Ostróda County
Ostróda County (Polish: powiat ostródzki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Ostróda, which lies 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of the regional capital Olsztyn. The county contains three other towns: Morąg, 25 km (16 mi) north of Ostróda, Miłakowo, 34 km (21 mi) north of Ostróda, and Miłomłyn, 12 km (7 mi) north-west of Ostróda.
The county covers an area of 1,764.89 square kilometres (681.4 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 105,286, out of which the population of Ostróda is 33,419, that of Morąg is 14,497, that of Miłakowo is 2,665, that of Miłomłyn is 2,305, and the rural population is 52,400.
Neighbouring counties
Ostróda County is bordered by Lidzbark County to the north-east, Olsztyn County to the east, Nidzica County to the south-east, Działdowo County to the south, Iława County and Sztum County to the west, and Elbląg County to the north-west.
Ostróda
Ostróda [ɔsˈtruda] (German: 
Osterode in Ostpreußen ) is a town in Ostróda County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland, with 33,191 inhabitants as of December 31, 2009.
Geography
The town lies in the west of the historic Masuria region on the Drwęca river, a right tributary of the Vistula. Lake Drwęca west of the town is part of the Masurian Lake District. Ostróda has become a growing tourist site owing to its relaxing natural surroundings.
The National road 7 from Gdańsk to Warsaw, part of European route E77, passes through Ostróda. The Elbląg Canal connects Ostróda with the Baltic coast.
History
At the site of an original Old Prussian settlement on an island at the river delta where the Drwęca river flows into Lake Drwęca the town of Ostróda evolved. In 1270 the Teutonic Order began constructing wooden earthworks to control the original settlement as well as defend the initial Mazurian and German settlers. The knights named the new town Osterode after Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony, Germany (now a sister city with Ostróda). Between 1349-1370 the Order replaced the wood-and-earth fort with a stone castle. The town, whose charter traditionally dates to 1335, quickly became a regional administrative center for the Order.
