Although Olsztyn (Allenstein) had survived WW II relatively undamaged, it was destroyed by the Soviet Army, the German population was displaced. Nowadays most of the old city has been beautifully restored and enjoyed my sightseeing trip through the Allenstein's brick Gothic churches. The city caters mostly for German tourists: When I came to close the cathedral's altar, the alarm system sounded in form of a prerecorded announcement: "Don't step into the altar area" in Polish and in German ...
Even hiking out of Olsztyn was a delight: The E11 follows the river Lina with plenty of scenic paths and rest areas. (Alas it was too cold to rest ...) In the tiny village of Barkweda I encountered a big poster of Napoleon. A quick internet research revealed that Napoleon fought a battle here against the Prussians and Russians to cross the river. Napoleon won.
The next days were a historical delight. I walked through Dobre Miasto (Guttstadt) and Lidbark Warminski (Heilsberg), both former German towns. Most of the old houses have been destroyed, but both places still sport huge brick cathedrals which stick out of modern communist housing blocks in a bizarre way. Heilsberg had another surprise in form of an WW I (!) PoW cemetery.In the tiny village of Schmolainen the E11 made a strange long detour. I briefly thought of shortcutting it - and luckily I didn't! The trail took me to the former sommer residence of the bishop of Ermland. After 1945 the former castle was used as an agricultural school, but is now being restored to its former glory. It is set in the middle of a beautiful park that could be the film set for a fairy tale movie. Old trees, overgrown hedges, small path and thick walls that can only be crosses through theses wrought-iron gates. I could have wandered around much longer but several stray dogs decided to chase me out of their domain ...
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Cloister of Stoczek monastery |
I arrived in Ketzryn (Rastenburg) on a Sunday morning - ideal for recharging my phone again because now all the churches would be open. They were open indeed but masses were scheduled every hour and people were even standing outside to attend. No way I could sneak in and look for an electrical outlet. After trying my luck at several churches I arrived at the brick Gothic cathedral just between two services. While my electronic devices were recharging I discovered paintings of Luther and Melanchthon on the pulpit - in a Catholic church! An information board (in Polish and German) gave me the solution: The majority of the former German population had been Protestant, therefore this Catholic cathedral had been Protestant until 1945.
1 comment:
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