Olecko

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}}Template:Main other Olecko Template:IPAc-pl (former Template:Langx since 1560, colloquially also {{#if:De-Oletzko.oga|{{#ifexist:Media:De-Oletzko.oga|<phonos file="De-Oletzko.oga">Oletzko</phonos>|{{errorTemplate:Main other|Audio file "De-Oletzko.oga" not found}}Template:Category handler}}}}, {{#if:De-Treuburg.oga|{{#ifexist:Media:De-Treuburg.oga|<phonos file="De-Treuburg.oga">Treuburg</phonos>|{{errorTemplate:Main other|Audio file "De-Treuburg.oga" not found}}Template:Category handler}}}} since 1928) is a town in northeastern Poland. It is in Masuria, near Ełk and Suwałki, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is at the mouth of the Lega river which flows into the Great Olecko Lake (Jezioro Oleckie Wielkie) on its southwestern shore. Olecko is the seat of Olecko County.

HistoryEdit

File:Olecko kamienica 005.jpg

Historic houses in the town centre

Since the 1540s, there was a hunting lodge on the Lega River, soon expanded into a castle, and a settlement, both called Olecko.<ref name=aw74>Template:Cite book</ref> Margrabowa was founded as a town by Albert, Duke of Prussia, a vassal of Poland, on January 1, 1560.<ref name=aw75>Wakar, p. 75</ref> The name was derived from the word Margrabia (Polish for Margrave), the duke's title as the margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach's prince, by adding the suffix "-owa", which is typical in Poland for place names derived from personal names and titles.<ref name=aw75/> The town's coat of arms still reflects the Brandenburg red eagle and the Hohenzollern black and white which go back to Duke Albert. The town's first wójt was Adam Wojdowski.<ref>Prace Białostockiego Towarzystwa Naukowego, Issue 21, Białostockie Towarzystwo Naukowe/Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, p. 227, 1975</ref> Wojdowski brought Poles from Mazovia and Masuria to settle the town.<ref name=aw75/> Already in 1560, the new residents appointed a town council and municipal court and selected fellow Pole Stanisław Milewski as the first mayor.<ref>Wakar, p. 76</ref> As of 1600, the population was exclusively Polish.<ref name=aw75/> The Poles referred to the town by its older Polish name Olecko.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1616, the seat of the local starosts was definitively moved from Straduny to Olecko.<ref name=aw74/>

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. 922 people died during the Great Northern War plague outbreak in 1710.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In June 1807, Polish soldiers of General Józef Zajączek took Olecko, then left the town to be replaced by the 2nd Infantry Regiment of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski.<ref name=aw114>Wakar, p. 114</ref> Dąbrowski himself visited the town several times.<ref name=aw114/> It was believed that both the town and the Masuria region would eventually be part of the restored Polish state after the defeat of Prussia.<ref name=aw114/> In June 1812, the IV Cavalry Corps of the French Army with the Polish 4th Light Cavalry Division marched through the town towards Moscow.<ref>Wakar, p. 115</ref> Between 1818 and 1945, Marggrabowa became the seat of Oletzko County (German: Kreis Oletzko) in the province of East Prussia.

File:Olecko Wieża Ciśnień 001.jpg

Water tower, built in 1907

From the beginning of the 19th century, the Prussian authorities launched attempts to Germanize the population, as Poles made up 90% of the county's population as of 1818.<ref>Wakar, p. 122</ref> Germanization at first was pursued because of a fear of Polonization in Masuria since the German languages' status was fragile in the region, but in the aftermath of November Uprising the Prussian government took a more hardline approach, proclaiming that all pupils must learn German in school. In 1836, the local priesthood organized a synod in the town which protested against Germanization policies.<ref>Wakar, pp. 122–127</ref> The synod's protest was signed by all the pastors in the county, and its arguments were later used by the well-known defenders of the Polish language in Masuria, Gustaw Gizewiusz and Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius.<ref name=aw127>Wakar, p. 127</ref> The protests were successful, however, the campaign of Germanization was resumed in 1865 and later intensified.<ref name=aw127/> As a result, during the second half of the 19th century the proportion of German speakers increased.<ref>Zabytkowe ośrodki miejskie Warmii i Mazur Lucjan Czubiel, Tadeusz Domagała Pojezierze, p. 229, 1969</ref>

During World War I, the city was occupied by the Russian army during the Russian invasion of East Prussia, and then again from 6 November 1914 to 12 February 1915.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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, a German mob dispersed a Polish public meeting at the market square and beat up gathered Polish activists.<ref name=aw151>Wakar, p. 151</ref> On the day of the plebiscite, July 11, 1920, a crowd of Germans chanting anti-Polish slogans marched to cast their votes.<ref name=aw151/> In turn, many Polish supporters boycotted the plebiscite, considering it a farce, and also because they feared German threats of revenge.<ref name=aw151/> The plebiscite in the town resulted in 3,903 votes for Germany and none for Poland.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a result, the town was renamed Treuburg (lit.: loyal castle) in 1928.

During World War II, many Poles, but also some Belarusians, Ukrainians and Russians, were enslaved by the Germans as forced labour in the town's vicinity.<ref>Wakar, p. 159</ref> In the final stages of the war, the Germans forcibly evacuated the town's residents. The abandoned town was captured by the Red Army on January 23, 1945, and afterwards it became again part of Poland under territorial changes promulgated at the Potsdam Conference in July–August 1945. The town was repopulated by Polish settlers, both from nearby Suwałki and Podlachia regions, and from former eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.

In 1949, a dairy and egg cooperative was launched in Olecko, and in 1950, it also began producing cheese.

SightsEdit

File:Olecko Jezioro Oleckie Wielkie.jpg

Great Olecko Lake

Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) is one of the largest market squares in Poland. The Our Lady Queen of Poland church is situated on a tree-covered hill in its northern part. Another notable sight is the Oleckie Wielkie Lake with a promenade, a municipal beach and preserved historic pier.

TransportEdit

The Olecko 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.

CultureEdit

The main cultural institution of Olecko is the "Mazury Garbate" Regional Cultural Center with its cinema, theater, etc.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Miejsko-Powiatowa Biblioteka Publiczna is the main public library of the town.

Olecko hosts the annual festivals Przystanek Olecko, which includes mostly rock acts, and Mazurskie Spotkania z Folklorem ("Masurian Meetings with Folklore"), dedicated to folk music with performers from Poland and various other countries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Olecko Milk and Honey Festival, an annual fair dedicated to milk and honey products, is held in August, in reference to local traditions of milk, dairy and honey production. The honey of Olecko land, which comes in several varieties, i.e. multi-flower honey, linden honey, rapeseed honey, forest honey, buckwheat honey, and honeydew honey, is an officially protected traditional food of the Olecko County, as designated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

SportsEdit

The town's leading sport club is Template:Ill with football, handball, table tennis and chess sections.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other clubs include athletics club Korab Olecko,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> shooting club Wilk Olecko and women's volleyball club Perła Olecka.

EducationEdit

Template:Multiple image

Liceum Ogólnokształące im. Jana Kochanowskiego (high school)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Technical Schools Complex (high school)
Liceum and Vocational School Complex (high school)
St. Filippo Smaldone School and Educational Center for Deaf Children (high school and elementary school)
Henryk Sienkiewicz Elementary School No. 1
Nicolaus Copernicus Elementary School No. 2
John Paul II Elementary School No. 3
Jan Twardowski Elementary School No. 4
Social Elementary School of the Social Educational Society (private)