Ełk

Elk city seen from the lake. – By: Anonymous, Poland Elk View, CC BY-SA 3.0

Distance

53 km NV, 65 km N, 31 km NE, 32 km V, 46 km E, 109 km SE, 25 km SE, 66 km SV, 91 km V, 152 km V, 54 km SV, 61 km NE

Population

60.103 (2014)

Location and history

Ełk is located in the Mazury region of northeastern Poland, by the river of the same name, surrounded by lakes and forests on several sides.

The building was built around – and protected by – the castle, which was erected at the transition between the 14th and 15th centuries. The first rights were given the settlement in 1425, but real market town rights got Ełk in 1445. Both world wars in the 20th century. brought great destruction to the city. On April 6, 1945, for the first time in its history, the city was incorporated into the Polish Empire.

Tourist attractions

Borgen
The Crusader Castle is located on a peninsula, formerly an island, in Lake Ełk. The construction of the castle began approx. 1398. However, the oldest fortification on the island can be traced back to 1273. The castle was originally surrounded by a wide moat and two wooden bridges linked the island to the mainland to the east and to the west. Ulica Zamkowa (Borggade) street today leads across the peninsula from the city on the east bank of the lake to a suburb on the west bank. Both the city and the castle were destroyed during the 13-year war (1454-466 – between the Crusaders and the Kingdom of Poland). In the Middle Ages, the castle did not have a ring wall, but instead a construction of wooden palisades. The buildings left today are in very poor condition.

The water tower
One of the best preserved water towers in Mazury, built in 1895 and used for the purpose until 1970’s. Today, the building is the seat of the German Minority Association.

The building of the priesthood seminary
A special and beautiful building from the beginning of the 20th century; from 1992 seat of the Ełk Prize Seminary.

The narrow-gauge railway in Ełk.

Accommodation

Booking.com

Other Internet sites and sources

Ełk – in Polish, German, English, Russian, Italian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian

Translated into English by Google Translate. Spangshus.dk accept no liability for any errors or omissions in translation.

Castles

Crusader castles

Water towers