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Gołdap

Coordinates: 54°18′58″N 22°18′34″E / 54.31611°N 22.30944°E / 54.31611; 22.30944
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Gołdap
Park in the town center
Graduation towers
Gołdap Co-cathedral
St. Leon church
Water tower
Townhouse at Plac Zwycięstwa (Victory Square)
  • From top, left to right: Park in the town center
  • Graduation towers
  • Gołdap Co-cathedral
  • St. Leon church
  • Water tower
  • Townhouse at Plac Zwycięstwa (Victory Square)
Coat of arms of Gołdap
Coat of arms
Gołdap is located in Poland
Gołdap
Gołdap
Coordinates: 54°18′58″N 22°18′34″E / 54.31611°N 22.30944°E / 54.31611; 22.30944
Country Poland
Voivodeship Warmian-Masurian
CountyGołdap
GminaGołdap
Town rights1570
Government
 • MayorKonrad Kazaniecki
Area
 • Total
17.2 km2 (6.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2007)
 • Total
15,600
 • Density910/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
19-500
Area code+48 87
Car platesNGO
National roads
Voivodeship roads
Websitehttp://www.goldap.pl/

Gołdap [ˈɡɔu̯dap] (German: Goldapⓘ or variant Goldapp; Lithuanian: Geldupė, Geldapė, Galdapė) is a spa town in northeastern Poland, in the region of Masuria, seat of Gołdap County in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is located on the Gołdapa River, between the Szeskie Hills, Gołdap Lake and the Puszcza Romincka forest. It has a population of 15,600 (as of 2007).

History

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Early history

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Mater Ecclesiae Co-cathedral

Masurians began to settle the region in the 16th century while it was part of the Duchy of Prussia, a fief and part of the Kingdom of Poland. Systematic settlement began in 1565, while the town was officially founded by Caspar von Nostitz on May 15, 1570. Located at a profitable location on the crossing of several trade routes near the Prussian border with Lithuania, Gołdap grew rapidly. Its coat of arms depicts the House of Hohenzollern and Brandenburg, while the letter "S" stands for Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland, who was the suzerain of the region.[1] In 1656, during the Polish-Swedish War, Polish troops under command of Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki were stationed in Gołdap.[2]

The town became a part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701 and Germany in 1871. Between 1757 and 1762 it was occupied by Russians.[2]

From 1709 to 1711 eastern Prussia suffered from a plague. The deceased were replaced by Germans from Brandenburg, Pomerania, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, the Electorate of the Palatinate, and Nassau, as well as Swiss and Lithuanians. In 1732 Protestants expelled from Salzburg also resettled the area. In the 19th century Gołdap's population consisted mainly of Poles, Lithuanians and Germans, mostly Protestants. Lutheran services took place in all three languages.[3] In 1831, the Polish pastor's house was burnt down.[3]

In 1807, Polish troops of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski were stationed in the town.[4] In 1863, Poles smuggled weapons through the town to the Russian Partition of Poland to support the January Uprising.[5]

In the 18th and 19th centuries Goldap was a notable centre of commerce and production of various goods for the local market, as well as an important centre of grain production. In 1818 it became a seat of Landkreis Goldap. In 1825, the county (including the town) had 24,911 inhabitants, including (by mother tongue): 17,412 (~70%) German, 3,940 (~16%) Polish and 3,559 (~14%) Lithuanian.[6][7][8] In 1879 the town was linked to a railway.

World War I and II

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World War I destructions of Gołdap

During World War I Goldap was a scene of fierce fighting on the Eastern Front, which passed through the town twice. As a result, it was almost completely destroyed. The town was rebuilt, and soon after the war ended it reached a similar number of inhabitants it had had before.

During World War II Goldap was planned by the German staff as one of the strongholds guarding the rest of East Prussia from the Red Army on the Eastern Front. As a result of heavy fighting for the city and the regions directly east of it, in August and September 1944, 90% of the town was yet again destroyed. According to German war-time reports, about 50 civilians were murdered (some raped) by the Red Army on its initial entry into Goldap in October 1944. It was the first town of Nazi Germany to fall. However, in November 1944 the Wehrmacht reconquered Goldap and would be able to keep it until the end of December of the same year. In January, the German positions in far-eastern East Prussia collapsed completely.

Post-war Poland

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Former Officers' Mess

After the war, the town became again part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. The town was renamed to its historic Polish name Gołdap and rebuilt. The town retained its status as a seat of a powiat until 1975, when all powiats were abolished. After their re-establishment in 1999, Gołdap was not restored as a county seat, being instead assigned in the years 1999-2001 to the Olecko-Gołdap County. The town has subsequently reclaimed the original status, following re-establishment of a standalone Gołdap County.

Today the town of Gołdap remains an important centre of local trade and commerce. There are several small food production facilities (milk plant, industrial slaughterhouse, mill) located there, as well as a paper mill and a small tourist equipment works. In addition, it is one of the centres of tourism, with many skiing, swimming, sailing and leisure centres located both in the town and around it.

Sports

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The Piękna Góra ski resort is located on the outskirts of Gołdap.

The local football club is Rominta Gołdap [pl]. It competes in the lower leagues.

Notable residents

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International relations

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Town hall
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Gołdap is a member of Cittaslow.

Twin towns — sister cities

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Gołdap is twinned with:

Former twin towns:

In March 2022, Gołdap ended its partnership with the Russian city of Gusev as a response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Herb i logo Gołdapi, Uzdrowisko Gołdap-Mazurski Zdrój". Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Tomasz Darmochwał, Marek Jacek Rumiński, Warmia Mazury. Przewodnik, Agencja TD, Białystok, 1996. ISBN 83-902165-0-7, p. 210-212
  3. ^ a b Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II (in Polish). Warszawa. 1881. p. 668.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Uchwala Nr XL/258/2017 Rady Miejskiej w Gołdapi z dnia 30 maja 2017 r., p. 39
  5. ^ "Wydarzenia roku 1863". Historia Polski (in Polish). Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ^ von Haxthausen, August (1839). Die ländliche verfassung in den einzelnen provinzen der Preussischen Monarchie (in German). Königsberg: Gebrüder Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung. pp. 78–81.
  7. ^ Jasiński, Grzegorz (2009). "Statystyki językowe powiatów mazurskich z pierwszej połowy XIX wieku (do 1862 roku)" (PDF). Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie (in Polish). 1: 97–130 – via BazHum.
  8. ^ Belzyt, Leszek (1996). "Zur Frage des nationalen Bewußtseins der Masuren im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert (auf der Basis statistischer Angaben)". Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung (in German). Bd. 45, Nr. 1: 35–71. Archived from the original on 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2019-10-03 – via zfo-online.
  9. ^ "Twinnings" (PDF). Central Union of Municipalities & Communities of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  10. ^ "Warmińsko-mazurskie: Gołdap zerwała współpracę z partnerami z Rosji" (in Polish). Retrieved 13 March 2022.
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