Mikołajki is an old Masurian church town first documented as Nickelsdorf (Sankt Niklas) in 1444 and Niklasdorf in 1493. The name refers to Saint Nicholas (Mikołaj in Polish).[1][2] Early on, it was part of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1454 Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporated the region to the Kingdom of Poland upon the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation,[3] and the Thirteen Years' War broke out. After the war ended in 1466 it was part of Poland, as a fiefdom held by the Teutonic Knights[4] and, from 1525 on, the Duchy of Prussia, founded as a vassal state of Poland. Similar to all of Masuria, it was mainly inhabited by Poles, hailing from nearby Masovia. In 1539 the inhabitants of the settlement were almost entirely |Poles,[5] who called it by its Polish name Mikołajki. First Protestant pastors were mentioned in 1552.[5] The settlement, now within the Kingdom of Prussia, grew during the 18th century, receiving its town privileges as Nikolaiken in 1726. Because of its location on Śniardwy, the fishery of Nikolaiken ensured continued prosperity; the whitefish of the region were especially popular throughout the province of East Prussia.
From 1871 it was part of the German Empire, located within the Sensburg district (Landkreis Sensburg) within the province of East Prussia. However, in 1877, the population was still predominantly Polish, mostly of Protestant confession.[5] In the 1898 German federal election, the Polish candidate of the Masurian People's Party, Zenon Eugeniusz Lewandowski, who originated from Poznań and was supported by the German Free-minded People's Party, received 50% of votes in Mikolajki.[6][7]
As a result of the treaty of Versailles the 1920 East Prussian plebiscite was organized on 11 July 1920 under the control of the League of Nations, which resulted in 1,800 votes to remain in Germany and none for Poland.[8] During World War II it was one of the few Masurian towns not destroyed from the fighting, following the war it became again part of Poland under its Polish name Mikołajki.[1] The German-speaking population was evacuated and expelled by Polish and Soviet soldiers in accordance to the Potsdam Agreement.[citation needed]
The town was a growing tourist center before the war, and is now one of the largest tourist sights in Masuria. The ice sailing in winter is an especially popular attraction.
^ abcSłownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VI (in Polish). Warszawa. 1885. p. 400.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Mrągowo. Z dziejów miasta i powiatu. Andrzej Wakar Pojezierze, 1975, page 101
^Andreas Kossert: "Wilhelminische Ostmarkenpolitik als infrastrukturelle Durchdringung? Masuren und der deutsch-polnische Antagonismus" in: Comparativ vol. 2 (2005), page 56 (in German)
^Marzian, Herbert; Kenez, Csaba (1970). Selbstbestimmung für Ostdeutschland – Eine Dokumentation zum 50 Jahrestag der ost- und westpreussischen Volksabstimmung am 11. Juli 1920 (in German). p. 114.
^"Miesięczna suma opadu". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^"Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^"Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^"Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
^"Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
.jpg)
![Lutheran Holy Trinity church[2]](File:POL_Mikolajki_02.jpg)
.jpg)
