What connects Ostroda with Sopot? Why are the Days of the Sea celebrated in the Masurian town and why can you take a boat trip on the grass? And how did it happen that the image with Ostruda hangs in the Louvre? Poland is not only large, popular cities. There are also many small towns that can delight no less than the most famous ones.
NAME: Ostroda
LOCATION: Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Masurian Voivodeship, Ilawa Lakes. Ostroda is located near the lake Drventskie. The Drvenka River flows through the city.
EXISTS: municipal rights granted in 1329 by Jirgon’s commander Luther von Braunschweig
PECULIARITIES: In 1807, Napoleon Bonaparte with his troops was in Ostroda for a month. Pearl of Mazury. There are five lakes, the longest ski lift in Poland, an internal pier and an almost white beach. In one of the churches, you can admire a unique monument: a fourteenth-century wooden heel. From Ostroda to Elblag you can take a boat trip on the grass.
Legends of Ostroda
Ostruda has several legends. One of them tells the story of a cruel knight living in a castle who threw the reluctant Christianization of the pagans into prison for certain death. One stormy night, the waters swallowed up the fortress in which he lived, and Black or Devil’s Lake was created here. Others said that from this coal-black water a certain owner mined an ordinary stone, which turned into a piece of pure gold. It was a thank you for a good deed from a very special rider whose skin was suffering. As the person was unusual, so was the gift. And although other residents later went to the lake in the hope that they would find a shiny stone that would change their fate – only the owner of the inn could enjoy the wealth in the settlement.
There are so many legends that magically try to combine truth and fiction or explain some phenomena. In the first decade of the 19th century, Ostroda was the capital of the empire of the French emperor for a month. This is not a fable, but a true historical truth. After the presence of Napoleon Bonaparte in the city, a painting entitled “Napoleon shows mercy to the inhabitants of Ostroda. March 1807.” Marie Nicolas Ponce-Camus is a French historical painter, miniaturist and portrait painter who has twice been awarded gold medals, to see the originals of his work, they can be admired in the Louvre in Paris. A copy can be seen in the city museum of Ostroda, which is housed in a 14th-century Teutonic castle. This is perhaps the only glorious souvenir of the imperial audience in Ostroda.
Because historians have placed Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops in the city next to the biggest cataclysms: fires, epidemics of cyclones or cholera. And the emperor, although he remained in one of the rooms of the castle, on the first floor of the northern wing, in letters to his wife Josephine, he complained about the conditions prevailing in this “vile village” (the village of Mauvai), from the penetrating cold in the cells, I can not keep warm . And in these inconveniences, he managed to conquer Europe in a month. Give orders, and his army licked its wounds after the Prussian battle of Ilava (now Bagrationovsk in the Kaliningrad region).
Today there is no trace of the village of Mauvai. Ostroda was beautiful and is one of the most visited cities by tourists and the summer capital of Warmia and Mazury. This is such a green, multi-colored pearl, or rather the pearl of Mazury, as they say about this charming city.
Five lakes
Ostruda is often associated with nature and five lakes. The pubs and restaurants that have grown up on the waterfront add to the atmosphere of the place. But not only because the city boasts the longest internal wooden bridge in Poland. Like Sopot on the Baltic Sea, Ostroda on Lake Drvenka has a wooden promenade. In the middle of the L-shaped pier is a stylish gazebo where you can relax. 
Water Ski Lift
The biggest attraction in Poland is the longest water ski lift in Poland, 800 meters long. Other water sports enthusiasts can rent kayaks and bicycles. Tourists especially like the multimedia fountain because of its colors and sounds, because when you arrive at the right time, you can, for example, listen to Bach and watch the fountain dance to this song.
If you go to the other side of the boulevard and walk to the pier where sailboats are moored. Behind it is a family recreation area, that is, a mini park for children. Next is a footpath that leads over the former railway bridge and around the lake. Be sure to visit the landscape park on the Drvenka River in spring. There you will be greeted by anemones, hepaticas, almost wild greens without human intervention. And in a clearing called Binduga, which overlooks the island, is located on the lake. Also in this area there are two more surprises: two small lakes. It is also necessary to go to the observation deck, which is located in the tower of the Lutheran church on the street. Senkevich. The windows offer a beautiful view of the whole of Ostroda, two churches stand out in particular.
One with one tower (Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary) and the other with two towers (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession), because in fact it looks like it has two towers. In one of them – in the church. The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a unique piece of art or a fourteenth-century heel: the Virgin Mary holding Jesus on the cross is made of wood. And this fact makes it unique that it is a wooden sculpture.
Swim on grass
Although Masuria is called the land of a thousand lakes, it is when you go by boat from their summer capital that you can swim on the grass. And it was after the Ostrod-Elblag Canal, which is distinguished by its unique stocks, which make it possible to overcome the 99-meter difference in water level between Lake Druzhno near Elblag and Lake Pinevo at a distance of 11 km. This nineteenth-century structure still fulfills its purpose and is an incredible attraction that you must experience. In summer, on a sunny day, you can relax and lie down on the city beaches in Ostroda. It’s right next to the boulevard. It is also worth going to Lake Saimino.
There is another one of the most beautiful beaches worth visiting. Goes down the high stairs. And below is a beach with soft, almost white sand. Clear lake. Last year, the bridge was renovated, and a place with a dressing room was also allocated. Two playgrounds are waiting for children. Tired of the heat, they can take a walk on the lake. A new wide walking and cycling path runs through trees and shrubs to provide shade and coolness. Ostroda is especially lively in summer. The city provides hospitality and at the same time becomes the capital of disco polo, because it is here that the festival of dance music from Jamaica takes place.
For 20 years there has been a festival of reggae, ethnic music (summer with folklore), juggling shows and staging with fire (Fire and Juggling Festival) or Sea Days. We can say that all these elements that during the year are slightly buzzing under the surface, but only in the summer they come to the surface and take control of the city. It is in Ostroda that the dance music festival and the reggae festival take place, so there are two genres of extreme music. At both parties, residents can have a great time and host both music lovers.
Why are maritime days held in Ostroda in Masuria?
Because there is access to the sea through the Ostroda-Elblag canal. Everyone likes them because it has such a “sailing” atmosphere. Yachts and sailboats arrive there, anchored at the pier. Shantany concerts and various interesting side events. Harleys come on their “horses”, they never bypass. It is very beautiful and colorful. And the culmination of the Days of the Sea is a fireworks show.
One of the favorite places for tourists is the library. It is a great realm of books, but also a place where different generations meet. She not only borrows books, but also organizes cultural events almost every day. The library is located in part of the Teutonic Castle. Opening days, exhibitions, workshops for making Christmas baubles, Christmas decorations, natural cosmetics, meetings with travelers and writers are held here.
The debating book club and the Magic Movie Movie Club are thriving. Every year, the library holds holidays and holidays, that is, events for the little ones. The library in Ostroda is a modern, still developing institution with a soul. Ostroda is a city that meets all your needs. If you change, then you get the impression that the city is also changing with you and every time it shows you its other side. This surprises many in this city. And makes you not leave here.
