Ełk, Urban municipality in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
Ełk is an urban municipality in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Buildings line the shores of Ełk Lake, with thick forest surrounding the area at roughly 147 meters elevation.
The Teutonic Knights built a fortress here in 1398, which led to the growth of a settlement. Official town rights were granted in 1445, marking the rise of the place as a trading center.
The settlement once carried the German name Lyck and housed the first secondary school in the Masurian region. A local printing house in the 16th century produced literature in Polish, helping to spread written texts across the area.
The town serves as the administrative seat of Ełk County and offers schools and recreation areas for residents. Access to the lakeshore and surrounding forest trails makes walks and trips into nature straightforward.
This town is the largest urban center in historical Masuria and owes its landscape to glacial activity during the last ice age. The shape of the lake and the distribution of forests still reflect traces of that geological past.
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