Orzysz

Orzysz [ˈɔʐɨʂ] (German: Arys, Lithuanian: Arys) is a town in Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,512 inhabitants (2007). It is located on Orzysz Lake.

Until 1702, all church services in Orzysz were conducted in Polish. In 1834, according to the Prussian church census, there were 600 Poles and 502 Germans in the town parish. The census counted anyone who knew some German as German. The population of Orzysz slowly increased: there were 918 inhabitants in 1801, 1107 in 1846, 2201 in 1910 and 3543 in 1939.

Before 1945 the area was part of Germany (East Prussia). After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed according to the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

Notable residents

Coordinates: 53°48′20″N 21°56′45″E / 53.80556°N 21.94583°E / 53.80556; 21.94583

Orzysz (lake)

Orzysz (German Arys-See) is a lake located in the Masurian Lake District, in the Land of the Great Masurian Lakes, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in Pisz County, in the urban-rural Gmina Orzysz. On the southwestern shore of the lake is located the town of Orzysz.

The lake is a ribbon lake with an area of 1070.7 ha, located at an elevation of 117 metres, with a varied depth and forested shores on the southwestern and northeastern shores of the lake. The shore has an irregular shape, which is characterised by many bays along its shoreline, and long narrow peninsulas, which deeply cut through the lake. In the Southern part of the lake there is a long bay which is separated by the twisting Ameryka (America) Peninsula from the nearby Wierzbińskie Lake (70 ha).

The lake has ten islands, with a total area of about 74 ha. The largest of them is Różany Ostrów also known as Wyspą Róż (54 ha) which is linked to the mainland by a bridge. The lake is joined with nearby lakes by small canals. The river Orzysza, which flows out of the lake, links it with the nearby lakes Tyrkło and Śniardwy. There is a kayak trail that runs through the area.