| Ełk | |||
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| View of Ełk across lake | |||
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Ełk
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship | Warmian-Masurian | ||
| County | Ełk County | ||
| Gmina | Ełk (urban gmina) | ||
| Established | 1237 | ||
| Town rights | 1445 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Tomasz Andrukiewicz | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 22.07 km2 (8.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 60,156 | ||
| • Density | 2,725.7/km2 (7,059.5/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 19-300 | ||
| Area code(s) | +48 87 | ||
| Car plates | NEL | ||
| Website | http://www.elk.pl | ||
Ełk [ɛu̯k] (before 1945 ; before 1939 rendered in Polish as Łęg or Łęk; Old Prussian Luks) is a town in northeastern Poland with 61,156 inhabitants (as of 2010). It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, after belonging to Suwałki Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. Ełk is the capital of Ełk County.
The city lies on a shore of Ełckie Lake, which was formed by a glacier. Surrounded by forests, the area is part of the region of Masuria. One of its principal attractions is hunting, which is carried out in extensive forests.
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By 1283 the last Sudovian Prussian leader, Skomand (Lithuania:Skalmantas), capitulated to the Teutonic Knights in the Lyck area. After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the Komturship of Brandenburg, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Komturship Balga. A former Old Prussian settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around an Ordensburg built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's German name, Lyck, is derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka). It received its town rights in 1445.
In 1709/10 the plague claimed 1,300 victims.[1] In 1831 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the Cholera, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852[2] In 1794 the city became a transit route for Polish soldiers from Kościuszko Insurrection, and in 1800 a Polish school was organised by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz[3]. According to Gerard Labuda in 1825 Lyck was inhabited by 1394 Poles and 1748 Germans.[4]
Before World War I, Lyck had 13,000 inhabitants and was, according to the modern town's official website, an important site for Polish national movement[5]. Many citizens fled during World War I, when Imperial Russian troops attacked, but returned after the battles of Tannenberg and at the Masurian lakes. English and Italian troops were deployed at the town after the Treaty of Versailles to supervise the[6] East Prussian plebiscite, which resulted 8,339 votes for Germany and 8 for Poland in Lyck. The town was reconstructed after suffering heavy damage from the Russian attack.
Lyck was again heavily destroyed by bombardments in World War II and was captured by the Soviet Union in 1945. The county of Lyck had 53,000 inhabitants when the Soviet Army approached in January 1945; 20% of the populace did not survive. The town was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and since then remains as part of Poland. It was rebuilt and renamed Ełk (before 1939, Polish names for the town included Łęg and Łęk). Only a few hundred German East Prussians were able to return and to remain, with Poles making up the majority of the new population.
Before World War II, the town and its surroundings were almost entirely (>95%) Lutheran.[9] After the German populace has been expelled, the main religion in Ełk is Roman Catholicism, although a number of Protestant churches are also represented and play an important role in the religious life of the population. These include the Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal (Assemblies of God - Kościół Zielonoświątkowy), Charismatic (Kościół Chrześcijański "Słowo Wiary" or Word of Faith Christian Church, with its Ełk congregation being probably one of the few local churches in Poland pastored by a woman, Ms Teresa Odolecka) and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.
Ełk is twinned with:
The current coat of arms of Ełk were adopted in 1999, after the town was visited by the Pope John Paul II. The colors have been changed (from green to yellow), the deer is different than in the former emblem. Lastly is the addition of the insignia of the Papacy.
Until 1967, a different emblem with the two-faced head of the god Janus was used, but its origin is unknown.[10]
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