Bartoszyce

The town, founded in 1326 in the valley of the Łyna river, originated from a wooden fortress built in 1240, on the site of an old Prussian settlement in the land of Barcja. Lidzbark Gate is one of the oldest monuments of secular culture, one of the few surviving fragments of defensive walls, which surrounded the city in the mid-fourteenth century. Since 1881 it was a prison. Two stone sculptures placed along with a stone bowl on the square at the intersection of Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej i Bohaterów Warszawy streets, are the oldest monuments in Bartoszyce. Unquestionable feature of Bartoszyce is its location in the basin of the Łyna river. The river has retained its beautiful pristine character and is well suited for canoeing, being also an attractive reservoir for fishing enthusiasts.