Elbląg

Sister cities

• Leer
• Baltiysk
• Coquimbo
• Kaliningrad
• Nowy Sącz
• Druskininkai
• Hîncești
• Barßel
• Baoji
• Navahrudak
• Trowbridge
• Compiègne

History

The settlement was first mentioned as "Ilfing" in The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, an Anglo-Saxon chronicle written in King Alfred's reign using information from a Viking who had visited the area. During the Middle Ages, the Viking settlement of Truso was located on Lake Drużno, near the current site of Elbląg in historical Pogesania; the settlement burned down in the 10th century. Early in the 13th century the Teutonic Knights conquered the region, built a castle, and founded Elbing on the lake, with a population mostly from Lübeck (today the lake, now much smaller, no longer reaches the city). After the uprising against the Teutonic Knights and the destruction of the castle by the inhabitants, the city successively came under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Poland (1454), the Kingdom of Prussia (1772), and Germany (1871). Elbing was heavily damaged in World War II, and its remaining German citizens were expelled upon the war's end in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. The city became again part of Poland in 1945 and was repopulated with Polish citizens. It was an important seaport serving the Vistula River bay on the early medieval Baltic Sea trade routes which led from Birka in the north to the island of Gotland and to Visby in the Baltic Sea. From there, traders continued further south to Carnuntum along the Amber Road. The ancient Amber Road led further southwest and southeast to the Black Sea and eventually to Asia. The east–west trade route went from Truso, along the Baltic Sea to Jutland, and from there inland by river to Hedeby, a large trading center in Jutland. The main goods of Truso were amber, furs, and slaves. Archaeological finds in 1897 and diggings in the 1920s placed Truso at Gut Hansdorf. A large burial field was also found at Elbląg.…

Geography

Elbląg is located about south-east of Gdańsk and south-west of Kaliningrad, Russia. The city is a port on the river Elbląg, which flows into the Vistula Lagoon about to the north, thus giving the city access to the Baltic Sea via the Russian-controlled Strait of Baltiysk. The Old Town () is located on the river Elbląg connecting Lake Drużno to the Vistula Lagoon, about from the lagoon and from Gdańsk. The climate of Elbląg is an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) closely bordering on a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb), owing to its position of the Baltic Sea, which moderates the temperatures, compared to the interior of Poland. The climate is cool throughout the year and there is a somewhat uniform precipitation throughout the year. Typical of Northern Europe, there is little sunshine during the year.

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  187
• White-tailed Eagle

  Haliaeetus albicilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  165
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  162
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  158
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  155
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  151
• Northern Lapwing

  Vanellus vanellus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  146
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  146

Most recent

• M 4.8 — 2004-09-21
  3 km SSW of Yantarnyy, Russia
• M 4.8 — 2004-09-21
  2 km ESE of Yantarnyy, Russia