- published: 17 Oct 2014
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Ełk [ɛu̯k] (before 1945 German: Lyck (help·info); before 1939 rendered in Polish as Łęg or Łęk; Old Prussian Luks) is a town in northeastern Poland with 61,156 inhabitants (as of 2010). It was assigned to Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in 1999, after belonging to Suwałki Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998. Ełk is the capital of Ełk County.
The city lies on a shore of Ełckie Lake, which was formed by a glacier. Surrounded by forests, the area is part of the region of Masuria. One of its principal attractions is hunting, which is carried out in extensive forests.
By 1283 the last Sudovian Prussian leader, Skomand (Lithuania:Skalmantas), capitulated to the Teutonic Knights in the Lyck area. After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the Komturship of Brandenburg, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Komturship Balga. A former Old Prussian settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around an Ordensburg built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's name has various postulated origins both from Polish and German, its German version Lyck, is postulated to be derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka), other theory holds that the name comes from Polish word "łęg" meaning meadow. It received its town rights in 1445.