Send Gift Baskets to Elk, Poland

The area where the town of Ełk is located was initially inhabited by Jatvingians, a Baltic people, during the early middle ages. Skomand, the last leader of the pagan Jatvingians, capitulated to the crusading Teutonic Knights in 1281, who had been invited by Konrad I of Masovia from the Polish Piast dynasty in 1226 to end the constant pagan raids.

In 1323, the Brandenburg commandery administered the northern part of the region, while the more significant amount belonged to the Balga commandery. It dates back to 1398 when the Teutonic Knights built a castle around an Old Prussian settlement. There are several postulated origins for the town’s name. A theory suggests that its German name Lyck comes from its Old Prussian name, Luks (from Luka, the word for waterlily). Another theory suggests that Lyck originates from the Polish word “łęg,” meaning meadow. Old Polish names of the town included Łek, Łęg, and Łęk. 1445 was the year it received its town rights.

It was at the request of the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon that the region be incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland, which resulted in the town becoming part of the Polish state after the outbreak of the Thirteen Years’ War in 1454. The city sided with the Prussian Confederation during this period. Initially captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455, the Poles and the Teutonic Knights then conquered the town alternately. As a fief, it became part of Poland after 1466.