View source for Mrągowo

{{Expand Polish|topic=geo|date=December 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Mrągowo
| native_name = Zondzbork
| image_skyline      = {{Photomontage
| color = #ffffff
| photo1a = Ratusz Mrągowo.jpg{{!}}Town Hall
| photo1b = Amphitheater in Mrągowo.jpg
| photo2a = District office in Mrągowo.jpg{{!}}District office
| photo2b = Mragowo kościół2.JPG{{!}}Saint Adalbert Church
| photo2c = Mrągowo - bulwar.jpg{{!}}Promenade
| photo3a = Jezioro Czos w Mrągowie.jpg{{!}}Lake Czos
| spacing = 2
| border = 0
| size = 266
}}
| imagesize          = 260px
| image_caption      = {{hlist|From top, left to right: Town Hall|Amphitheater|District office|Saint Adalbert Church|Promenade|Lake Czos}}
| image_flag         = POL Mrągowo flag.svg
| image_shield       = POL Mrągowo COA.svg
| pushpin_map        = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship|name=Warmian-Masurian}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of Polish counties|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Mrągowo County|Mrągowo]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3  = Mrągowo <small>(urban gmina)</small>
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Jakub Doraczyński
| established_title  = Established
| established_date   = 1348
| established_title3 = Town rights
| established_date3  = 1444
| elevation_min_m    = 20
| elevation_max_m    = 200
| area_total_km2     = 14.8
| population_as_of   = 2025
| population_total   = 20339<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2025 r. |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2025-r-,7,22.html |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=pl}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone           = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset         = +1
| timezone_DST       = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST     = +2
| coordinates        = {{coord|53|52|N|21|18|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 11-700 to 11-709
| area_code          = +48 89
| blank_name         = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]]
| blank_info         = NMR
| blank_name_sec2    = [[National roads in Poland|National roads]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[File:DK16-PL.svg|32px|link=National road 16 (Poland)]] [[File:DK59-PL.svg|32px|link=National road 59 (Poland)]]
| blank1_name_sec2   = [[Voivodeship road]]s
| blank1_info_sec2   = [[File:DW591-PL.svg|32px]] [[File:DW600-PL.svg|32px]]
| website            = [https://archive.today/20030320055541/http://www.mragowo.um.gov.pl/ mrągowo.pl]
}}
'''Mrągowo''' {{IPAc-pl|m|r|o|N|'|g|o|w|o}} (until 1947 {{langx|pl|Ządźbork}} {{IPAc-pl|'|ż|o|ń|dź|b|o|r|k}}; {{langx|de|Sensburg}} {{IPA|de|ˈzɛnsbʊʁk||De-Sensburg.ogg}}; [[Masurian dialects|Masurian]]: Zondzbork) is a resort [[town]] in the [[Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship]] of northeastern [[Poland]],{{TERYT}} with 20,399 inhabitants (2025).<ref>{{Cite web |last=GUS |title=Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2025 r. |url=https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/ludnosc/ludnosc/powierzchnia-i-ludnosc-w-przekroju-terytorialnym-w-2025-r-,7,22.html |access-date=2025-07-26 |website=stat.gov.pl |language=pl}}</ref> It is the capital of [[Mrągowo County]] and the seat (though not part of) the [[Gmina Mrągowo]]. The town is located in the historical region of [[Masuria]], within the [[Masurian Lake District]], about {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of [[Olsztyn]].

It is situated on the shores of lakes Czos, Sutapie Małe, Sołtysko, Czarne, Juno and Piecuch.

==History==
===Middle Ages===
About 1348 the [[State of the Teutonic Order|Teutonic Knights]] constructed a wooden fortress near present-day Mrągowo named ''Sensburg'', derived from [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]] ''senas'' meaning "old", therefore maybe at the site of a former [[Old Prussians|Prussian]] castle. The settlement that began to develop nearby was first mentioned in a 1397 deed and probably had already received [[Kulm law|Kulm town rights]] between 1404 and 1407, although it is verified that Grand Master [[Konrad von Erlichshausen]] affirmed town rights in 1444. In 1454 it was incorporated to [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] by King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] upon the request of the anti-Teutonic [[Prussian Confederation]], and after the subsequent [[Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466)]] it was a part of Poland as a [[fief]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|pages=54, 96–97, 214–215}}</ref> To the town's [[Polish people|Polish]] population it was known as ''Ządźbork''.

===Modern era===
[[File:Albrecht Adam - Sensburger Markt.jpg|thumb|left|Italian troops at the Market Square in 1812 (by [[Albrecht Adam]])]]
Ządźbork became part of the [[Duchy of Prussia]], a vassal state of Poland, in 1525. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the town suffered through fires and plagues.

Part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] since 1701, the town was incorporated into the [[Province of East Prussia]] after its creation in 1773. It was heavily devastated during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. It remained mostly a small hamlet in the largely rural area around it. Agriculture, fishing and the richness of the surrounding forests provided the sources of income for the local population. Just like all of [[Masuria]] the district was inhabited mainly by Poles, and town itself had majority Polish population in 1816<ref>Mrągowo. Z dziejów miasta i powiatu. Andrzej Wakar Pojezierze, 1975, page 91</ref> however in the 19th century their percentage began to decrease due to [[Germanisation]], removal of the Polish language from schools and the pressure of the local German administration (from 86% in 1825 to 59% in 1890). The town became the county seat in 1818, with its first ''Landrat'' (country executive) being August von Lyśniewski.<ref>Mrągowo. Z dziejów miasta i powiatu. Andrzej Wakar Pojezierze, 1975, page 92</ref> The [[Resistance movements in partitioned Poland (1795–1918)|Polish secret resistance]] was active and smuggled weapons through the town to the [[Russian Partition]] of Poland during the [[January Uprising]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Groniewska|first=Barbara|year=1960|title=Rola Prus Wschodnich w powstaniu styczniowym|magazine=Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie|language=pl|issue=1|page=15}}</ref> In August 1863, the Prussians discovered the activity, carried out arrests of local resistance members and seized a shipment of weapons headed to the town.<ref>Groniewska, p. 19</ref> In 1871 Sensburg became part of the [[German Empire]] during the Prussian-led [[unification of Germany]]. In 1897 the town became connected to the railway system, which went from [[Biskupiec|Bischofsburg (Biskupiec)]] to [[Kętrzyn|Rastenburg (Kętrzyn/Rastembork)]]. In 1903 the city received a donation from Edward Pałasz to acquire its own forest, where it then built recreational facilities.<ref>Mrągowo. Z dziejów miasta i powiatu. Andrzej Wakar Pojezierze, 1975, page 103</ref>

[[File:MragowoBrunnen.JPG|thumb|left|Fountain on the main square]]
Following [[World War I]], as a condition of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], the [[League of Nations]] held the [[East Prussian plebiscite]] on 11 July 1920 to determine if the people in the southern districts of [[East Prussia]] wanted to remain within the [[Free State of Prussia]] and [[Weimar Republic|Germany]] or to join the [[Second Polish Republic]]. Before the vote German nationalists engaged in brutal excesses, which remained unhindered by meagre presence of Allied forces; a Scottish regiment only once visited the city, and only to demonstrate a music orchestra.<ref>Mrągowo. Z dziejów miasta i powiatu. Andrzej Wakar Pojezierze, 1975, page 106</ref> {{citation needed|reason=need more balanced source|date=October 2024}} The plebiscite resulted in 3,660 votes for Germany and none for Poland.<ref>{{cite book |title=Selbstbestimmung für Ostdeutschland – Eine Dokumentation zum 50 Jahrestag der ost- und westpreussischen Volksabstimmung am 11. Juli 1920|first1=Herbert| last1=Marzian|first2=Csaba|last2=Kenez|year=1970|page=115 |language=de}}</ref>

At the end of [[World War II]] the town was liberated by the [[Red Army]] during the [[East Prussian Offensive]], losing almost 20% of its buildings in the fighting.

From 1945 to 1947 the city was known by the historic Polish name Ządzbork. The city's name was changed to the current Mrągowo in 1947, in honor of Polish pastor, writer and translator [[Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius]] (1764–1855), a noted defender of the Polish language in [[Masuria]].

The local populace was mostly spared [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|expulsion]] due to their Polish ethnicity, but many resisted being treated as Poles. The 1940-50s saw repeated [[Polonization|measures implemented]] to force the locals to sign that they were Poles, or to receive Polish identity cards. People who declined were often interned.<ref>{{cite book|title=Die Vertreibung der deutschen Bevölkerung aus den Gebieten östlich der Oder-Neisse|series=Dokumentation der Vertreibung der Deutschen aus Ost-Mitteleuropa|volume=I/2|year=1984|publisher=Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag|pages=877–896}}</ref>

After the war, Mrągowo remained a rural town with approximately 10,000 inhabitants; this number stayed almost constant until the late 1980s. In the following decade, mostly due to economic and political changes, the town gained some influence in the region and grew quickly into a regional center for economic business and tourism. Recently, Mrągowo has tried to regain some of its former beauty and to represent the region.

[[File:Jezioro Czos w Mrągowie 1.jpg|thumb|Lake Czos]]

==Coat of arms==
The town's [[coat of arms]] derives from a regional story of the 15th century. It claims that when a group of local farmers was being threatened by predators, the townspeople tracked down a fearsome bear. They were only able to shoot it in its paw, and it managed to flee to [[Kętrzyn|Rastembork]]. Only upon its arrival there did the bear succumb to its injuries. The bear's paw was brought back to Ządźbork and is honored in the coat of arms.
[[File:Kamienica Ogrodowa.JPG|thumb|Example of a historic house in Mrągowo]]

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

===Twin towns — Sister cities===
Mrągowo is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Grünberg, Hesse|Grünberg]], [[Germany]] – since 1993
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Limanowa]], [[Poland]] – since 2006
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Łańcut]], [[Poland]] – since 2020
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Zelenogradsk]], [[Russia]]

==Notable people==
*[[Przemysław Kulig]] (b. 1980), Polish footballer
* [[Natalia Nykiel]] (b. 1995), Polish singer
* [[Joachim Philipkowski]] (b. 1961), soccer player
* [[Radosław Pindiur]] (b. 1988), Canadian-Polish footballer
* [[Georg Riedel (Altstadt Kantor)|Georg Riedel]] (1676–1738), German composer

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mrągowo}}
*[https://archive.today/20030320055541/http://www.mragowo.um.gov.pl/ Official website]

{{Mrągowo County}}
{{Gmina Mrągowo}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Mrągowo County]]
[[Category:Populated lakeshore places in Poland]]
[[Category:Masuria (region)]]