Every design for Ostróda

Ostróda grew up on an island where the Drwęca river runs into Lake Drwęca, and its name was borrowed from Osterode am Harz, the German town its Teutonic founders had in mind. Today it is the largest town in the western part of Masuria and the seat of Ostróda County, and the Elbląg Canal links it all the way to the Baltic coast.

What sets it apart is how close the water comes to everything. The town lies right on the lake, the Plaża Miejska fills up on summer afternoons, and the Wieża Bismarcka looks out over roofs, reeds and forest. The main road between Gdańsk and Warsaw runs straight through, yet the pace here belongs to the lake rather than the traffic.

And then there is the Zamek krzyżacki, the stone-and-brick castle the Teutonic Order raised in place of its first wooden fort. It has watched over the shore for centuries, and for anyone from Ostróda it is the fixed point on the map worth carrying wherever they go.