Comprehensive information and links about Poland Ostróda

Ostróda ) is a town in the Warmia-Masuria Voivodship in Poland with 33,603 inhabitants as of January 1, 2005. It lies in the Masurian Lakeland region and is a growing tourist site owing to its relaxing natural surroundings.

Ostróda was originally an Old Prussian settlement on an island at the river delta where the Drwęca river flows into Lake Drwęca. In 1270 the Teutonic Order began constructing wooden earthworks to control the original settlement as well as defend the initial German settlers. They named the new town i 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.

After the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, Klaus von Döhringen conquered Ostróda's castle and delivered the town to the victorious Wladislaus II of Poland. The Polish king brought the (Malbork); the regrouping Teutonic Knights recaptured Ostróda a few months later.

During the Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466), Ostróda was repeatedly captured by both the Poles and Prussian Confederation on one side and the Teutonic Knights on the other. From 1525 until 1945, Ostróda was part of Ducal and East Prussia. In 1818 it became the seat of a i (district) within the Kingdom of Prussia.

During World War II, Ostróda was occupied by the Soviet Red Army in the spring of 1945. The town was transferred to Poland and its German population was replaced with Poles. Ostróda lost its pre-war Jewish population through Nazi persecution.

While it was previously in Olsztyn Voivodship from 1975-1998, Ostróda has been situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship since 1999.