Rzeka Łyna w dziejach miasta Olsztyna do 1772 r.
The Łyna River in the history of Olsztyn up to 1772

Summary/Abstract: In this article, the author undertakes, for the first time, an extensive analysis of the relationship between the town of Olsztyn and the River Łyna in a historical and spatial context. The subjects of the research include the choice of the river as a key element of the foundation of the town, its role as a marker of the town boundaries and land, and its importance for the shaping of spatial development of this urban centre. The original name of Olsztyn was Allenstein, confirmed by sources from 1348; it can be translated as “Łyna Castle” or “Łyna Stronghold”. Giving the new urban centre a name derived from the river testifies to the vital importance of the Łyna for its functioning. The bend of the river was a natural defence barrier from the south and west, and additional defences in the form of a system of moats, which involved modification of the riverbed, strengthened the town’s defences from the north‑east. In the Olsztyn foundation charter of 31 October 1353, the Łyna is mentioned several times as a boundary of the town’s land, especially in the south and west. The river divided the town into a right‑bank and a left‑bank part. There were two bridges crossing the Łyna in the town, which appear on the oldest surviving map of the Olsztyn borough from the seventeenth century. Apart from those, there was a bridge leading into the town from the north, over the moat, which had a brick foundation, and the castle had its own drawbridge over the river. Essentially, Olsztyn and the Łyna formed a system of interconnections and interdependencies in which the river played a key role in the defensive, spatial and economic aspects of the town.

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