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 stróda is a very old town, founded in 1329. It’s history is plentiful in many turbulent events. The witnesses of the historical past events – the historic monuments are fairly numerous in Ostróda. Here are the most significant:
| The Castle of the Teutonic Order, Mickiewicza Street. |
The building of the red-brick castle on stone basement was initiated around 1349 by the Commander of Ostróda - Günther von Hohenstein. The building works lasted relatively long and were interrupted by an invasion of a Lithuanian Prince Kiejstut in 1381. The Castle was raised in a form of a quadrilateral figure of dimensions of 44,7x45,2 m. From the north side, the castle had a northernmost sanitary place and a tower in south-east corner. The Castle in Ostróda, in its form, was close to the castle built in Lochstadt. The stronghold contained, counting from the east: the chapel, the Commander’s apartment and a refectory. The other parts of the quadrilateral housed: chapter house, infirmary, dormitories for the monks and guest rooms. To this day survived ceramic, profiled portals on the inner facades. The communication within the castle was secured by wooden cloisters affixed to the facades. The gothic character of the castle remained in the cellars, where cross vaulting still remains. While in the basements of  the northern and southern wing a cross-rib vaulting was used. The rooms were meant for administration purposes. After the battle of Grunwald (1410), the Castle of Ostróda was shortly governed by Prince Janusz Mazowiecki, who received it from the victorious Polish King Władysław Jagiełło. On the 19th September 1410, the Teutonic Knights returned to the castle. In 1629 Swedish king Gustaw Adolf stayed in the Ostróda Castle. Within the years of 1633-1639 the Castle was governed by a Silesian prince Jan Chrystian. In 1788, during the terrible fire of the town, the flames entered the castle where in the eastern wing reserves of gun powder were kept. The explosion destroyed the eastern wing.
From 21st February to 1st April 1807 the castle was a temporary headquarters of Napoleon Bonaparte. The castle in 19th century was the seat of the local government of Ostróda county, it also housed the local court and served as a living place for the office clerks. In 1945, after the Red Army entered the town, the castle was burnt. The rebuilding process was started in 1974. Presently, the castle houses the Culture Centre, the Gallery, the Town’s Library and the Museum. Beside the castle walls there are foundations of the sanitary place.
| Fragments of defensive walls built around the Old Town. |
We can see the remaining medieval fragment of the defensive wall right next to the wall of the church of St. Dominic Savio on the side of Drwęcka Street and reconstructed defence tower at the junction of Mickiewicza and Wyspiańskiego Streets.
| The Fountain of the three Emperors, The Polish State Millennium Square. |
The unveiling of the monument took place in 19th August 1907. The granite monument was dedicated to the three German emperors, who in 1888 ruled the state of Germany: William I, Frederic III and William III. In the sixties of the 20th century the granite obelisk was dismantled. In the place of a few-ton spire a concrete figure of Three Mermaids was put. On 1st May 2004. – the day of Poland’s accession to the European Union – the original form of the fountain was restored. Since that day it carries the name of a Monument of European Unity, and in the place of images of the three emperors there are the coats of arms of Ostróda, Osterode am Harz (Ostróda’s partnership town) and the European Union.
| The Plebiscite Stone, 3rd May Street. |
The Plebiscite Stone, commemorating the plebiscite on Warmia and Mazury in 1920. On the stone there is a date 11th July 1920. It is one of the few commemorative stones from that time, which survived to our times.
| Installations of the Ostróda-Elbląg Channel, Szosa Elbląska Street. |
On 28th October 1844 in Ostróda an engineer Mr Jacob Georg Steenke  ceremonially commenced the building of the Ostróda-Elbląg Channel. One of the branches of the channel is Ostróda Channel which leads to Stare Jabłonki. The water lock "Ostróda" is one of four locks of the Ostróda-Elbląg Channel still in operation. The length of the lock "Ostróda" is 29,3m, the width of the gate: 3,25m, the difference of the water levels is 1,6m.
| The Building of the Grammar School, Drwęcka Street. |
The building of the Grammar School was built within the years 1905-1907, as a new seat of Kaiser-Wilhelm Gymnasium. What is worth noting are very interesting architectural details.
| The monument of Tadeusz Kościuszko, Mickiewicza Street. |
Before year 1945, on the still remaining plinth was a monument commemorating the soldiers died in Austrian-Prussian wars within the years 1864, 1866 and in French-Prussian war of 1870-71. After the Second World War, on the original plinth another monument was placed – Tadeusz Kościuszko’s, the Governor of the National Uprising of 1794, funded by the workers of National Railway.
| The Cemetery Polish Hill, Olsztyńska Street. |
The oldest cemetery in Ostróda from 18th century. Some remaining graves date back to 19th century. Among those especially valuable are Jewish tombs, a Masonic grave, and a grave of a pastor from Ostróda Gustaw Gizewiusz and the graveyard gate from 1834.
Cemeteries in Ostróda included in conservatory protection:
- Communal cemetery at Spokojna Street,
- Catholic cemetery from 19th century at Czarnieckiego Street, closed,
- Cemetery of Soviet soldiers from S.W.W. at Jagiełły Street,
- The complex of cemeteries at Sajmino Lake at Chrobrego Street,
- The old Evangelical cemetery from 18th century at Olsztyńska Street, closed,
- Military cemetery of German soldiers from 1st World War,
- Former rural cemetery, presently in the territory of a fattening house at 11-go Listopada Street.
| The Tower of Bismarck, 3 Maja Street (area of Park Hotel). |
The Tower of Bismarck was the first building of this kind in the territory of East Prussia devoted to the Chancellor of Germany Otto von Bismarck. It was built in 1902 from hewed erratic boulders. The height approx. 10m.
| The historic apartment houses. |
A complex of historic apartment houses in Ostróda among others streets: Mickiewicza, Sienkiewicza, Jana Pawła II, Czarnieckiego, Słowackiego, 11-go Listopada, Armii Krajowej.
| The Water Tower, Drwęcka Street. |
Built in 1904 by Grove company from Berlin, the builder of Ostróda’s water-supply pipe system in the years of 1903-1904.
| The complex of barracks in the square of the streets of Czarnieckiego, Jagiełły, Pieniężnego and Kościuszki. |
The barracks were opened in 1913. The building process was completed in 1927. Due to the restructure process of the Armed Forces in Poland, the Military Base stationing there was dissolved. On 7th June 2001 after the farewell ceremony, the banner of the Military Base No 3732 was officially removed from the Base.
| The buildings of the National Rail, Słowackiego and 11 Listopada Streets. |
The historical buildings placed at the territory of National Rail, related to the maintenance of the rail traffic and the repairs of the railway rolling stock (the building of the station, the water tower, the signal towers). The building of the railway from Toruń to Insterburg through Ostróda was completed in 1873. the first train to Ostróda entered the town in 1872.
| The church of St. Dominic Savio, The Polish State Millennium Square. |
The church dates back to 14th century. Location documents of Ostróda mention a brick church in Ostróda already in 1335. The medieval church was neighbouring with the town’s cemetery. The more wealthy citizens of the town were buried in the church’s crypts. In 1639 the body of Princess Jadwiga, wife of Jan Chrystian from Brzeg was buried here. Jan Chrystian was the governor of Ostróda within 1639-1639. In the years 1835-1848 Gustaw Gizewiusz was a pastor of the Polish Evangelical commune by the evangelical church in Ostróda. In 1788 the church burnt during a great fire of the town. At its second time, the medieval church was burnt by the soldiers of the Red Army in 1945. The church was in ruin until 1980. The rebuilding process was commenced in 1981 and today it’s the seat of a Parish of St. Dominic Savio. From the former decorations of the church nothing was left except the stone baptism basins dating back to 14th century. What is worth noting is the architecture and the shape of the church, including especially the gothic portal of the main doors.
| The church of Immaculate Conception of Most Saint Virgin Mary, Sienkiewicza Street. |
Built in 1856-1857, originally without the tower. The tower was then added in 1910-1913. The church was serving the Catholic minority from  the beginnings. What is worth noticing is the shape and architecture of the church, and also some objects of great historical value: stain-glass windows presenting the figures of the saints painted by Georg Schneider from Ratyzbon at the beginning of 20th century, the pieta of an unknown artist from 14th century, sculptures in the altars and the sermon pulpit, the pipe organs and the paintings presenting the passion of the Christ.
| The complex of buildings of the Methodist and the Lutheran churches, Sienkiewicza Street. |
The church was built in 1907-1909. On the tower we can admire the mechanism of the pendulum clock, made by the company of J.L. Wenele from Bockenem in 1909. The people of the city of Bochum funded three bells, of which the largest weighs 3.200kg. The historic pipe organs built by the company of Orgelbauanstalt A. Terlezki from Elbląg are also greatly worth seeing. Inside the church there are interesting stone boards with names of the dead parish members and greatly interesting stain-glass windows.
| The Baptist Chapel, Nadrzeczna Street. |
Built in 1910 in the neo-gothic style. In 1899 the church of Baptists in Ostróda held 171 believers. The preacher of the church was Reverend C.A. Schellans at the time.
Did you know that:
Hans Helmut Kirst, a well known German writer was born in Ostróda. In Ostróda in Drwęcki Hotel (one of the oldest hotels in Poland) lived for many years Paul von Hindenburg, the president of Germany in 1925-1933.
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