Ostrołęka

Ostrołęka [ɔstrɔˈwɛŋka] is a town in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about 120 km (75 mi) northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 52,792 (2014) and an area of 29 km² (11 sq. mls). The town is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it is the former capital of the Ostrołęka Voivodeship (1975–1998). Ostrołęka is currently the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County. Until the late 1980s, Ostrołęka used to be a local railroad junction, with four lines stemming from Ostrołęka railway station: eastwards to Łapy and Białystok, southwestwards to Tłuszcz and Warsaw, northwards to Wielbark and Olsztyn, and southwards to Małkinia.

History

Founding

The city's name refers to a sand-mud plain located on the left side of the Narew River which regularly flooded in the springtime throughout the centuries. A small fort was built on an island in the 11th or 12th Century, currently located just one kilometer west of the modern city center. The fort was one of few sparsely built fortifications along the Narew River at the time. A village developed surrounding the fort over time, and is associated today as the initial settlement of Ostrołęka. Despite the lack of an exact date for Ostrołęka's founding, the village was first mentioned in the Province Act of 1373 by Prince Siemowit III of Masovia, and therefore, the year 1373 has become the most commonly associated date in terms of the city's founding.

Ostrołęka (disambiguation)

Ostrołęka may refer to the following places: