Polish name Olsztyn; further expulsions of Germans and Masurians
• 1967 tyre manufacturing plant founded

Demographics

Administrative division

Olsztyn is divided into 22 districts:

Monuments of architecture

• The Old Town
• The Gothic castle of Warmian Chapter built during the 14th century
• St. James' Cathedral
• Old Town Hall on the Market Square - built in mid-14th century
• Gazeta Olsztyńska House at Fish Market
• The town walls and the Upper Gate (since mid 19th century known as the High Gate)
• Semi-Gothic church of the Holly Heart of Jesus - built during the years 1901–1903
• The New Town Hall
• The Railway Bridge over the River Łyna gorge near Artyleryjska and Wyzwolenia streets - built during the years 1872–1873
• The Jerusalem Chapel - built in 1565
• Church of St. Lawrence - built during the late 14th century

Culture

Theatres

• Theatre of Stefan Jaracz (est. 1925)
• Puppet Theatre

Museums

The biggest Olsztyn's museum is Museum of Warmia and Mazury. In Olsztyn there are also the Gazeta Olsztyńska House, Museum of Nature and Museum of Sports.

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 - 360 metres high, since the collapse of the Warsaw radio mast the tallest structure in Poland

Education

• 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
• Masurian Institute (est. 1943)

Sport

• PZU AZS Olsztyn - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (PLS, Polska Liga Siatkówki)
• OKS 1945 Olsztyn - men's football team, (8 seasons in Polish Ekstraklasa as Stomil Olsztyn)
• Warmia Traveland Olsztyn - men's handball team playing in Seria A (Polish First League)
• WMPD Olsztyn - men's rugby team, playing in First Polish League
• Budowlani Olsztyn Wrestling team

Notable people

• John of Laissen 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 Polish-occupied Allenstein and Mehlsack, and in charge of defence of the town 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
• Hugo Haase 1863 – 1919, German-Jewish politician
• August Trunz (1875-1963), founder of the Prussica-Sammlung Trunz that also features works from Lucas David
• Erich Mendelsohn (1887-1953), German-Jewish architect
• Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski (b. 1922), German politician

• Mariusz Hermanowicz (b. 1950), French photographer born here
• Krzysztof Hołowczyc, race driver
• Artur Wojdat, swimmer
• Feliks Nowowiejski -composer and conductor
• Juliusz Machulski -director
• Piotr Bałtroczyk - journalist, entertainer
• Marian Bublewicz - race driver
• Izabela Trojanowska - actress, singer
• Wojciech Grzyb - volleyball player
• Łukasz Kadziewicz - volleybal player

Olsztyn belongs to the Federation of Copernicus Cities, an association of cities where Copernicus lived and worked, such as Bologna, Frombork, Kraków and Toruń. The main office of the Federation is situated at Olsztyn Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory, located on St. Andrew's Hill (143 m) in a former water tower erected in 1897.

Politics

Olsztyn constituency

Members of (Sejm) elected from Olsztyn constituency in 2005

• Mieczysław Aszkiełowicz, Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland (Samoobrona Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej)
• Beata Bublewicz, Civic Platform (PO, Platforma Obywatelska)
• Jerzy Gosiewski, Law and Justice (PiS, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość)
• Tadeusz Iwiński, Democratic Left Alliance (SLD, Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej)
• Edward Ośko, League of Polish Families (LPR, Liga Polskich Rodzin)
• Adam Puza, Law and Justice (PiS, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość)
• Sławomir Rybicki, Civic Platform (PO, Platforma Obywatelska)
• Lidia Staroń, Civic Platform (PO, Platforma Obywatelska)
• Aleksander Marek Szczygło, Law and Justice (PiS, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość)
• Zbigniew Włodkowski, Polish Peasant Party (PSL, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe)

Members of the Senate (Senat) elected from Olsztyn constituency in 2005

• Ryszard Józef Górecki, Civic Platform (PO, Platforma Obywatelska)
• Jerzy Szmit, Law and Justice (PiS, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość)

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 %) for Germany and 7,980 votes (2.2 %) 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.

Twin cities

• Calpe  ESP,
• Chateauroux  FRA,
• Gelsenkirchen  DEU,
• Kaliningrad  RUS,
• Lutsk  UKR,
• Offenburg  DEU,
• Richmond  USA,
• Rovaniemi  FIN

References

External links

• Olsztyn Information Service
• City History
• Statistics of inhabitants, birth, marriage, death from 1667

Template:Poland

53°47′N 20°29′E / 53.783°N 20.483°E / 53.783; 20.483

Template:Link FA

• Castles of the Teutonic Knights
• Olsztyn
• Postage stamps by country
• Postal history by country