Mazurian Lakes - North East
Introduction
We would like to tempt you to spend an attractive holiday in Northeast Poland. This is intended especially for those who enjoy an active holiday: for those who like water sports, or close contact with nature, and for those who are looking for peace and quiet, for everything that can bring perfect regeneration of psychic and physical powers.
Northeast Poland 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.
Many Polish tour operators organise hunting expeditions in the extensive forests and woods, and also offer photo-safaris for nature lovers, and for bird-watchers a chance to observe many species of birds in their natural habitat. Many rare animals and birds can be found here (elk, roe deer, European bison, foxes, beavers, wolves, lynx, cormorants, swans, grey herons, cranes, ruffs, double snipe, and wood grouse). The most important areas of natural environment are protected in numerous nature reserves and three scenic parks.
In Northeast Poland, they offer you holidays in fully furnished holiday chalets in the Szczytno region; summer and winter holidays at Mragowo; canoeing down the Krutynia river; boat trips through the Mazurian lakes and the Elblag Canal; pleasure cruises on Vistula Bay with visits to the most interesting ports; excursions to the most attractive towns of the region; picnics, camp-fire excursions and britzka rides; visits to nature reserves and stud farms; arrangements to hire motor boats, sailing boats, canoes and ice-boats.
Although the wonderful scenery and natural environment bring most people to Northeast Poland for summer holidays, the region is equally attractive in other seasons of the year. In autumn, there is a hunting season and an opportunity to pick fruit and mushrooms in the woods. And in winter, there are excellent conditions here for ice boating, skating and cross-country skiing when the smooth surface of the lakes is covered with ice and a thick carpet of snow lies on the ground. A few years ago the region hosted the world ice-boating championships and an international sailing competition, and in 1984, also a great skating marathon, in which Dutch skaters took part.
In addition to the natural splendours of the region, you can also find here magnificent historic buildings, museums, and other sites linked with major historical events. There are also interesting cultural events organised here: the International Ballroom dancing Competition in Olsztyn in May, the Festival of Sung Poetry in Olsztyn in July; and the "Country Picnic" which has already become a tradition at Mragowo in August; and many other folk and musical performances.
The Northeast region of Poland is very popular with foreign tourists, many of whom visit it each year.
The scenery of the Lake District
The Polish Lake District stretches in a long belt from the Vistula valley in the West to the borders with the Russian, Latvian, and Belarus Republics in the North and East. To the South the region borders on the Podlasie Plain and Mazovian Plain.
Indeed, the whole of Northeast Poland could without exaggeration be described 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 that are often prelate in shape - all this has been left by the last period of glaciation in the Polish territory. These are forms that 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 elements in the scenery of this district are the lakes, which are also relics of the Scandinavian glacier. There are more than 3,000 of them, and half of them 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. They are extremely varied in shape, their shore broken up 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. Rivers and canals to form a whole system of water routes that offer superb conditions for water sports and holidays link many of the lakes.
They 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 attraction in the make-up of the scenery of this part of the world; there are 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, which reminds one of the Siberian taiga, the Borecka Forest, and the wonderful 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, and indeed is always surprising in its variety. At every step, the beauty of nature is evident here, in a form, which has been little changed by the activities of man.
In the pages of 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 here the Order of Teutonic Knights with their characteristic white robes and black crosses. Under the guise of a campaign to convert the heathen, they shortly began a bloody conquest of the Prussian and Jatzvingian areas, which was to last until the end of the century. A powerful religious state with its headquarters at Malbork was thereafter set up on the territories that the Knights had thus won. At the same time, many newcomers from the Chelmno, Mazovia and Podlasie areas came here 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 Russ, under the command of the Polish King, Ladislaus Jagiello, was of major significance for the history of the region. The defeat that 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 Cracow to the King of Poland, Sigismund I the Old, and the Knight 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 Germanisation; these affected especially 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 germanisation, 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 organisations, considerably reduced the effectiveness of this campaign. In this period, Olsztyn, Elk and Gizycko were the main centres 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 inter-war period there was renewed enthusiasm for the organisation of activities of social, cultural and economic associations that were fighting to ensure that the local population retained its Polish character. During the Second World War, leading Polish activists were persecuted, and the majority were killed in concentration camps and prisons. The Soviet army liberated these territories during the first months of 1945.
After the major war damage suffered by he region, it has been completely rebuilt and is undergoing an economic revival. Many of the towns have become major industrial centres, and agriculture produces good results, despite the fact that soil and climatic conditions are not ideal. And alongside these developments, tourism has also played an important role, making use of the unique scenic and holiday possibilities of the Lake District region.
The best holiday in Mragowo
Polish travel agencies offer you a holiday in this small town, lying in varied countryside, between two lakes, Czos and Juno. The surface area of the former is c. 280 hectares, and of the latter c. 380 hectares; they are c. 40 metres deep. Their banks are mainly high and are not forested. Both of these lakes provide - as do others in the area like lakes Kiersztanowskie, Lampackie, Juksty, Salet and Pilakno - excellent conditions for water sports. Mragowo is also a good starting point for trips to the largest Mazurian lakes, and to the beautiful and extensive Pisz Forest.
This has 206 comfortably furnished double rooms with bathroom, and four two-room suites. In addition, there are eight bungalows, each for four guests. There are two restaurants in the hotel, the Blekitna and the Carmen, and an aperitif bar, a club, a disco, a hairdressing and beauty parlour, an art gallery, a shop, a swimming pool, a solarium, a sauna and a gymnasium.
The "Orbis-Mrongowia" Hotel can offer you an active holiday all the year round. There is a bathing beach and a point where water sports equipment (rowing boats, sailing boats, canoes, water bicycles, and windsurfing boards) can be hired on the lake. There are also tennis courts, courts for team games, a squash hall, a mini-golf course, a marked jogging footpath through the grounds, and a playground for children. In the summer and autumn, the opportunities offered for horse riding provide a special attraction, and there are also britzka rides and in winter, excursions on horse-drawn sleighs, ending with a campfire and roast sausage (a "kulig"). Those who are interested in cross-country skiing, skating and ice boating will find splendid conditions here. A skating rink and ski lift are provided for guests, and equipment for winter sports can be hired; there are four marked skiing routes. A three-day skiing excursion is organised from the hotel, covering picturesque routes through the forests, and including many extra attractions. The "Orbis-Mrongowia" hotel organises an excursion to Swieta Lipka (to visit the basilica and attend an organ concert); and to Gierloz (to visit the ruins of Hitler's bunker); and there is also a boat trip through the Mazurian lakes.
The Great Mazurian Lakes
This is one of the most attractive and beautiful tourist areas in Poland. One fifth of the whole surface area of the region is covered by lakes, which are inter-linked by rivers and canals to form an extensive, branching water route system. These lakes are situated in widely varied countryside, and their banks are full of inlets and peninsulas, islands, and sometimes surrounded by forests.
Two of the largest Polish lakes are in the Mazurian region: Sniadrwy (surface area of 109.7 sq. km. depth of up to 17 m.) and Mamry (surface area of the whole complex is 102 sq. km., while Lake Mamry proper has a surface of almost 27.1 sq. km. and a depth of up to 44 m.). There are several other fairly large lakes: Niegocin (26 sq. km.), Nidzkie (18.3 sq. km.), Talty (11.6 sq. km.), Beldany (9.4 sq. km.), Jagodne (9.4 sq. km.), Dejguny (7.6 sq. km.) and several dozen smaller ones.
Thousands of tourists come here every year, as do those who want to practice water sports and angling and those who like to spend their holidays near water. There are excellent conditions here for sailing, rowing and canoeing; fishing conditions are ideal; and in winter those who enjoy ice boating and skating will find the lakes covered with long stretches of smooth ice. Boat trips are a great attraction. These take you through the most picturesque sports and to all major towns on the banks of the lakes. In the season the larger towns and holiday resorts become crowded tourists centres. For years, Gizycko, Mikolajki, Mragowo, Ruciane-Nida, Ryn, Wegorzewo, Wilkasy and Zgon have been always popular.