Morąg district (Poland)

Ostróda county, Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship

Last modified: 2011-05-14 by andrew weeks
Keywords: morag |
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• Morąg flag
• Morąg Coat of Arms

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Morąg flag

The town was founded as Mohrungen by the Teutonic Knights in 1302 in eastern Prussia and in 1327 attained Kulm law from Hermann von Oettingen. The original inhabitants of the town were emigrants from the southern Harz. War between the Teutonic Order and Poles saw the town incinerated completely in 1414.
Mohrungen was occupied by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland from 1410 to 1461.

Mohrungen is on a shipping commerce line connecting Truso with harbors at the Black Sea. Agriculture and commerce are the primary occupations in the town. It is known as a cattle and grain market.[1]

From 1525 to 1701 Mohrungen was part of Ducal Prussia, a fief of the Polish Crown. In 1701 the town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia and became the seat of Landkreis Mohrungen in 1752.An earthquake struck the town in 1818. Mohrungen belonged to Germany until 1945. After World War II the town became part of Poland as Morąg.

Arms and flag adopted on November 19, 2003 (resolution # XVI/201/03).
"Arms: on the golden shield a pilgrim dressed in black robe, standing barefooted on the green soil.In his right hand he carries a stick with the water container and in his left hand -a conch - symbol of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

(The scallop shell is the traditional emblem of Saint James the Greater and is popular with pilgrims on the Way of St James to the apostle's shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Medieval Christians making the pilgrimage to his shrine often wore a scallop shell symbol on their hat or clothes. The pilgrim also carried a scallop shell with him and would present himself at churches, castles, abbeys etc. where he could expect to be given as much sustenance as he could pick up with one scoop. Probably he would be given oats, barley, and perhaps beer or wine. Thus even the poorest household could give charity without being overburdened. The association of Saint James with the scallop can most likely be traced to the legend that the apostle once rescued a knight covered in scallops. An alternate version of the legend holds that while St. Jameś remains were being transported to Spain from Jerusalem, the horse of a knight fell into the water, and emerged covered in the shells.

Flag: rectangular piece of cloth in the ratio 5:8 composed of two equal vertical bands of yellow and green.
In the middle of the flag  there are a conch (scallop shell) and the walking stick of the pilgrim."
Chrystian Kretowicz, 14 Nov 2008

Morąg Coat of Arms