Kętrzyn (, until 1946 Rastembork; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship.

The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and numerous monuments of historical value such as the Wolf's Lair in nearby Gierłoż, which was Adolf Hitler's primary headquarters over the course of Nazi Germany's military campaign on the Eastern Front during World War II. The town is also known for its 14th century Teutonic Kętrzyn Castle.

History

thumb|left|upright|Old [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium, attended by Wojciech Kętrzyński between 1855 and 1859]]

The original inhabitants of the region were the Balt tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by Tacitus in his Germania (AD 98). The town, known in German as Rastenburg and in Polish as Rastembork, was established in 1329 in the State of the Teutonic Knights and was granted town rights in 1357 by Henning Schindekop.

After the Battle of Grunwald, in 1410, the mayor surrendered the town to Poland, however, it fell back to the Teutonic Knights in 1411. In 1440, the town joined the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. Upon the request of the Confederation, King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region and town to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. The town then recognized the Polish King as the rightful ruler and the townspeople sent their representative to Königsberg to pay homage to the King.

After the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466), per the 1466 peace treaty, the town was part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Order's state and, from 1525 to 1701, it was part of the Duchy of Prussia, a Polish fief until 1657. The town's seal was attached to the documents of the peace treaty of 1466. In the second half of the 17th century, Poles constituted around a half of the town's population, the other half being Germans.

In the late 19th century a Polish Lutheran parish still existed, despite the policy of Germanisation conducted by the Prussian authorities.

In 1945, the area suffered devastation from both the retreating Germans and advancing Soviets during the Vistula-Oder campaign. Some ruins of the Wolf's Lair remain. The town was a Wehrmacht garrison town until it was occupied by the Red Army on 27 January 1945. The largely abandoned town was heavily destroyed by the Soviets. At the Potsdam Conference, the Western Allies accepted establishment of Polish rule. The town's surviving German residents who had not evacuated were subsequently expelled westward in accordance with provisions included in the Potsdam Agreement and replaced with Poles, most of whom were themselves expelled from the pre-war Polish Vilnius Region that was annexed by the Soviet Union and given to the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.

After the war, the town's life was being rebuilt. In 1945, the Municipal Theater was established.

Climate

Kętrzyn's climate is either oceanic (Köppen: Cfb) or humid continental (Köppen: Dfb), depending on the isotherm used. The climate of the city has a considerable thermal amplitude, but still with some not so pronounced influence of the sea.

|source 2 = Meteomodel.pl (records, relative humidity 1991–2020), kiedy-jechac.pl (UV index)

Sports

The local football team is . It competes in the lower leagues.

People

thumb|upright|Monument to [[Wojciech Kętrzyński in the town center]]

  • Johann Dietrich von Hülsen (1693–1767), Prussian general
  • Karl Bogislaus Reichert (1811–1883), German anatomist, embryologist and histologist.
  • Wojciech Kętrzyński (1838–1918), Polish historian and activist
  • Elisabet Boehm (1859–1943), German women's rights advocate
  • Arno Holz (1863–1929), German poet and dramatist
  • Wilhelm Wien (1864–1928), German physicist worked on blackbody radiation
  • Emma Döll (1873–1930), German politician (SPD/USPD/KPD)
  • Rüdiger von Heyking (1894–1956), German Luftwaffe general
  • Hanns Scharff (1907–1992), German Luftwaffe interrogator internationally renowned for developing humane, effective interrogation techniques
  • Waldemar Grzimek (1918–1984), German sculptor
  • Siegfried Tiefensee (1922–2009), German composer
  • Dietrich von Bausznern (1928–1980), German composer, cantor, organist and music teacher
  • Marek Ziółkowski (born 1955), Polish diplomat
  • Krzysztof Kononowicz (1963–2025), former candidate for the office of mayor of Białystok and internet celebrity
  • Piotr Lech (born 1968), Polish footballer
  • Krzysztof Raczkowski (1970–2005), musician and drummer of the Polish death metal band Vader
  • Piotr Trafarski (born 1983), Polish footballer

<gallery>

File:Zamek w Kętrzynie 2.jpg|Kętrzyn Castle

File:Ratusz w Kętrzynie 001.jpg|Town Hall

File:2008-02 Kętrzyn 06.jpg|Saint Catherine of Alexandria church

File:Jezioro Kętrzyńskie.jpg|Kętrzyn Lake

File:Kętrzyn kościół ewangelicko-augsburski.jpg|Saint John church

File:Kętrzyn - Starostwo Powiatowe (02).jpg|Kętrzyn County seat

File:KĘTRZYN, AB - 046.JPG|Train station

File:KĘTRZYN, AB - 031.JPG|Tax office

File:Kętrzyn, ul. Traugutta 27 (pałacyk).jpg|Old townhouses in the town center

File:Ketrzyn Sikorskiego kamienice.jpg|Old townhouses in the town center

File:Ketrzyn Dworcowa 1 (1).jpg|Former bank building

File:K-pocztowa5-DSCN1228.jpg|Old house

</gallery>

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Kętrzyn is twinned with:

  • Volodymyr, Ukraine
  • Wesel, Germany
  • Zlaté Hory, Czech Republic

References

  • Municipal webpage
  • Kętrzyn