LET'S EXPLORE POLAND

Copyright 1998 by the AngloPol Corporation

This series will take us through the cities, towns, villages and countryside of Poland, 
as well as give us insights into the rich history and culture of the nation.

Part 28

NORTHEAST -- INTRODUCTION

Northeast Poland is especially attractive to those who enjoy an active holiday, who like water sports or close contact with nature, as well as those who are simply looking for peace and quiet. It is an area with many lakes and rivers, offering splendid conditions for sailing, wind surfing, canoeing, and water skiing. Amateur fishermen will find many smaller lakes and rivers teeming with various kinds of fish: eels, bream, perch, European catfish, crucian carp, burbot, bleak and much sought-after members of the salmon family, the lavaret and European whitefish.

Hunting expeditions are often organized in the extensive forests and woods, also offering photo-safaris for nature lovers and the chance to observe many species of birds in their natural habitat for bird-watchers. Many rare animals and birds can be found here, including elk, roe-deer, European bison, foxes, beavers, wolves, lynx, cormorants, swans, grey herons, cranes, ruffs, double snipe, and wood grouse. The most important areas from the viewpoint of the natural environment are protected in numerous nature reserves and three scenic parks.

It is easily possible to have a vacation in a fully furnished chalets in the Szczytno region, enjoy either summer or winter at Mragowo, canoe down the Krutynia river, take a boat trip through the Mazurian lakes and the Elblag Canal or have a pleasure cruise on the Vistula Bay with visits to interesting ports. make an excursions to the attractive towns of the region. The visitor can also enjoy picnics, camp-fire excursions and britzka rides, visits a nature reserve and stud farm, and hire a motorboat, sailboat, canoe or ice-boat.

Although the scenery and natural environment bring most people to Northeast Poland for summer vacations, the region is equally attractive in other seasons of the year. In autumn, there is the hunting season and the opportunity to pick fruit and mushrooms in the woods. In winter, when the smooth surface of the lakes is covered with ice and a thick carpet of snow lies on the ground, there are excellent conditions for ice-boating, skating and cross-country skiing. A few years ago the region hosted the world ice-boating championships and an international sailing competition.

In addition to the natural splendors of the region, one can also find magnificent historic buildings, museums and other sites linked with major historical events. There are also interesting cultural events, including the Festival of Sung Poetry at Olsztyn in July, the International Ballroom dancing Competition at Olsztyn in May, and the "Country Picnic," which has already become a tradition at Mragowo in August.

THE LAKE DISTRICT

The Polish lake district stretches in a long belt from the Vistula valley in the West to the Soviet border in the North and East. To the South, the region borders on the Podlasie Plain and Mazovian Plain.

It is no exaggeration to describe the whole of Northeast Poland as one great lake district, although it is subdivided into smaller units, each with its own scenic features. The changing relief of the land contours, the astonishing variety of the forms, the multiplicity of hills, ridges and depressions remains from the last glacial period on Polish territory. These forms are still relatively young and have not been much eroded by later processes. The best preserved post-glacial relief contours can be found to the North of Suwalki, in the area of the Suwalki Scenic Park.

The second typical element in the scenery of this district are the lakes, which are relics of the Scandinavian glacier. There are more than 3,000 of them, and half have a surface area of more than one hectare. They are usually beautifully set among hills and forests, like jewels against a dark green mounting. Extremely varied in shape, their shores are broken by a multitude of inlets and peninsulas. Gully lakes are very common, filling the elongated depressions that were washed out by the glacial waters. Lakes of this kind, and in particular the large lakes of the Great Mazurian Lake District, are especially popular among sailors. Many of the lakes are linked by rivers and canals to form a whole system of water routes that offer superb conditions for water sports and vacations.

The lakes are not, of course, spread evenly over the area. The major districts are the Ilawa-Ostroda Lake District, the Brodnica Lake District, the Olsztyn Lake District, the Great Mazurian Lake District, the Elk Lake District and the Suwalki Lake District.

Forests form a third important element in the make-up of the area's scenery, composed of coniferous and mixed forests, containing a wide variety of types of trees. There are three principal dense and extensive forest areas: the Pisz Forest, the Augustow Forest and the forests that lie between Olszynek and Szczytno. The beautiful Romincka Forest, the Borecka Forest and the woods in the Ilawa-Ostroda Lake District are all much smaller wooded areas.

These forest, lakes and hills combine to provide scenery of great charm, which is never monotonous, but is always surprising in its variety. At every step, the beauty of nature is evident here, in a form that has been little changed by the activities of man.

REGIONAL HISTORY

From ancient times until the early Middle Ages, the region was inhabited by the tribes of Prussians and Jatzvingians, who gradually came to present a growing threat to the area of Mazovia. It was for this reason that in the first half of 13th century, prince Conrad of Mazovia invited the Order of Teutonic Knights, with their characteristic white robes and black crosses. Under the guise of a campaign to convert the heathens, they soon began a bloody conquest of the Prussian and Jatzvingian areas that lasted until the end of the century. A powerful religious state with its headquarters at Malbork was then established on the territories that the Knights had won. At the same time, many newcomers from the Chelmno, Mazovia and Podlasie areas arrived to settle. The eastern part of the region, which had been almost entirely depopulated by the activities of the Teutonic Knights, was to be covered with forest for several centuries.

The battle of Grunwald, fought in 1410 between the Teutonic Knights and the joint armies of Poland, Lithuania and Rus, under the command of the Polish king, Ladislaus Jagiello, was of major significance for the history of the region. The defeat which the Teutonic Knights suffered at Grunwald marked the beginning of the fall of one of Poland's most dangerous enemies. From this time on, anti-Teutonic sentiments increased, and led to the outbreak of an uprising and a further war between Poland and the Order. Under the terms of the Treaty of Torun (1466), which concluded this war, the historic region of Warmia became part of Poland. The last war with the Teutonic Order lasted from 1519 to 1521, and finally in 1525 Albrecht Hohenzollern paid homage at Krakow to the King of Poland, Sigismund I the Old, and the Knight's religious state became a secular unit.

From the second half of the 16th century until the third partition of Poland in 1795, the bishopric of Warmia remained in Polish hands, while Ducal Prussia passed to the rule of the Hohenzollernes of Brandenburg. After the Peace of Torun, Polish settlers began to make their way into Mazuria. From the early 18th century, Polish settlement was restricted by an order of the King of Prussia, but, nonetheless, the Polish element in the population remained predominant for many years to come, especially in the countryside. After the first partition in 1772, Warmia was also absorbed into the Prussian state. Various measures were thereafter taken by the partitioning power to increase Germanization, barring the teaching of the Polish language in schools and the saying of Mass in Polish.

The second half of the 19th century was a period of particularly strong attempts at Germanization, although the large numbers of the Polish population, and the resilience of national traditions reinforced by the activities of a large number of social and cultural organizations, considerably reduced the effectiveness of this campaign. In this period, Olsztyn, Elk and Gizycko were the main centers of Polish nationalism, and the greatest services in the cause of a Polish Warmia and Mazuria were performed by Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongowiusz, Gustaw Gizewiusz, Wojciech Ketrzynski and the Pieniezny family.

During the First World War, a great battle was fought near Olsztynek between the German forces and the army commanded by the Tsarist General Samsonov. In 1920, a plebiscite was held in Warmia and Mazuria, as a result of which these areas remained part of Germany, although the Suwalki and Augustow regions were within the Polish frontiers from 1918. In the interwar period there was renewed enthusiasm for the organization of activities of social, cultural and economic associations, which were fighting to ensure that the local population retained its Polish character.

During the Second World War, leading Polish activists were persecuted, the majority being killed in concentration camps and prisons. The Soviet army defeated the German forces in these territories during the first months of 1945.

Despite major war damage suffered by the region, it has been completely rebuilt and is undergoing an economic revival. Many of the towns have become major industrial center and agriculture produces good results, even though soil and climatic conditions are not ideal. Alongside these developments, tourism has also played an important role, making use of the unique scenic and holiday possibilities of the lake district region.