Węgorzewo

Infobox Settlement
name = Węgorzewo
imagesize = 250px
image_shield = POL gmina Węgorzewo COA.svg
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position = bottom
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Warmian-Masurian
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Węgorzewo County
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Gmina Węgorzewo
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Krzysztof Piwowarczyk
established_title = Established
established_date = 15th century
established_title3 = Town rights
established_date3 = 1571
area_total_km2 = 10.87
population_as_of = 2006
population_total = 11638
population_density_km2 = auto
timezone = CET
utc_offset = +1
timezone_DST = CEST
utc_offset_DST = +2
latd = 54 | latm = 13 | lats = | latNS = N | longd = 21 | longm = 45 | longs = | longEW = E
postal_code_type = Postal code
postal_code = 11-600, 11-601
area_code = +48 87
blank_name = Car plates
blank_info = NWE
website = http://www.wegorzewo.pl Węgorzewo [IPA-pl|w|e|n|g|o|'|ż|e|w|o] ( _de. Angerburg) is a tourist town in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, not far from the border with Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast. It is the seat of Węgorzewo County. Lake Mamry is close to the town.

Etymology

The town's names in different languages are derived from local names for European eels, which used to live in the area in great numbers. The German name "Angerburg" (Audio|Angerburg.ogg|listen) is derived from the Old Prussian word for eel, "Anger", which the German Teutonic Knights appropriated after conquering the Old Prussians. The Polish name "Węgorzewo" (and the older "Węgobork") is derived from "Węgorz", while the local Lithuanian names "Ungura" and "Unguris" comes from "Ungurys". A Lithuanian variation is "Angerburgas".

History

Foundation

The town was first mentioned in a 1335 chronicle as "Angirburg", or "eel castle", a settlement of the Teutonic Knights with a block house, a palisade, and a watchtower. A 1341 document reported that the Teutonic Order had bestowed land on the river Angerapp (Angrapa) upon twelve Old Prussians for their loyal service. The Grand Duke of Lithuania, Kęstutis, destroyed the castle in 1365, although the order rebuilt the castle out of stone thirty years later. The completion of the stone castle Angerburg allowed the Teutonic Knights to increase development of the surrounding countryside.

The land around the Angerburg castle began to be settled by the end of the 15th century. As it was primarily farmland, the Mauersee (Lake Mamry) was blocked up to allow the construction of a watermill. Ca. 1510 a locality known as "Neudorf" ("new village") or "Gerothwol" had developed near the Angerburg. After the foundation of the Duchy of Prussia in 1525, the Angerburg became the seat of a district head. Albert, Duke of Prussia, granted the settlement town privileges and determined that it should be called "Angerburg" like the nearby castle. A large part of the town was destroyed by a fire in 1608, including a wooden church and the 20-year-old town hall.

Being situated in the ethnographic region known as Lithuania Minor, Angerburg had a German majority with sizable minorities of Masurians and Lietuvninks. The Lietuvnink minority diminished after the 16th and 17th centuries. The town suffered from the Swedish-Polish Wars, attacks by Tatars, and plague epidemics, the last outbreak of which occurred in 1710.

Kingdom of Prussia

Angerburg became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and was named a garrison town of the Prussian Army in 1718. A harbor was built on the Angerapp, allowing an aqueduct to be built in 1740 as well as an expansion of the garrison to include ten barracks. Angerburg had approximately 1,800 inhabitants at this time. Its inhabitants suffered from warfare, however, as Angerburg was occupied by Russian troops during the Seven Years' War. During the Napoleonic Wars, typhus was brought by Russian troops and the town was plundered by French and Polish troops.

Angerburg was included in the Prussian province of East Prussia in 1773 and became the district seat of Landkreis Angerburg in 1818. The town became part of the German Empire upon the Prussian-led unification of Germany in 1871. A teaching seminary and a deaf-mute school were opened in 1820, and the town's population increased to over 3,500. The canalization of the Angerapp and the expansion of the harbor in 1856 allowed business to expand, and the garrison left the town in 1858. The district court and the office of the public prosecutor moved from Angerburg to Lyck after the "Kreistag", or district parliament, hindered the connection of the town to developing road network and railways. Angerburg was first connected to the railroad network in 1898, allowing it to develop into a trade center. The town became especially known for its Behindertenanstalt Bethesda, an institute for those with mental retardation.

World Wars

Angerburg became a garrison town again after the outbreak of World War I (1914-18), when it had a population of 5,800 inhabitants. The German-Russian military cemetery "Jägerhöhe" was located nearby. The war did not impact the town greatly, and Angerburg grew through new housing developments afterwards. Angerburg also began to develop through tourism after the opening of the Angerapp to regular navigation. At the beginning of the Third Reich, the town had a population of 7,700 which profited from a local cavalry regiment. Through incorporation of neighboring communities, Angerburg expanded to include 10,922 inhabitants in 1939.

Like the rest of East Prussia, Angerburg was initially only indirectly affected by World War II (1939-45), such as casualties of war and supply shortages. This situation changed as the eastern front grew near during the winter of 1944-45. Unlike the neighboring town of Goldap to the east, Angerburg was not involved in fighting, but was given up by the Wehrmacht as the Soviet Red Army advanced. After the Red Army reached Elbing and cut off East Prussia from the rest of Germany, the citizens of Angerburg were forced to evacuate the province by traveling across the Vistula Lagoon or to Pillau. The Red Army reached Angerburg on January 25 1945 and destroyed much of the town; only a few buildings remained of the old town center.

Poland

According to the post-war Potsdam Conference, Angerburg was placed under Polish administration and renamed "Węgorzewo". The remaining German-speaking population was expelled westward and replaced with Poles, many of whom came from central Poland or from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union, especially Wilno and Grodno. Many Ukrainians also came from the Beskids.

Węgorzewo initially suffered economically after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Revolutions of 1989, but has become a popular tourist site in the Masurian Lake District. The town is famous for the music festivals which take place in summertime, including a rock festival, a sailors' song festival, and a poetic song festival.

Notable residents

*Georg Andreas Helwing (1666-1748), botanist
*Hans Heinrich von Katte (1681-1741), father of Leutnant Hans Hermann von Katte
*Rodolphe Radau (1835-1911), astronomer
*Willy Rosenau (1915-1999), singer
*Andreas Hillgruber (1925-1989), historian

References

External links

* [http://www.wegorzewo.pl/prezentacje.php?stat=1&l=gb Municipal website]
* [http://www.angerburg.de/index.htm Angerburg - Ostpreußen] , town and district history de icon
* [http://www.rock.wegorzewo.pl/ Węgorzewo rock music festival] pl icon