Every design for Olsztyn

Olsztyn began as a watchtower on the Łyna, and the castle that followed became the most famous address in Warmia: Nicolaus Copernicus lived here and led the successful Polish defence of the town during a Teutonic invasion.

The Zamek Kapituły Warmińskiej, the Castle of the Warmian Cathedral Chapter, still holds an astronomical table drawn by Copernicus, and it is now home to the Muzeum Warmii i Mazur as well as concerts, exhibitions and film screenings. In the Old Town, the Bazylika konkatedralna świętego Jakuba Apostoła w Olsztynie, more than six hundred years old, is counted among the greatest Gothic monuments in Poland, and the market square is part of the European Route of Brick Gothic. The town changed hands between the Teutonic Knights and the Polish Crown more than once, and in the Thirteen Years' War its townspeople took the castle and recognised the Polish king. Its German name, Allenstein, came from the river's old Prussian name, Alna, meaning a hind.

Today it is the largest city in Warmia, a university town that ranks among the happiest places in the country. If you grew up here, the map will take you straight back to the castle walls, the Wysoka Brama and the bend of the Łyna below them.