The capital city of Warmia and Mazury is a presentation of what nature has the best to offer in this part of the country. Eleven lakes within the boundaries of the city, a lot of smaller ponds, three rivers and a vast municipal forest, which occupies around a total of 20% of the area of Olsztyn – these are the riches that no other large Polish city can pride itself on. In the centre of the city or just outside Olsztyn there are its natural resources – its fine forests and lakes, the home of many rare and protected animal and plant species, numerous monuments of nature, rivers, ponds and parks. Natural beauty is the best characteristic of Olsztyn, created by the landscape, and is the first association which visitors link to the city. Over the centuries the city did its best not to disturb the delicate balance between human aspirations and the requirements of nature because man has been dependent on the local natural resources for ages. Today, a human being is mainly looking for natural beauty and the source of inner peace, for a closer contact with the green of the forests and the blue of the lakes.
In 1346 old Prussian Warmian forest in the vicinity was cleared and place selected on the Alle now Łyna River for a new settlement. It became known to Polish settlers as Olsztyn. The Teutonic Knights began construction of an Ordensburg castle in 1347 to protect against Old Prussians, and the settlement of Allenstein was first mentioned the following year. The German name Allenstein meant a castle on the Alle River. The settlement received municipal rights from Johannes von Leysen, on 31 October 1353, and the castle was completed in 1397. Allenstein was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland during the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War in 1410 and in 1414 during the Hunger War, but was returned to the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights after hostilities ended. Allenstein joined the Prussian Confederation in 1440. (more)