Reszel district (Poland)

Kętrzyn county, Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodship

Last modified: 2011-05-14 by andrew weeks
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• Reszel flag
• Reszel Coat of Arms

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• Kętrzyn county

Reszel flag

Reszel was originally a settlement built by the Bartian tribe of Old Prusians and conquered by the Teutonic Knights in 1241. The native Prusians later recaptured the settlement and held it for five years, but were eventually defeated by the German crusaders. Reszel received its town privileges in 1337 under Magdeburg law.
As a result of the treaty of Versailles on 11 July 1920 the Warmia and Masuria plebiscite was organized under the control of the League of Nations, which resulted 97,90 % of votes to remain in Germany and 2,10 % for Poland.
The town was transferred from Germany after WWII to Poland following the Potsdam Conference of 1945.

The main tourist attraction is the Gothic Episcopal castle. It was built 1350?1401 on a steep hill side above the right bank of the river Sajna by the Teutonic Order.
The Gothic St Peter's Church dating back to the 14th century boasts the painting of the church's patron dating back to the end of the 18th century. Other worthy of note buildings are the Jesuit monastery complex, St John's Church and the church and the monastery of the nuns of the Order of St Catherine ? all from the 15th and the 16th century. Large fragments of preserved defensive walls and the Classicist town hall in  the market square dating back to the 19th century are also worth visiting.

Near Reszel is the local Masurian Catholic shrine of Święta Lipka (German: Heiligelinde), Poland's magnificent baroque church, a Late Medieval shrine augmented in the 17th century. Since its beginning it has attracted German pilgrims from Warmia, as well as Polish and Lithuanian pilgrims. (wiki)

Arms adopted on December 30, 2002.
Flag adopted on April 24, 2008 (resolution # XVII/101/08).

"Arms: an image of the brown bear climbing the Bishop's pastoral staff (silver, with the golden header).
The background is dark green with the black grid in which the stylized, light-green images of acorns are placed.

Flag: the green color (C-100%, Y-100%) is related to the color of the Arms of the city and also symbolizes the forests surrounding it and the agriculture, which is the main livelihood of the majority of the commune's inhabitants.
The yellow color (M-15%, Y-100%) symbolizes the glorious history and the well-being of the town.
An element of the city's Arms is placed on the green side of the flag."

The flag was designed by Ms.Julia Matyjasek of Reszel in accordance to the rules set, at the request of the City Council, by one of the world's most distinguished vexillological authorities, founder of the Heraldic-Vexillological Institute, Mr.Alfred Znamierowski.
Chrystian Kretowicz, 2 Dec 2008

Reszel Coat of Arms