Orneta
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Orneta (, Prussian: ''Wurmedītin'') is a town in northern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, with a total population of 8,951 (2016). It is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and within the historical region of
Warmia Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...
.


History

Orneta, said to have been a village of the ancient
Old Prussians Old Prussians, Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians were a Balts, Baltic people that inhabited the Prussia (region), region of Prussia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula Lagoon to the west and the Curonian Lagoon ...
, was first mentioned in 1308. The town coat of arms depicts the ''worm'' (English: worm,
dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
; German: Worms, Wurm as in
Tatzelwurm In the folklore of the Alpine region of south-central Europe, the ''Tatzelwurm'' (), ''Stollenwurm'', or ''Stollwurm'' is a lizard-like creature, often described as having the face of a cat, with a serpent-like body which may be slender or stubb ...
, Lindworm). The bishop of Warmia Eberhard von Neiße ordered the building of a new town which received town rights in 1313 and was mainly populated by settlers from
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
. In 1341–1350, it was the seat of the Bishops of Warmia. In 1440, the town joined the anti-Teutonic
Prussian Confederation The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...
, at the request of which Polish King
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...
signed the act of incorporation of the region and town into the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
in 1454. In 1538 Orneta was visited by astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
, who accompanied the newly elected Warmian bishop, Polish diplomat Jan Dantyszek during his tour of Warmia. The town was annexed by the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
in the
First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
in 1772, and subsequently it became part of Germany in 1871. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Germans established three
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for 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, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
camps in the town. After Germany's defeat in the war, the town became again part of Poland. In May 2010, a procession with the coffin of
Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...
stopped in Orneta and official ceremonies took place before the great astronomer was buried again in
Frombork Frombork (; ) is a town in northern Poland, situated on the Vistula Lagoon in Braniewo County, within Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 2,260. The town was first mentioned in a 13th-century document. In the ...
.


Legend of the dragon

According to some legend, many ages ago there lived a dragon that devoured not only animals, but also women and children. Many knights who tried to set the town free from the disaster were killed in a struggle with the monster. At last one of the knights managed to combat the dragon. Reminiscences of the legend are reflected in Orneta's crest. The oldest image of the crest is known from the sealing wax on the document from 1388. It represents the dragon biting its own tail. In the frame of the seal there is only a fragment of an inscription which says" S.BV.MDIT." However, on the seals from the 15th century, a juridical seal from the 16th century as well as the seal of the town secretary from 18th century there is the dragon coiled, lying on its own back.


Sports

The local football club is . It competes in the lower leagues.


Gallery

Kościół parafialny pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela w Ornecie (miasto)A-185 -Magkrys.JPG, Saint John the Baptist church ( Gothic) Orneta, Plac Wolności 1,3,5 kamienice.jpg, Old townhouses at the Freedom Square (''Plac Wolności'') Orneta, kamienica.JPG, Old townhouses at the Freedom Square Orneta, ulica 1 Maja - kapliczka przydrożna - panoramio.jpg, Typical Warmian wayside shrine


Notable residents

* Petrus Zwicker (died 1403), cleric * Krzysztof Jotko (born 1989), mixed martial artist


References


External links


Orneta's unofficial website

Orneta's official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship Lidzbark County Populated riverside places in Poland Warmia