Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town 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 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the

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 ar ...

(since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in

Olsztyn Voivodeship Olsztyn Voivodeship () was an administrative division and unit of local government in Poland in the years 1945–75, and a new territorial division between 1975–1998, superseded by Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Its capital city was Olsztyn. ...

(1975–1998). It is the capital of

Kętrzyn County __NOTOC__ Kętrzyn County ( pl, powiat kętrzyński) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland, on the border with Russia. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a resu ...

. The town was named after historian Wojciech Kętrzyński in 1946. The first settlement was established in 1329 and Rastenburg was granted town rights and privileges in 1357. Over the centuries it was part of the Teutonic State, Poland and

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 Germany. The town is known for the surrounding

Masurian Lakeland 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 Mas ...

and numerous monuments of historical value such as the

Wolf's Lair The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ost ...

in nearby Gierłoż, where an assassination attempt against

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

was made in 1944.

History

The original inhabitants of the region were the Balt tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

in his ''Germania'' (AD 98). The town, known in German as ''Rastenburg'' and in Polish as ''Rastembork'', was established in 1329 in the State of the Teutonic Knights and was granted town rights in 1357 by Henning Schindekop. After the

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

, in 1410, the mayor surrendered the town to Poland, however, it fell back to the Teutonic Knights in 1411. In 1440, the town joined the anti-Teutonic

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 ...

. dr Jerzy Sikorski, Historia miasta Kętrzyn Upon the request of the Confederation, 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 m ...

incorporated the region and town to 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 exi ...

in 1454. The town then recognized the Polish King as the rightful ruler and the townspeople sent their representative to

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

to pay homage to the King. After the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) the town was part of Poland 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 ...

held by the Teutonic Order's state and, from 1525 to 1701, it was part of the

Duchy of 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 establish ...

, a Polish fief until 1657. In the second half of the 17th century,

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...

constituted around a half of the town's population, the other half being

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. In 1667, a Polish church school was established. In 1701 the town became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and subsequently, in 1871, part of Germany. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

, from 1758 to 1762, the town was occupied by the Russians, in June 1807, throughout the

Napoleonic wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, the division of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski was stationed in the town. In the late 19th century a Polish Lutheran parish still existed in Rastenburg, despite the policy of

Germanisation 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 lin ...

conducted by the Prussian authorities. In the second half of the 19th century, a sugar factory, brewery and mill were built.

20th century

Rastenburg and the surrounding district was the scene of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the second month of World War I. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled a ...

and Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

's wartime military headquarters, the

Wolfsschanze The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ost ...

(Wolf's Lair), was in the forest east of Rastenburg. The bunker was the setting for the failed assassination attempt of the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

against Hitler. During the war, the Germans operated a

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

camp for

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in the town. In 1945, the area suffered devastation from both the retreating Germans and advancing Soviets during the Vistula-Oder campaign. Some ruins of the Wolfsschanze remain. The town was a

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

garrison town until it was occupied by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

on January 27, 1945. The largely abandoned town was heavily destroyed by the Soviets. After the war, the town was transferred to Poland under border changes promulgated at the

Potsdam Conference The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...

. Its surviving German residents who had not evacuated were subsequently expelled westward and replaced with

, most of whom were themselves expelled from the pre-war Polish

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territor ...

that was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and given to the

Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; lt, Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinė Respublika; russian: Литовская Советская Социалистическая Республика, Litovskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialistiche ...

. The town was given the historic Polish name ''Rastembork'' in 1945, and in 1946 it was renamed to ''Kętrzyn'' after the Polish historian, activist and patriot Wojciech Kętrzyński, who attended the local gymnasium in the years 1855-1859. After the war, the town's life was being rebuilt. In 1945, the Municipal Theater was established. Thanks to voluntary contributions, books were purchased for newly organized public libraries. A museum was created in the renovated castle.

Climate

Although it officially qualifies as an oceanic, defined as ''Cfb'' for

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...

(−3 °C isotherm), its averages are much closer to a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

, denoted as Dfb, being better defined like that. The climate of the city has a considerable thermal amplitude, but still with some not so pronounced influence of the sea.

Sports

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team is . It competes in the lower leagues.

People

Johann Dietrich von Hülsen Johann Dietrich von Hülsen (1 June 1693–29 May 1767) was a Prussian lieutenant general of the infantry. After a lifelong officer's career in various infantry regiments, he acquired the special respect of Frederick II in the Seven Years' W ...

(1693–1767), Prussian general *

Karl Bogislaus Reichert Karl Bogislaus Reichert (20 December 1811 – 21 December 1883) was a German anatomist, embryologist and histologist. Biography Reichert was born in Rastenburg (Kętrzyn), East Prussia. From 1831 he studied at the University of Konigsberg, wh ...

(1811–1883), German anatomist, embryologist and histologist. * Wojciech Kętrzyński (1838–1918), Polish historian and activist *

Elisabet Boehm Elisabet Boehm (''née'' Steppuhn) (27 September 1859 – 30 May 1943) was a German feminist, writer, founder of the first ''Landwirtschaftlichen Hausfrauenvereins'' ("Agricultural Housewives' Society") and the founder of the rural women's movemen ...

(1859–1943), German women's rights advocate * Arno Holz (1863–1929), German poet and dramatist *

Wilhelm Wien Wilhelm Carl Werner Otto Fritz Franz Wien (; 13 January 1864 – 30 August 1928) was a German physicist who, in 1893, used theories about heat and electromagnetism to deduce Wien's displacement law, which calculates the emission of a blackbod ...

(1864–1928), German physicist worked on blackbody radiation * Emma Döll (1873–1930), German politician (SPD/USPD/KPD) * Rüdiger von Heyking (1894–1956), German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

general *

Hanns Scharff Hanns-Joachim Gottlob Scharff (December 16, 1907 – September 10, 1992) was a German Luftwaffe interrogator during the Second World War. He has been called the "Master Interrogator" of the Luftwaffe, and possibly of all Nazi Germany; he has al ...

(1907–1992), German Luftwaffe interrogator internationally renowned for developing humane, effective interrogation techniques *

Waldemar Grzimek Waldemar Grzimek (December 5, 1918 – May 26, 1984) was a German sculptor. Grzimek was born in Rastenburg, East Prussia (now Kętrzyn, Warmia-Masuria) to a Silesian family, which moved to Berlin in 1925 when Grzimek's father Günther Grzim ...

(1918–1984), German sculptor * Siegfried Tiefensee (1922–2009), German composer * Dietrich von Bausznern (1928–1980), German composer, cantor, organist and music teacher * Marek Ziółkowski (born 1955), Polish diplomat * Krzysztof Kononowicz (born 1963), former candidate for the office of mayor of

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...

and

internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...

Piotr Lech Piotr Lech (born 18 June 1968 in Kętrzyn) is a Polish retired goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach, currently working with Ruch Chorzów youth teams. In 2018, he was announced as the Ruch Chorzów Ruch Chorzów () is a Polish association football ...

(born 1968), Polish footballer *

Krzysztof Raczkowski Krzysztof Raczkowski (29 October 1970 – 18 August 2005), also known as Docent or Doc, was a Polish drummer, best known as a member of Polish death metal bands Vader (1988–2005) and Dies Irae. He also appeared as a guest or temporary mu ...

(1970–2005), former musician and drummer of the Polish

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, fe ...

band Vader * Piotr Trafarski (born 1983), Polish footballer

Gallery

File:Zamek w Kętrzynie 2.jpg, Kętrzyn Castle File:Ratusz w Kętrzynie 001.jpg, Town Hall File:2008-02 Kętrzyn 06.jpg, Saint Catherine of Alexandria church File:Jezioro Kętrzyńskie.jpg, Kętrzyn Lake File:Kętrzyn św.Jana.jpg, Saint John church File:Ketrzyn widok z wiezy bazyliki 3.jpg,

seat File:KĘTRZYN, AB - 046.JPG, Train station File:KĘTRZYN, AB - 031.JPG, Tax office File:Kętrzyn, ul. Traugutta 27 (pałacyk).jpg, Old townhouses in the town center File:Ketrzyn Sikorskiego kamienice.jpg, Old townhouses in the town center File:Ketrzyn Dworcowa 1 (1).jpg, Former bank building File:K-pocztowa5-DSCN1228.jpg, Old house

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kętrzyn is twinned with: *

Volodymyr Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, Volodýmyr, , orv, Володимѣръ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrigho ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Zlaté Hory Zlaté Hory (; until 1948 Cukmantl, german: Zuckmantel) is a town in Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,600 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural mo ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

* Svetly,

Russia 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-ei ...

References

External links

Provinz Ostpreußen

Municipal webpage

Kętrzyn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ketrzyn Castles of the Teutonic Knights Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Kętrzyn County Populated places established in the 1320s