Giżycko (; former or Łuczany; , ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,107 inhabitants as of January 2025. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is the seat of Giżycko County.

Giżycko is a popular summer tourist destination due to its location within the Masurian Lake District and possesses numerous historical monuments, including a 14th-century Teutonic castle.

History

Antiquity and Middle Ages

thumb|left|The renovated castle

The first known settlements in the area of today's Giżycko were recorded in Roman times by Tacitus in his Germania and are connected to Amber Road in vicinity of which Giżycko was located. A defensive settlement of the Baltic Prussians was known to exist in the area, and in IX was recorded as being ruled by king known as Izegup or Jesegup. and after the subsequent outbreak of the Thirteen Years’ War in 1454, Łuczany sided with Poland. The settlement was captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455, but the Poles recaptured it the next year. After the peace treaty signed in Toruń in 1466 it became part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Order, until the dissolution of the Teutonic state in 1525.

Modern era

thumb|Map of Lötzen and surroundings ()

The settlement near the castle received town privileges, with a coat of arms and seal, in 1612, while part of the Duchy of Prussia (under Polish suzerainty until 1701). The first mayor was Paweł Rudzki. The Polish name of the town, used by its overwhelmingly Polish population, at the time was Łuczany.

Lötzen became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and was made part of the newly established province of East Prussia in 1773. In 1709/10 the plague claimed 800 victims, only 119 inhabitants survived. In the 19th century, a new Lutheran church based on design 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.

In June 1807, the Polish corps of generals Józef Zajączek and Jan Henryk Dąbrowski were stationed in the town.

thumb|left|[[Boyen Fortress]]

In 1844–1848 the Boyen Fortress, a fortress named after the Prussian war-minister Hermann von Boyen, was built on a small landtongue between lake Mamry (Mauersee) and lake Niegocin (Löwentinsee). This fortress is one of the largest and best conditioned fortresses of the 19th century. In 1942–1945 it was the headquarters of the German military intelligence service (Fremde Heere Ost) under Reinhard Gehlen.

As a result of the treaty of Versailles, the 1920 East Prussian plebiscite was organized under the control of the League of Nations. During the preparations for the plebiscite, a German militia attacked a pro-Polish rally with around 1,000 people. Speakers and people attending the rally were severely beaten; the main pro-Polish leader of the rally Fryderyk Leyk was beaten so badly that he just barely survived. Afterwards the attitude of Polish population in the town was resigned and part of the population boycotted the vote while others openly voted for Germany fearing revenge; 4,900 votes were cast to remain in East Prussia, and therefore Germany, and none for Poland. Afterwards aggressive Germanisation was intensified, and during Nazi rule in Germany, there was practical ban on speaking Polish in public places in the town.

Sports

When Poland made the so far only international appearance in bandy, the city was represented. The local football team is . It competes in the lower leagues.

Education

Primary school

  • Szkoła Podstawowa nr 4 im. I Dywizji Piechoty
  • Szkoła podstawowa nr 5
  • Szkoła Podstawowa nr 6
  • Szkoła Podstawowa nr 7 im. Janusza Korczaka

Middle school

  • Gimnazjum nr 1 w Giżycku im. Jana Pawła II
  • Gimnazjum nr 2 w Giżycku im. Chwały Oręża Polskiego
  • Katolickie Gimnazjum im. św. Brunona z Kwerfurtu
  • Zespół Szkół nr 1 im. Mikołaja Kopernika

High school

thumb|I Liceum Ogólnokształcące (high school)

  • I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego
  • II Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Gustawa Gizewiusza
  • Zespół Szkół Elektronicznych i Informatycznych im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej
  • Zespół Szkół Kształtowania Środowiska i Agrobiznesu
  • Zespół Szkół Zawodowych
  • Katolickie Liceum im. św. Brunona z Kwerfurtu

College

  • Medyczne Studium Zawodowe im. Hanny Chrzanowskiej
  • Prywatna Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa

Notable residents

thumb|upright|Memorial plaque at the birthplace of [[Wojciech Kętrzyński]]

  • Marcin Giersz (1808–1895), Masurian activist, publicist of Polish literature
  • Gustaw Gizewiusz (1810–1848), Polish pastor, folklorist, and translator
  • Wojciech Kętrzyński (1838–1918), Polish historian and activist
  • Paul Davidson (1867–1927), German film producer
  • Jan Bułhak (1876–1950), Polish pioneer of photography in Poland
  • Franz Pfemfert (1879–1954), German publisher
  • Lothar Gall (1936–2024), German historian
  • Łukasz Broź (born 1985), Polish footballer
  • Mateusz Broź (born 1988), Polish footballer
  • Marcin Budziński (born 1990), Polish footballer
  • Patryk Kun (born 1995), Polish footballer
  • Jakub Kochanowski (born 1997), Polish volleyball player, 2018 World Champion

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Giżycko is twinned with:

{|class="wikitable"

|- valign="top"

|

  • Dubno, Ukraine
  • Querfurt, Germany
  • Neumünster, Germany

||

  • Silkeborg, Denmark
  • Trakai, Lithuania
  • Starachowice, Poland
  • Ghazni, Afghanistan

|}

<gallery>

File:Bruno of Querfurt Cross in Giżycko.jpg|Bruno of Querfurt Hill and Cross in Giżycko. View from Lake Niegocin

File:POL Gizycko Twierdza Boyen 39.jpg|Boyen fortress

File:Замок Гижицко.JPG|Swing bridge and the castle

File:Giżycko, ul. Kolejowa 22.jpg|Music school

File:Kościół ewangelicki w Giżycku 4.jpg|Evangelical church

File:GIŻYCKO. AB-009.JPG|Town hall

</gallery>

References

  • Municipal website
  • Tourism website

Local Gizycko information

  • [https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_hDgOAAAAQAAJ/bub_gb_hDgOAAAAQAAJ_djvu.txt] Full text of "Monumenta historiæ Warmiensis, oder, Quellensammlung zur Geschichte Ermlands"
  • festeboyen.pl (Polish)
  • Jewish community of Giżycko on Virtual Shtetl