Olecko (former since 1560, colloquially also , since 1928, lt, Alėcka) is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, located in Masuria near Ełk and Suwałki. It is situated at the mouth of the Lega river which flows into the

Great Olecko Lake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

(''Jezioro Oleckie Wielkie'') on its south-western shore. Olecko is the seat of Olecko County.

History

''Marggrabowa'' was founded as a town by Albert, Duke of Prussia, a vassal of Poland, on January 1, 1560. The town's first wójt was Adam Wojdowski The town's name was derived from the word ''Margrabia'' (Polish for Margrave), the duke's title as the margraviate of

Brandenburg-Ansbach The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg-)Ansbach (german: Fürstentum Ansbach or ) was a principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling House of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern princes of the land ...

's prince, by adding the

suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...

"-owa", which is typical in Poland for place names derived from personal names and titles. The town's coat of arms still reflects the Brandenburg red eagle and the

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

black and white which go back to Duke Albert. The populace became Lutheran-Protestant within the Duchy of Prussia in 1525. The predominantly Polish population of the town used the Polish name ''Olecko''.''Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich'', Tom VI, Warsaw, 1885, p. 114, 116 (in Polish) At the present location of the town there had been a hunting lodge called ''Olecko'' since 1544. In 1619, at a peninsula towards the lake, across the Lega river, the Castle of Olecko (''Schloss Oletzko'') was established as a regional administrative seat for the

Dukes of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

. The town remained under Polish suzerainty until 1657 when the Duchy of Prussia became independent. In 1701 it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, and in 1871 part of

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. In 1807 Polish soldiers under command of

Jan Henryk Dąbrowski Jan Henryk Dąbrowski (; also known as Johann Heinrich Dąbrowski (Dombrowski) in German and Jean Henri Dombrowski in French; 2 August 1755 – 6 June 1818) was a Polish general and statesman, widely respected after his death for his patri ...

were stationed in the town during Napoleon's campaign against Prussia. It was believed that both the town and most of Masuria region would eventually be part of the Polish state. Between 1818 and 1945, Marggrabowa was the seat of ''Oletzko County'' (German: ''Kreis Oletzko'') in the province of

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. In 1825 half of the inhabitants of Oletzko didn't use the German language, and in 1836 the local priesthood organized a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

in Oletzko which protested against Germanization measures. However, during the second half of the 19th century the proportion of German speakers increased.

20th century

In 1920, after Poland regained independent existence following World War I, a plebiscite was to be held in the area by the League of Nations, according to the Treaty of Versailles, to determine the future of the region and the town. In Oletzko pro-German militiamen attacked Polish activists. In the town, the July 1920 League of Nations plebiscite for the

Allenstein Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

district of Masuria resulted in 3,903 votes for Germany and none for Poland. As a result, the town was renamed Treuburg (lit.: ''loyal castle'') in 1928. After World War II the town was placed under Polish administration under territorial changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference in July-August 1945. The German population of the town was expelled and gradually replaced by Polish settlers.

Sights

In the northern part of the town's market square, a Catholic church is situated on a tree-covered hill.

Transport

The Train Station in the western part of town is a regional railway junction: there were main lines to Gołdap, Ełk and Suwałki. The local railway connections to Mieruniszki, Kruklanki and Sulejki are out of service or dismantled. Currently, only bus service runs from the train station.

Education

Wszechnica Mazurska

Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. Jana Kochanowskiego

Notable residents

Gustav Bergenroth Gustav Adolf Bergenroth (26 February 1813 – 13 February 1869) was a German historian. Life He was born at Oletzko, in East Prussia, on 26 February 1813. From his father, the magistrate of the town, a stubborn and incorruptible patriot, he rec ...

(1813-1869), German historian *

Kurt Blumenfeld Kurt Blumenfeld (May 29, 1884 – May 21, 1963) was a German-born Zionist from Marggrabowa, East Prussia. He was the secretary general of the World Zionist Organization from 1911 to 1914. He died in Jerusalem. He had served as secretary of ...

(1884–1963), Zionist *

Arthur Zimmermann Arthur Zimmermann (5 October 1864 – 6 June 1940) was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from 22 November 1916 until his resignation on 6 August 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram during World War ...

(1864–1940), diplomat, author of the Zimmermann Telegram *

Bartosz Romańczuk Bartosz Romańczuk (born October 28, 1983, in Olecko) is a Polish footballer (midfielder) playing currently for Motor Lublin. Career Club In June 2010, Romańczuk joined ŁKS Łódź ŁKS Łódź (''Łódzki Klub Sportowy Łódź''; ) ...

(born 1983), Polish footballer

International relations

Twin towns — sister cities

Olecko is twinned with: * Jõhvi, Estonia

References

External links

Municipal website of Olecko (en)(pl)

Website of Olecko (pl)

iOlecko - news, events, history, photos from Olecko (pl)
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Olecko County it:Olecko