Every design for Kętrzyn

Morning light on the walls of the Zamek krzyżacki w Kętrzynie, the castle the Teutonic Knights raised in the fourteenth century, and around it a town of the Masurian Lakeland waking up. Kętrzyn, known as Rastenburg in German and as Rastembork in Polish until 1946, lies in the north of Masuria, a short way east of Warmia, on land once home to the Prussian Barti tribe.

The Bazylika Kolegiacka Świętego Jerzego was built as a fortified church, and together with the castle it formed the southern line of the town walls. Behind those walls the townspeople rebelled against the Order, joined the Prussian Confederation and paid homage to the Polish king. Nearby, the Rozlewisko Wopławka brings wetland and open water right up to the edge of town, and the Park Ekologiczny gives the centre its green space. In the forest east of town, at Gierłoż, lies the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's wartime headquarters, which brings many visitors to the area.

Whether you come back along lakeside roads or simply open the map, Kętrzyn is where the castle, the basilica and the familiar streets are waiting to welcome you home.