Giżycko

Giżycko (German: Lötzen (help·info); former Polish: Lec) is a town in northeastern Poland with 29,796 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been in the Suwałki Voivodeship (1975-1998). It is the seat of Giżycko County.

History

The Teutonic Knights built a castle in Prussia named Lötzen (Lec in Polish) in 1340, located at the isthmus between two lakes in Masuria. It was administered within the Komturei of Balga. The settlement near the castle received town privileges, with a coat of arms and seal, in 1612 while part of the Duchy of Prussia.

Lötzen became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and was made part of the province of East Prussia in 1773. In the 19th century, a Lutheran church designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel was erected in the centre of the town. Lötzen became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany.

While part of Germany, Lötzen was organized by the Wehrmacht as a Sub-area Headquarters of the Allenstein Area headquarters, of Wehrkreis I, which was headquartered at Königsberg. The German 228th Infanterie Division was based in Lötzen until 1945.

The town was occupied by the Soviet Union's Red Army in 1945 during World War II and placed under Polish administration after the war ended. The German-speaking populace who had not evacuated during the war were subsequently expelled westward. The town was renamed Giżycko in 1946 in honor of the Masurian folklorist Gustaw Gizewiusz.