![[Olsztynek flag]](../images/p/pl-wm-oy.gif)
Last modified: 2018-12-15 by rob raeside
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image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008
The town was founded as Hohenstein by the Teutonic Order, which began
to construct a castle in 1351 and granted Kulm law city rights in 1359.
The Battle of Grunwald (Tannenberg) in 1410 took place in the vicinity
of the town.
It became a member of the Prussian Confederation in 1440, opposing
the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights but returned to its rule in
1455. With the conversion of Albert of Prussia to Lutheranism in 1525,
the town became part of Protestant Ducal Prussia, in 1618 part of Brandenburg-Prussia
and after its creation part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. After the
unification of Germany the town lay inside the German Empire.
In the beginning of World War I in August 1914 the Russian Army occupied
the region but has been defeated throughout the Battle of Tannenberg. In
remembrance of those battles a large Tannenberg Memorial was erected here
in 1927, place of the burial of the Weimar Republic's President Paul von
Hindenburg in 1934, but destroyed in 1945 after his (and his wife's) coffins
were removed.
As a condition of the Treaty of Versailles the League of Nations held
the East Prussian plebiscite on July 11, 1920 to determine if the people
of the southern districts of East Prussia wanted to remain within East
Prussia or to join the Second Polish Republic. Inside the town only 2 votes
were given for Poland.
Until 1945 the town, known as Hohenstein in Ostpreußen, was part of
Landkreis (district) Osterode in East Prussia.
In January 1945 it was occupied by the Red Army throughout the East
Prussian Offensive. Later it was handed over to Polish authorities, the
German population was expelled and the region was resettled with Poles
especially from Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union.
In 1960 a memorial for the Battle of Grunwald was erected.
Arms adopted on February 13, 2003 (resolution # V-31/2003).
Flag adopted on June 29, 2004 (resolution # XVI-144/2004).
"Arms: an image of Saint Peter on the silver shield.
Flag: rectangular piece of cloth in the ratio 5:8 composed of three
equal horizontal bands:
Blue-yellow-green. These colors represent the color of St.Peter's tunic
- blue; the color of the key, cane and aureole - gold (yellow) and the
color of the grass at the base of the shield - green.
Plain - civic- flag is an unadorned tricolor.
There are two versions of the ceremonial flag: horizontal and vertical
with the Arms placed centrally on these flags - the vertical version has
the ratio 1:2.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008
![[Olsztynek ceremonial flag]](../images/p/pl-wm_oy.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008
![[Olsztynek banner]](../images/p/pl-wm0oy.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008
![[Olsztynek coat of arms]](../images/p/pl-wm)oy.gif)
image by Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008
