Ełk

The area where the town of Ełk is located was originally inhabited by Jatvingians, a Baltic peoples, during the Early Middle Ages. By 1281, Skomand the last leader of the pagan Jatvingians, capitulated to the crusading Teutonic Knights, who initially were invited in 1226 by Konrad I of Masovia from the Polish Piast dynasty to put an end to the constant pagan raids into his territory.

After 1323, the northern part of the region was administered by the commandery of Brandenburg, while the larger part with the later town belonged to Balga commandery. A former Old Prussian settlement, the town was first documented in 1398 around a castle built by the Teutonic Knights. The town's name has various postulated origins. Its German version Lyck is postulated to be derived from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from the word for waterlily, luka), while another theory holds that the name comes from Polish word "łęg" meaning meadow.Program Rewitalizacji Ełku, page 20 Załącznik nr 1 do Uchwały Nr LIII/493/10 Rady Miasta Ełku z dnia 25 maja 2010 roku Old Polish names of the town included Łek, Łęg and Łęk. It received its town rights in 1445.

After the outbreak of the Thirteen Years' War in 1454, the town sided with the Prussian Confederation,{{request quotation|date=June 2019}} at whose request the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon announced the incorporation of the region into the Kingdom of Poland, which resulted in the town becoming part of the Polish state.{{Cite book|last=Klimowicz|first=Robert|title=Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic|year=2009|location=Ełk|language=pl|page=56}}{{Cite book|last=Górski|first=Karol|title=Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych|year=1949|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|location=Poznań|language=pl|page=54}} The town was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455, and later on, it was conquered alternately by the Poles and the Teutonic Knights.{{Cite book|last=Klimowicz|first=Robert|title=Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic|year=2009|location=Ełk|language=pl|page=57}} After 1466 it was a part of Poland as a fief.Górski, pp. 96–97, 214–215{{Cite book|last=Klimowicz|first=Robert|title=Ełk. Karty z dziejów miasta i okolic|year=2009|location=Ełk|language=pl|page=19}}

File:Ełk na rycinie z XVII w.JPG

In 1537, Duke Albert of Prussia donated an estate to Jan Malecki, a Polish printer from Kraków who had either fled{{cite book|title=Ostpreussen – Geschichte und Mythos|first1=Andreas |last1=Kossert |publisher=Siedler |year=2005|isbn=3-88680-808-4|page=60|language=de|quote="Seit 1537 entfaltete der aus Polen geflüchtete protestantische Pfarrer Jan Maletius eine rege Übersetzungstätigkeit in Lyck"}} or moved to Ducal Prussia for material reasons,{{cite book | title=Polish Sacred Philology in the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation: Chapters in the History of the Controversies (1551-1632) | publisher=University of California Press | author=Frick, David | year=1989 | pages=13 | isbn=0520097408}} to establish a printing house.*{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKGfAAAAMAAJ&q=maletius|title=Die Jagiellonen: Kunst und Kultur einer europäischen Dynastie an der Wende zur Neuzeit|first1=Dietmar|last1=Popp|first2=Robert|last2=Suckale |publisher=Germanisches Nationalmuseum |year=2002|page=205|language=de|access-date=30 January 2012}}
*Hołd pruski

Maria Bogucka, Wydawnictwo Interpress, p. 137, 1982.
*Archiwa, biblioteki i muzea kościelne, Tomy 69-70 Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski. Ośrodek Archiwów, Bibliotek i Muzeów Kościelnych, page 131 1998 After converting to Lutheranism, Malecki translated and published Martin Luther's

Small Catechism in Polish{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2mdIpkJ5QWoC&q=malecki

| title = Selected Writings: Early Slavic Paths and Crossroads|first1=Roman|last1=Jakobson |publisher=Walter de Gruyther |year=1985|isbn=3-11-010605-1|page=51|access-date=30 January 2012}} In 1546 a Polish school, the first school for secondary education in Masuria, was founded in the city, where apart from locals also Polish nobles from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were taught.{{cite magazine|last=Sukertowa-Biedrawina|first=Emilia|year=1958|title=Z zagadnień walki o szkołę polską w diecezji ełckiej w pierwszej połowie XIX wieku|magazine=Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie|language=pl|issue=1|page=64}} Polish pastor, translator, publisher and co-creator of the literary Polish language, Hieronim Malecki, was the school's first rector. In the mid-16th century Ełk was one of the most thriving centers of Polish-language printing.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} In 1600, the town's population was Polish, and almost all innkeepers had Polish surnames.{{cite book|last=Kętrzyński|first=Wojciech|author-link=Wojciech Kętrzyński|year=1882|title=O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich|language=pl|location=Lwów|publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich|page=448}} In 1639 the King of Poland Władysław IV Vasa visited the town.Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie 2, 2006, p. 231 (in Polish) It remained under Polish suzerainty until 1660.Confirmed by the Treaty of Oliva of 1660.

In 1709-10, the plague claimed 1,300 victims.{{cite book | first = Andreas | last = Kossert | title = Masuren. Ostpreußens vergessener Süden | publisher = Pantheon | year = 2006 | isbn = 3-570-55006-0|language=de}}
{{cite book | first = Andreas | last = Kossert | title = Mazury, Zapomniane południe Prus Wschodnich | year = 2004 | isbn = 83-7383-067-7|language=pl}} In 1831, 300 people, about 10 percent of the populace, died of the cholera, in 1837 another 80 and 333 in 1852.{{cite book|first1=Andreas|last1=Kossert|title=Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden|year=2001|pages=132|isbn=3-570-55006-0}}

File:Altes Gymnasium Lyck (1830).JPG

At the beginning of the 19th century, a Polish-language teachers' college was organised in the city by Tymoteusz Gizewiusz.{{cite book | first = Emilia| last = Sukertowa-Biedrawina| author-link = Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina| title = Karty z dziejów Mazur: wybór pism | year = 1972| isbn = | page= 68 |language=pl}} Until 1802, students of the local school spoke almost exclusively Polish. In 1813 the school was transformed into a German gymnasium. The position of a Polish teacher remained in place until 1819.Dzieje Warmii i Mazur w zarysie, Tomy 1-2 Jerzy Sikorski, Stanisław Szostakowski, Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego w Olsztynie Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 190, 1981 In 1820, Fryderyk Tymoteusz Krieger became the superintendent of the school and actively defended the rights of local Poles to use the Polish language. Krieger also prepared Polish educational programs, in opposition to attempts at Germanization by Prussian authorities.Tadeusz Oracki, page 173, Instytut Wydawniczy Pax, 1983. He was the first pastor in Masuria to protest against the Germanization of Polish schools in the region.Sukertowa-Biedrawina, p. 63 Prussian authorities launched investigations against him three times.Sukertowa-Biedrawina, p. 65 Among the students of the local gymnasium was Gustaw Gizewiusz, a relative of Krieger, who became one of the best-known advocates against the Germanisation of Masuria. Polish people who had acquired knowledge of the German language, including children whose parents did not speak German, were officially classified as ethnic Germans by the authorities, and were denied the right to attend Polish church services.Sukertowa-Biedrawina, p. 67 In 1825, Lyck was "officially" inhabited by 1,748 Germans and 1,394 Poles.Historia Pomorza:(1815-1850), Gerard Labuda, Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, page 157, 1993

In 1840, the German-language newspaper "Lycker gemeinnütziges Unterhaltungsblatt", later called "Lycker Zeitung", was founded.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-P8rAAAAMAAJ&q=%22lycker+zeitung%22+1840|title=Masuren: Geschichte, Land und Leute|first1=Reinhold|last1=Weber |publisher=Rautenberg|year=1983|page=200|language=de|access-date=30 January 2012}} Between 1842 and 1845, a Polish newspaper "Przyjaciel Ludu Łecki" (Łek's Friend of the People) was printed in the city, whose aim was to resist Germanisation and cultivate Polish folk traditions as well as educate the local rural population.Wielka encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Polska-Robe Bogdan Suchodolski, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, page 566, 1967Koncepcje i rozwój literatury dla ludu w latach 1773–1863 Eugenia Sławińska, Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna w Bydgoszczy, page 45 1996

File:Ełk - Szkoła 1 i 2.jpg

In May 1845, a Polish resistance movement in the city was organized by Kazmierz Szulc, whose aim was to prepare local Polish youth for an uprising.Rocznik gdański, Tom 48, Wydanie 2 Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. Wydział I--Nauk Społecznych i Humanistycznych Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe, page 73, 1990 During the January Uprising, weapons were smuggled through the city to the Russian Partition of Poland, and Polish insurgents fleeing the Russian Partition took refuge in the city; among others, a detachment of Colonel {{ill|Józef Konstanty Ramotowski|pl}} passed through it.{{cite magazine|last=Groniewska|first=Barbara|year=1960|title=Rola Prus Wschodnich w powstaniu styczniowym|magazine=Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie|language=pl|issue=1|pages=6, 16, 22}}

In 1885 the city, under its modern name Ełk, was named capital of Masuria by the Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland.{{cite book|author=|title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI|year=1885|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=206}} In the late 19th century it was the largest town of the region (according to data from 1880 and 1890), before being surpassed by Osterode (Ostróda) (according to data from 1905 and 1925).{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}

From 1896 to 1902, "Gazeta Ludowa", a Polish-language newspaper, heavily subsidised by banks from Greater Poland{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNV5uIIKJjkC&q=%22gazeta+ludowa%22&pg=PA65|title=Polish-speaking Germans? Language and national identity among the Masurians since 1871|first1=Richard |last1=Blanke|publisher=Böhlau |year=2001|isbn=3-412-12000-6|page=65}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0g5pAAAAMAAJ&q=%22gazeta+ludowa%22+lyck|title=Masuren - Ostpreussens vergessener Süden|first1=Andreas |last1=Kossert|publisher=Siedler |year=2001|pages=210|language=de|quote="1896 wurde die Gazeta Ludowa (Volkszeitung) gegründet, die zum großen Teil von Banken aus Großpolen massiv unterstützt wurde. Nach einem Jahr hatte die hochsubventionierte Zeitung eine auflage von 2500 Exemplaren erreicht"}} representing the Polish national movement in Masuria, was published in the city.Zarys historii polskiego ruchu ludowego: makieta: Tom 1 Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe. Naczelny Komitet. Zakład Historii Ruchu Ludowego, Stanisław Kowalczyk, Józef Kowal, page 223- 1963 It soon faced repression and discrimination from the German authorities which led to its demise;Szkice z dziejów Pomorza: Pomorze na progu dziejów najnowszych, Gerard Labuda Książka i Wiedza,"12.Gazeta Ludowa w Ełku", page 303 1961 its paid circulation dropped from 357 copies in 1896 to less than 250 at the turn-of-the-century.Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", pages 68, 72 According to German-American author, Richard Blanke, the "demise marked the end of the second major effort by Polish nationalists to establish a journalistic foothold in Masuria".Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", page 73

File:EŁK, AB-074.jpg

In 1896, Polish and Masurian activists founded the Masurian People's Party in the city, which sought to resist efforts of German authorities at forced Germanization. The co-founder of the party was poet Michał Kajka, today honoured in Ełk with a monument in the centre of the city.* [http://leksykonkultury.ceik.eu/index.php?title=Pomnik_Micha%C5%82a_Kajki_w_E%C5%82ku]
*Mały słownik historii Polski Witold Sienkiewicz Wiedza Powszechna, page 59, 1991
*Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN, Tom 4, Barbara Petrozoliń-Skowrońska Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, page 136 1996 From the start, the party was subject to severe repressions and attacks by Prussian authorities.Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego do krajów Ameryki Łacińskiej (do 1939 roku) Jerzy Mazurek, page 281, Biblioteka Iberyjska, 2006 In the German federal elections, the MPL received 229 votes in 1898 and 20 in 1912 in the Lyck constituency.Richard Blanke:"Polish-speaking Germans", p. 71.

File:Lyck.JPG

In 1910, Lyck had more than 13,000 inhabitants.Andreas Kossert: Masuren - Ostpreußens vergessener Süden, page 33 Mateusz Siuchniński gives the percentage of Poles in 1900 as 35.7% but warns that the numbers come from lowered German estimates.{{cite book|last=Siuchniński|first=Mateusz|year=1965|title=Miasta polskie w tysiącleciu: Tom 1|language=pl|publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich|page=275}} Many citizens fled during World War I, when Imperial Russian troops attacked the region, but returned after the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. English and Italian troops were deployed in the town after the Treaty of VersaillesButler, Rohan, Massachusetts., Bury, J.P.T., MA., & Lambert M.E., MA., editors, Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939, 1st Series, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1960, vol.x, Chapter VIII, "The Plebiscites in Allenstein and Marienwerder January 21 - September 29, 1920" to supervise the East Prussian plebiscite. The plebiscite was preceded by a campaign of violence and terror by the Germans against the Poles and even against Allied soldiers. The Germans vandalized Polish information boards{{cite magazine|author=|date=18 June 1920|title=W Warmji i na Mazurach|magazine=Robotnik|location=Warszawa|language=pl|issue=163 (951)|page=4}} and held an anti-Polish rally at which they encouraged the beating of Poles and the devastation of their homes and property.{{cite magazine|author=|date=5 June 1920|title=Hakatyści w sutannie|magazine=Gazeta Polska dla Powiatów Nadwiślańskich|location=Kwidzyn|language=pl|issue=55|page=4}} In April 1920, the German Sicherheitswehr even battered Italian soldiers, two fatally.{{cite magazine|author=|date=13 April 1920|title=Wiadomości potoczne|magazine=Gazeta Gdańska|location=Gdańsk|language=pl|issue=85|page=3}}{{cite magazine|author=|date=15 April 1920|title=Na Mazurach|magazine=Czas|location=Kraków|language=pl|issue=90|page=4}} Voting under such conditions resulted in 8,339 votes for Germany and 8 for Poland, which just regained independence.

During the Polish–Soviet War, on 31 July 1920, some 1,000 Polish soldiers arrived and were soon interned by Germany in nearby Orzysz.{{cite journal|last=Kudrzycki|first=Zbigniew|date=2008|title=Wojna polsko-bolszewicka na pograniczu Prus Wschodnich i Mazowsza|language=pl|journal=Zeszyty Naukowe Ostrołęckiego Towarzystwa Naukowego|volume=XXII|page=113|issn=0860-9608}} In 1922, a Polish consular agency was opened, which was upgraded to a vice-consulate the next year.{{cite book|last1=Ceranka|first1=Paweł|last2=Szczepanik|first2=Krzysztof|year=2020|title=Urzędy konsularne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1945. Informator archiwalny|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych|page=129|isbn=978-83-65681-93-5}}

It was in Lyck that the first-ever weekly newspaper in the Hebrew language, Ha-Magid ("the preacher") was founded in 1856 by Eliezer Lipmann Silbermann, a local rabbi. The paper was eventually moved to Berlin. In Weimar Germany anti-Semitism became prevalent, which led to persecution of the local Jewish population even before the Nazis took power. An anti-Semitic publication, Die jüdische Überlegenheit (The Jewish Supremacy) attacking the Jews circulated in 1927 at a local gathering of fascist sympathizers[http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/elk/5,history/?action=view&page=2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309234858/http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/article/elk/5,history?action=view&page=2|date=2016-03-09}} Virtual Sztetl In 1932, the local pharmacist Leo Frankenstein was attacked; a hand grenade was thrown into his home.Ełk History The wave of anti-Semitic repressions intensified after Nazis gained power in Germany in 1933 and many local merchants and intellectuals of Jewish descent were arrested. During Kristallnacht, Jewish shops and synagogue were plundered and devastated in the town. Facing these events, several Jews of Lyck decided to escape, some abroad, some to Berlin, others as far as Shanghai Of those Jews who remained, 80 were murdered in various Nazi concentration and death camps.

File:Ełk CK 1 31.08.2016-4 skal.jpg

The city also was the site of German prison camps for Norwegian and Soviet PoWs during World War II.{{cite book|author=|title=Teczka specjalna J.W. Stalina: raporty NKWD z Polski 1944-1946|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Studiów Politycznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk|page=159}}{{cite book|last=Okęcki|first=Stanisław|year=1965|title=Cudzoziemcy w polskim ruchu oporu: 1939-1945|language=pl|publisher=Interpress|page=136}} Over 60 Italian PoWs were imprisoned as forced labour in the town.{{cite magazine|last=Marcinkiewicz|first=Stefan Michał|year=2024|title=Stalag I B Kommando Prostken (I B/PR). Włoscy żołnierze w obozie jenieckim w Boguszach/Prostkach (1943–1945)|magazine=Przegląd Historyczno-Wojskowy|volume=25|issue=3|language=pl|page=153}} The Polish resistance was active and operated one of the region's main smuggling points for Polish underground press in the city.{{cite book|last=Chrzanowski|first=Bogdan|year=2022|title=Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945|language=pl|location=Gdańsk|publisher=IPN|page=57|isbn=978-83-8229-411-8}} It was heavily damaged by bombardments. The Soviet Army approached in January 1945. The city was placed under Polish administration in April 1945 and the remaining German inhabitants were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. It was rebuilt and its modern Polish name Ełk was confirmed as official.

In 1999, Ełk was visited by Pope John Paul II. About 300,000 people attended a papal Mass.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

In 2017, the anti-Muslim Ełk riots occurred after a fatal stabbing of a 21-year-old man by a Muslim kebab cook. Several hundred men surrounded the Prince Kebab restaurant,[http://cejsh.icm.edu.pl/cejsh/element/bwmeta1.element.ojs-doi-10_11649_a_1672/c/a.1672-3635.pdf Zawadzka, Anna. "Drinking vodka with anti-Semites. A case study of ‘Polish-Jewish relations’ today." Adeptus 11 (2018): 1-23.][https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38488863 Tunisian charged over Poland stabbing that sparked riot], BBC, 2 January 2017 tossing firecrackers, stones, and Molotov cocktails at the shop. Police initially stood by and did not intervene for several hours; however, when they did intervene the crowd turned against them as well. Following the riots in Ełk, other attacks on kebab restaurants took place throughout Poland.[https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/12/29/gestorven-door-het-kebabmes-a1586549 Died by the kebab knife], NRC Handelsblad, 29 December 2017, Roeland Termote & Pieter van Os

In 2018, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, a monument to Józef Piłsudski was erected in front of the town hall.{{cite web |url=https://elk.dlawas.info/wiadomosci/elk-pomnik-marszalka-pilsudskiego-na-100-lecie-niepodleglosci/cid,11967,a|title=Ełk: Pomnik Marszałka Piłsudskiego na 100-lecie Niepodległości, Ełkdlawas.info|access-date=June 2, 2019}} The Marshal of Poland was also honored with a mural on one of the townhouses in the city center.{{cite web |url=http://www.elk.pl/aktualnosci-wpis/3023/nowy-mural-na-100-lecie-niepodleglosci|title=Nowy mural na 100-lecie niepodległości, Miasto Ełk - tu wracam|access-date=June 2, 2019}}

File:Gmina Ełk Ełk ul. Zamkowa most na jeziorze Ełckim.JPG, connecting the city with Castle Island]]

{{Historical populations|align=left|cols=2|1499|600|1600|800|1782|2000|1816 (est.)|2700|1831|2945|1843|3397|1875|5912|1880|6846|1890|9981|1900|11386|1910|13428|1925|15159|1933|15520|1939|16482|1950|13665|1960|21952|2010|61156|2011|59274|2017|61523

|footnote=Note that the above table is based on primary, possibly biased, sources:[http://web.nli.org.il/sites/JPress/English/Pages/HaMegid.aspx Historical Jewish Press website]; retrieved May 21, 2014.[http://www.castlesofpoland.com/prusy/elk_hist.htm] {{in lang|pl}}[http://www.stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/LUD_bilans_ludnosci_31-12-2011.xls] {{in lang|pl}}August Eduard Preuß: Preußische Landes- und Volkskunde. Königsberg 1835, [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_L_sAAAAAcAAJ/page/n476 pp. 454–455, no. 65.][http://www.wspolczesna.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101128/REG30/522983930 wspolczesna.pl] {{in lang|pl}}Johann Friedrich Goldbeck: Volständige Topographie des Königreichs Preussen. Part I: Topographie von Ost-Preussen, Marienwerder 1785, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Mww_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA39 p. 39, no. 2.]{{cite book|author=|title=Dokumentacja Geograficzna|volume=3/4|year=1967|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Instytut Geografii Polskiej Akademii Nauk|page=11}}}}

File:Ełk - wieża ciśnień.jpg

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File:Ełk 13.05.2018 As 08.jpg

The city of Ełk is divided into 14 administrative units, known in Polish as osiedla:

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Baranki
• Centrum
• Jeziorna
• Konieczki
• Osiedle Bogdanowicza
• Osiedle Grunwaldzkie
• Osiedle Kochanowskiego
• Osiedle Tuwima
• Osiedle Wczasowe
• Pod Lasem
• Północ I
• Północ II
• Szyba
• Zatorze

{{div col end}}

• Arthur Ludwich (1840–1920), German classical philologist who specialized in Homeric studies
• Charles Edward Moldenke (1860–1935), American Lutheran minister and Egyptologist
• Theodor Simon Flatau (1860–1937), German physician
• Karol Bahrke (1868–1935), Polish activist, journalist and book publisher
• Otto von Schrader (1888–1945), German admiral
• Theodor Horydczak (1889–1971), American photographer
• Alfred Müller (1905–1959), German middle-distance runner, competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics
• Kurt Symanzik (1923–1983), German physicist
• Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014), German author; honorary citizen of Ełk since 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/article2063541/Siegfried-Lenz-zum-Ehrenbuerger-seiner-Geburtsstadt-ernannt.html|title=Siegfried Lenz zum Ehrenbürger seiner Geburtsstadt ernannt|access-date=2011-11-18 |publisher=Hamburger Abendblatt|language=de}}
• Klaus Gerwien (1940–2018), German soccer player
• Leszek Błażyński (1949–1992), Polish boxer
• Roman Czepe (born 1956), Polish politician
• Andrzej Zgutczyński (born 1958), Polish footballer
• Dariusz Zgutczyński (born 1965), Polish footballer
• Cezary Zamana (born 1967), Polish cyclist
• Paweł Sobolewski (born 1979), Polish footballer
• Tomasz Abramowicz (born 1979), Polish footballer
• Marek Bujło (born 1993), Polish mixed martial artist

• Adam Puza (1990–1994)
• Zdzisław Fadrowski (1994–2002)
• Janusz Nowakowski (2002–2006)
• Tomasz Andrukiewicz (since 2006)

File:Wyzsze Seminarium Duchowne w Ełku 2012 micbor.JPG

• Private Economic Academy
• Nursery School
• Higher Catholic Seminary

File:Ełk - I Liceum.jpg No. 1 in Ełk]]

• [http://www.ekonomiak.neostrada.pl/ Zespół Szkół Ekonomicznych]
• [http://www.zsme.elk.edu.pl/ Zespół Szkół Mechaniczno - Elektrycznych]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080216083647/http://www.zs1.elk.edu.pl/ Zespół Szkół nr 1]
• Zespół Szkół nr 2 im. K. K. Baczyńskiego ([https://web.archive.org/web/20090415045135/http://www.zs2.elk.edu.pl/ swww])
• Zespół Szkół nr 3 im. J. H. Małeckich ([http://www.ze3szk.elk.edu.pl/ www])
• I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. S. Żeromskiego ([http://www.lo1.elk.edu.pl/ www])
• Zespół Szkół Rolniczych im. M. Rataja
• [http://zss.elk.pl/news.php Zespół Szkół Samorządowych] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324115133/http://zss.elk.pl/news.php |date=2010-03-24 }}
• Zespół Szkół nr.6 im. M. Rataja [http://www.zs6.elk.edu.pl/ (www) ]

Local sports clubs include football club Mazur Ełk, boxing club Mazur Ełk, cycling club LUKK Ełk, judo club MKS Żak Ełk and basketball club Wilki Ełk.

The Polish Cyclo-cross Championships were held in Ełk in 1998, 2005 and 2012.

File:Ełk kościół NSJ Roosevelta 29.04.2012 B.jpg

Since the medieval Christianization of the region, the city's population was Roman Catholic, and after the Reformation, it was almost entirely Lutheran until World War II. After the war, the main religion in Ełk became again Roman Catholicism, although a number of Protestant churches are also represented and play an important role in the religious life of the population. These include the Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal (Assemblies of God - Kościół Zielonoświątkowy) and other churches. Ełk is the center of the Catholic Diocese of Ełk with its bishop Jerzy Mazur.

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

Ełk is twinned with:[https://www.nist.gov.pl/index/pobierzplik/id/2271 Ełk - Współpraca międzynarodowa.] Narodowy Instytut Samorządu Terytorialnego (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-08-02.

• {{flagicon|ITA}} Galatone, Italy
• {{flagicon|NOR}} Lørenskog, Norway
• {{flagicon|GER}} Nettetal, Germany
• {{flagicon|LIT}} Alytus, Lithuania
• {{flagicon|ITA}} Orbassano, Italy

Former twin towns:

• {{flagicon|RUS}} Ozyorsk, Russian Federation
• {{flagicon|BLR}} Lida, Belarus

In March 2022, Ełk ended its partnership with the Russian city of Ozyorsk as a reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.{{cite web|url=https://www.wnp.pl/parlamentarny/wydarzenia/warminsko-mazurskie-elk-zerwal-wspolprace-z-rosyjskim-miastem-oziersk,548838.html|language=pl|title=Warmińsko-mazurskie: Ełk zerwał współpracę z rosyjskim miastem Oziersk|access-date=13 March 2022}}

File:POL Ełk old COA.svg

The current coat of arms of Ełk were adopted in 1999, after the town was visited by the Pope John Paul II. The colors have been changed (from green to yellow), the deer is different than in the former emblem. Lastly is the addition of the insignia of the Papacy.

Until 1967, a different emblem with the two-faced head of the god Janus was used, but its origin is unknown.{{cite web|url=http://www.castlesofpoland.com/prusy/elkdzis_po044.htm |title=Ełk - Przedwojenny herb miasta |publisher=Castles of Poland |date=2003-04-30 |access-date=2009-05-05}}

File:Gmina Ełk Ełk ul.3 maja 8.JPG|Baptist church

File:Ełk - Ratusz.jpg|Town hall

File:Ełk - most.jpg|Bridge on the Ełk Lake

File:Kamienice przy ul. Mickiewicza w Ełku.JPG|Elaborate tenement houses on Mickiewicz Street

File:Ełk Piłsudski 13.11.2018 B.jpg|Józef Piłsudski monument

File:EŁK-PKP, AB-001.jpg|Ełk railway station

File:Ełk PKP EKW 05.08.2015 B skal.jpg|The Ełk narrow-gauge railway station

File:Ełk Małeckich 08.11.2016-1 skal.jpg|Solidarity Park at night

File:Ełk Małeckich 26.03.2017 s.jpg|District Court

File:Ełk AK 29.03.2015 C-SL.jpg|Technical school

File:Ełk scena 29.06.2015.jpg|John Paul II Square

File:Obwodnica Ełku.jpg|Ełk bypass route

File:Ełk jez 25.06.2017s.jpg|Promenade

File:Ełk szpital 20.04.2014 skal.jpg|Shopping mall

File:Ełk Szyba 24.09.2017-1s.jpg|Southern districts of Szyba and Jeziorna

• Kończal, Kornelia (ed.), Ełk w dokumentach archiwalnych (część 1: lata 1945–1947), ed. with Rafał Żytyniec, in: Ełcki Przegląd Historyczny, vol. 2, 2016–2019, p. 144–217.

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Commons category|Ełk}}

• [http://www.elk.pl/ Municipal website] {{in lang|pl}}
• [http://infoserwiselk.pl/ Ełk information] {{in lang|pl}}
• [https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/e/326-elk Jewish community of Ełk] on Virtual Shtetl
• [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=53.8,22.35&spn=0.05,0.05&t=k Google satellite photo]

{{Ełk County}}

{{Gmina Ełk}}

{{Cities of Poland}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities and towns in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship

Category:Masuria (region)

Category:Populated lakeshore places in Poland

Category:Populated places established in the 14th century

Category:Holocaust locations in Poland