Ełk (; former pl, Łek; german: Lyck;

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid c ...

: ''Luks''; lt, Lukas), also spelled Elk in English, is a small city in northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

with 61,677 inhabitants as of December 2021. It was assigned to

Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship or Warmia-Masuria Province or Warmia-Mazury Province (in pl, Województwo warmińsko-mazurskie, is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn. The voivodeship has an are ...

in 1999, after belonging to

Suwałki Voivodeship Suwałki Voivodeship () was an administrative division and local government in Poland from 1975 to 1998. In 1999 the Voidvodeship was divided in half and reassigned to two other Voivodeships – the eastern half to Podlaskie Voivodeship and the we ...

from 1975 to 1998. Ełk is the seat of

Ełk County __NOTOC__ Ełk County ( pl, powiat ełcki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government re ...

. It lies on the shore of Ełk Lake, which was formed by a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

, and is surrounded by extensive forests. It is the largest city and unofficial capital of historical

Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

. One of the principal attractions in the area is legal hunting.

History

Middle Ages

The area where the town of Ełk is located was originally inhabited by Jatvingians, a

Baltic peoples The Balts or Baltic peoples ( lt, baltai, lv, balti) are an ethno-linguistic group of peoples who speak the Baltic languages of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. One of the features of Baltic languages is the number o ...

, during the

early middle ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. By 1281, Skomand (Lithuanian: ''Skalmantas'') the last leader of the pagan Jatvingians, capitulated to the

crusading The First Crusade inspired the crusading movement, which became an important part of late medieval western culture. The movement influenced the Church, politics, the economy, society and created a distinct ideology that described, regulated, a ...

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

, who initially were invited in 1226 by

Konrad I of Masovia Konrad I of Masovia (ca. 1187/88 – 31 August 1247), from the Polish Piast dynasty, was the sixth Duke of Masovia and Kuyavia from 1194 until his death as well as High Duke of Poland from 1229 to 1232 and again from 1241 to 1243. Life Konrad was ...

from the Polish

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branch ...

to put an end to the constant pagan raids into his territory. After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the

Komtur Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mili ...

ship of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squar ...

, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Komturship

Balga Balga (russian: замок Бальга; german: Burg Balga; lt, Balga; pl, Balga) was a medieval castle of the Teutonic Knights in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The castle ruins are located on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon, north of Mamonov ...

. A former

settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around a castle built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's name has various postulated origins. Its German version ''Lyck'' is postulated to be derived from its

name, ''Luks'' (from the word for waterlily, ''luka''), while another theory holds that the name comes from Polish word "łęg" meaning meadow. It received its

town rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1445. After the outbreak of the Thirteen Years' War in 1454, the town sided with the

Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (german: Preußischer Bund, pl, Związek Pruski) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Kwidzyn (then officially ''Marienwerder'') by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the a ...

, at whose request the Polish King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the mo ...

announced the incorporation of the region into the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exis ...

, which resulted in Lyck becoming part of the Polish state.Robert Klimowicz, ''Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic'', Ełk, 2009, p. 56 The town was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455, and later on, it was conquered alternately by the Poles and the Teutonic Knights. After 1466 it came under Polish suzerainty as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

Modern era

In 1537, Duke

Albert of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secu ...

donated an estate to Jan Malecki, a Polish printer from

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

who had either fled or moved to

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (german: Herzogtum Preußen, pl, Księstwo Pruskie, lt, Prūsijos kunigaikštystė) or Ducal Prussia (german: Herzogliches Preußen, link=no; pl, Prusy Książęce, link=no) was a duchy in the region of Prussia establishe ...

for material reasons, to establish a printing house. After converting to Lutheranism, Malecki translated and published

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutheranis ...

Small Catechism ''Luther's Small Catechism'' (german: Der Kleine Katechismus) is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Pra ...

in Polish In 1546 the first school for secondary education in

was founded in the city, where Polish nobles from the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania rul ...

, as well as Poles and Germans from Ducal Prussia were taught in Polish; the position of a Polish teacher remained in place until 1819. Polish pastor, translator, publisher and co-creator of the literary Polish language, Hieronim Malecki, was the school's first

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. In the mid-16th century Lyck was one of the most thriving centers of Polish-language printing. In 1639 the King of Poland

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

visited the town. It remained under Polish suzerainty until 1660. In 1709-10, the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

claimed 1,300 victims.
In 1831, 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852. Altes Gymnasium Lyck (1830)

In 1825, Lyck was inhabited by 1,748 Germans and 1,394 Poles. At the beginning of the 19th century, a Polish-language school was organised in the city by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz In 1820, Fryderyk Tymoteusz Krieger became the superintendent of the school and actively defended the rights of local Poles to use the Polish language. Kireger also prepared Polish educational programs, in opposition to attempts at

Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In li ...

by Prussian authorities. In 1840, the German-language newspaper ''"Lycker gemeinnütziges Unterhaltungsblatt"'', later called ''"Lycker Zeitung"'', was founded. Between 1842 and 1845, a Masurian newspaper ''"Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki"'' (Łek's Friend of the People) was printed in the city, whose aim was to resist Germanisation and cultivate Polish folk traditions as well as educate the local rural population. Ełk - Szkoła 1 i 2

In May 1845, a Polish resistance movement in the city was organized by Kazmierz Szulc, whose aim was to prepare local Polish youth for an uprising. In 1885 Lyck was named capital of Masuria by the ''

Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavic Countries ( pl, Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich) is a monumental Polish gazetteer, published 1880–1902 in Warsaw Warsaw ( pl ...

''. In the late 19th century it was the largest town of the region (according to data from 1880 and 1890), before being surpassed by Osterode (Ostróda) (according to data from 1905 and 1925). Lyck

From 1896 to 1902, ''"Gazeta Ludowa"'', a Polish-language newspaper, heavily subsidised by banks from

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city ...

representing the Polish national movement in Masuria, was published in the city. It soon faced repression and discrimination from the German authorities which led to its demise; its paid circulation dropped from 357 copies in 1896 to less than 250 at the turn-of-the-century. According to German-American author, Richard Blanke, the "demise marked the end of the second major effort by Polish nationalists to establish a journalistic foothold in Masuria". Ełk

In 1896, Polish and Masurian activists founded the Masurian People's Party in the city, which sought to resist efforts of German authorities at forced Germanization. The co-founder of the party was poet Michał Kajka, today honoured in Ełk with a monument in the centre of the city. From the start, the party was subject to severe repressions and attacks by Prussian authorities. In the German federal elections, the MPL received 229 votes in 1898 and 20 in 1912 in the Lyck constituency. 25pfg lyck

In 1910, Lyck had more than 13,000 inhabitants. Mateusz Siuchniński gives the percentage of Poles in 1900 as 35.7% but warns that the numbers come from lowered German estimates. Many citizens fled during World War I, when

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

troops attacked the region, but returned after the battles of Tannenberg and the

Masurian Lakes The Masurian Lake District or Masurian Lakeland ( pl, Pojezierze Mazurskie; german: Masurische Seenplatte) is a lake district in northeastern Poland within the geographical region of Masuria, in the past inhabited by Masurians who spoke the Masuri ...

. English and Italian troops were deployed in the town after the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

to supervise the East Prussian plebiscite, which resulted in 8,339 votes for Germany and 8 for

. It was in Lyck that the first-ever weekly newspaper in the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

language, Ha-Magid ("the preacher") was founded in 1856 by Eliezer Lipmann Silbermann, a local rabbi. The paper was eventually moved to Berlin. In

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

anti-Semitism became prevalent, which led to persecution of the local Jewish population even before the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

took power. An anti-Semitic publication, ''Die jüdische Überlegenheit'' (''The Jewish Supremacy'') attacking the Jews circulated in 1927 at a local gathering of fascist sympathizers In 1932, the local pharmacist Leo Frankenstein was attacked; a hand grenade was thrown into his home.Ełk History The wave of anti-Semitic repressions intensified after Nazis gained power in Germany in 1933 and many local merchants and intellectuals of Jewish descent were arrested. During

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

, Jewish shops and synagogue were plundered and devastated in the town. Facing these events, several Jews of Lyck decided to escape, some abroad, some to Berlin, others as far as

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

Of those Jews who remained, 80 were murdered in various Nazi concentration and death camps. The city also was the site of German prison camps for Norwegian and Soviet PoWs during World War II. It was heavily damaged by bombardments. The county of Lyck had 53,000 inhabitants when the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

approached in January 1945. The town was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and its German inhabitants were dispossessed and forcibly expelled. It was rebuilt and renamed Ełk (before 1939, Polish names for the town included ''Łek'', ''Łęg'' and ''Łęk''). In 1999, Ełk was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. About 300,000 people attended a papal Mass. In 2017, the

anti-Muslim Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

Ełk riots occurred. Several hundred men surrounded the ''Prince Kebab'' restaurant,Zawadzka, Anna. "Drinking vodka with anti-Semites. A case study of ‘Polish-Jewish relations’ today." Adeptus 11 (2018): 1-23.
/ref>Tunisian charged over Poland stabbing that sparked riot
BBC, 2 January 2017 tossing firecrackers, stones, and

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...

s at the shop. Police initially stood by and did not intervene for several hours; however, when they did intervene the crowd turned against them as well. Following the riots in Ełk, other attacks on

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...

restaurants took place throughout Poland.Died by the kebab knife

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ''NRC Handelsblad'' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. It is generally accepted as a newspaper of record in the Netherlands. History ''NRC Handelsblad'' was first published on ...

, 29 December 2017, Roeland Termote & Pieter van Os In 2018, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, a monument to

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wa ...

was erected in front of the town hall. The Marshal of Poland was also honored with a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanis ...

on one of the townhouses in the city center.

Historical population

In year 1832, the county of Ełk (including the town) had 32663 inhabitants, including (by

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

): 29246 (~90%) Polish, 3413 (~10%) German and 4 Lithuanian.

Population

Number of inhabitants by year

Note that the above table is based on primary, possibly biased, sources:Historical Jewish Press website
retrieved May 21, 2014.August Eduard Preuß: ''Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde''. Königsberg 1835
pp. 454–455, no. 65.
/ref> Johann Friedrich Goldbeck: ''Volständige Topographie des Königreichs Preussen''. Part I: ''Topographie von Ost-Preussen'', Marienwerder 1785
p. 39, no. 2.
/ref>

Demographic changes

ImageSize = width:800 height:300 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:65000 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:2000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:20 align:left bar:1910 from:0 till:13428 bar:1925 from:0 till:15159 bar:1939 from:0 till:16243 bar:1946 from:0 till:6104 bar:1950 from:0 till:13665 bar:1955 from:0 till:19478 bar:1960 from:0 till:21952 bar:1965 from:0 till:24472 bar:1970 from:0 till:27400 bar:1975 from:0 till:31958 bar:1980 from:0 till:38175 bar:1985 from:0 till:44195 bar:1990 from:0 till:52430 bar:1995 from:0 till:54991 bar:2000 from:0 till:56610 bar:2005 from:0 till:56120 bar:2010 from:0 till:57897 bar:2015 from:0 till:60462 bar:2020 color:cobar2 from:0 till:61903 bar:2021 from:0 till:61677 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1910 at: 13428 text: 13.428 shift:(-15,5) bar:1925 at: 15159 text: 15.159 shift:(-15,5) bar:1939 at: 16243 text: 16.243 shift:(-15,5) bar:1946 at: 6104 text: 6.104 shift:(-15,5) bar:1950 at: 13665 text: 13.665 shift:(-15,5) bar:1955 at: 19478 text: 19.478 shift:(-15,5) bar:1960 at: 21952 text: 21.952 shift:(-15,5) bar:1965 at: 24472 text: 24.472 shift:(-15,5) bar:1970 at: 27400 text: 27.400 shift:(-15,5) bar:1975 at: 31958 text: 31.958 shift:(-15,5) bar:1980 at: 38175 text: 38.175 shift:(-15,5) bar:1985 at: 44195 text: 44.195 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at: 52430 text: 52.430 shift:(-15,5) bar:1995 at: 54991 text: 54.991 shift:(-15,5) bar:2000 at: 56610 text: 56.610 shift:(-15,5) bar:2005 at: 56120 text: 56.120 shift:(-15,5) bar:2010 at: 57897 text: 57.897 shift:(-15,5) bar:2015 at: 60462 text: 60.462 shift:(-15,5) bar:2020 at: 61903 text: 61.903 shift:(-15,5) bar:2021 at: 61677 text: 61.677 shift:(-15,5)

Districts

The city of Ełk is divided into 13 administrative units, known in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...

as '' osiedla'': * Baranki * Centrum * Jeziorna * Konieczki * Osiedle Bogdanowicza * Osiedle Grunwaldzkie * Osiedle Kochanowskiego * Osiedle Tuwima * Osiedle Wczasowe * Pod Lasem * Północ I * Północ II * Szyba * Zatorze

Notable people

* Arthur Ludwich (1840–1920) a German classical philologist who specialized in Homeric studies * Charles Edward Moldenke (1860–1935) was an American Lutheran minister and

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

* Theodor Simon Flatau (1860–1937), German physician * Karol Bahrke (1868–1935), Polish activist, journalist and book publisher *

Otto von Schrader __NOTOC__ Otto von Schrader (18 March 1888 – 19 July 1945) was a German admiral during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. As a U-boat commander during World War I, he was credited with the sinkin ...

(1888–1945), German admiral * Theodor Horydczak (1889–1971), American photographer * Alfred Müller (1905–1959) a German middle-distance runner, competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

* Kurt Symanzik (1923–1983), German physicist * Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014), German author, born in Lyck; honorary citizen of Ełk since 2011. * Klaus Gerwien (born 1940), German soccer player * Leszek Błażyński (1949–1992), Polish boxer * Roman Czepe (born 1956), Polish politician * Andrzej Zgutczyński (born 1958), Polish footballer * Dariusz Zgutczyński (born 1965), Polish footballer * Cezary Zamana (born 1967), Polish cyclist * Paweł Sobolewski (born 1979), Polish footballer *

Tomasz Abramowicz Tomasz Abramowicz (born 15 February 1979 in Ełk) is a Polish footballer who currently plays as a midfielder or forward for Victoria Czermin. Football career Abramowicz began his career as a trainee with Stal Mielec. He made his Ekstraklasa ...

(born 1979), Polish footballer

Mayors

* Adam Puza (1990–1994) * Zdzisław Fadrowski (1994–2002) * Janusz Nowakowski (2002–2006) * Tomasz Andrukiewicz (since 2006)

Education

Wyzsze Seminarium Duchowne w Ełku 2012 micbor

* Private Economic Academy *

Nursery School A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

* Higher Catholic Seminary

High schools

Zespół Szkół Ekonomicznych

Zespół Szkół Mechaniczno - Elektrycznych

Zespół Szkół nr 1
* Zespół Szkół nr 2 im. K. K. Baczyńskiego
swww
* Zespół Szkół nr 3 im. J. H. Małeckich
www
* I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. S. Żeromskiego
www
* Zespół Szkół Rolniczych im. M. Rataja
Zespół Szkół Samorządowych
* Zespół Szkół nr.6 im. M. Rataj
(www)

Religion

Before World War II, the town and its surroundings were almost entirely (>95%)

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

. After the German populace fled or was expelled, the main religion in Ełk became

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, although a number of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...

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 The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

- ''Kościół Zielonoświątkowy'') and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Ełk is twinned with: *

Galatone Galatone (Griko: translit. ) is a town and ''comune'' located in Salento, in the province of Lecce (Apulia, southern Italy), the former seat of the Marquess of Galatone. It is one of the most populous towns of the province where the Greek dial ...

, Italy *

Lørenskog is a municipality in Akershus in Viken county, Norway. A suburb of Oslo, it is part of the Oslo urban area and the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lørenskog. Lørenskog was separ ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...

* Nettetal, Germany *

Alytus Alytus is a city with municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the capital of Alytus County. Its population in 2022 was 53,925. Alytus is the historical centre of the Dzūkija region. The city lies on the banks of the Nemunas River. The ma ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

Orbassano Orbassano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin. Orbassano borders the following municipalities: Turin, Rivoli, Rivalta di Torino, Beinasco, Nichelino ...

, Italy Former twin towns: * Ozyorsk,

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

Lida Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuan ...

, Belarus In March 2022, Ełk ended its partnership with the Russian city of Ozyorsk as a reaction to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Coat of arms

The current coat of arms of Ełk were adopted in 1999, after the town was visited by the

. The colors have been changed (from green to yellow), the

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the rei ...

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 In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

was used, but its origin is unknown.

Gallery

File:Gmina Ełk Ełk ul.3 maja 8.JPG, Baptist church File:Ełk - Ratusz.jpg, Town hall File:PL Ełk panorama.jpg, Bridge on the Ełk Lake File:Ełk CK 1 31.08.2016-4 skal.jpg, Polish War Cemetery File:Ełk Piłsudski 13.11.2018 B.jpg,

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wa ...

monument File:Ełk - dworzec kolejowy po renowacji 2014.JPG, Ełk railway station File:Ełk, kolej wąskotorowa.JPG, The Ełk

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

station File:Ełk Małeckich 08.11.2016-1 skal.jpg, Solidarity Park at night File:Ełk AK 03.05.2016-1.jpg, Armii Krajowej Street (''Ulica Armii Krajowej'') File:Ełk AK 29.03.2015 C-SL.jpg, Technical school File:Ełk scena 29.06.2015.jpg, John Paul II Square File:Obwodnica Ełku.jpg, Ełk bypass route File:Stadion elk.JPG, City Stadium File:Ełk szpital 20.04.2014 skal.jpg, Shopping mall File:Ełk Szyba 24.09.2017-1s.jpg, Southern districts of Szyba and Jeziorna

References

External links

Municipal website

Ełk information

Jewish community of Ełk
on Virtual Shtetl

Google satellite photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elk Populated places established in the 14th century Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Holocaust locations in Poland