- Straduny
Straduny ( _de. Stradaunen) is a
village in theWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship ,Poland , with approximately 990 inhabitants. It lies seven kilometers north ofEłk and is near three nature preserves.History
The village was officially founded in 1475 as "Straudenen" by Bernhard von Balzhofen, Komtur of Brandenburg, as part of the
monastic state of the Teutonic Knights .The names Straudenen and Straduny derive from the
Latin "strada una", meaning "a street"; the village was located at a junction inMasuria between theTeutonic Knights and theGrand Duchy of Lithuania during theMiddle Ages .As Stradaunen, the village became part of the
Duchy of Prussia in 1525 after the secularization of the Teutonic Knights. Stradaunen was included within theKingdom of Prussia in 1701 and theGerman Empire in 1871. From 1818–1945, it was administered within Landkreis Lyck inEast Prussia .In a plebiscite after
World War I to determine if the village would remain in theGerman Reich or become part of theSecond Polish Republic , the majority of voters chose to remain in German East Prussia.Stradaunen was largely untouched by fighting during
World War II . Because the church's rectory was used byWehrmacht staff, it was destroyed shortly before the arrival of the SovietRed Army on18 January 1945 . The Wehrmacht destroyed three nearby bridges over the River Lyck in order to impede the Red Army; two of the bridges were rebuilt by German prisoners of war after hostilities ended.In 1945 the village was placed under Polish administration according to the
Potsdam Agreement and renamed "Straduny". The last Lutheran service at the Church of St. Leonart was held on29 October 1944 ; it was reconsecrated as a Roman Catholic church on3 May 1946 .After the fall of the
Iron Curtain , Straduny began to be visited by German tourists.References
Further reading
*Winfried Holzlehner: "Stradaunen — Aus der Geschichte eines masurischen Dorfes",
Güstrow , 2004, 156 S. de icon
*"Stradaunen (mit Domäne Stradaunen, Gut Stradaunen, Felsenhof, Johannisberg, Loebelshof)", in: Reinhold Weber: "Bildband des Grenzkreises Lyck",Hagen , 1985, S. 437-442 de iconExternal links
* [http://www.ostpreussen.net/index.php?seite_id=12&kreis=01&stadt=09 History of the village] de icon
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