It would be thirty years before they would return. Three days later, they had been dealt their most decisive defeat in the First World War. The Russians occupied Olsztyn and Olsztynek on August 27, 1914. 115 buildings in the town were either destroyed or damaged in the fighting. It was not far from the center of the conflict. A closer look makes their differences more apparent as I would find out while looking for traces of the Battle of Tannenberg in and around each of them. Olsztyn was the base I chose for me and my travel companion to visit the scattered remnants of the battle. Visiting both was by far the best way to understand their differences. Thankfully, maps were not the only way to distinguish between the two places. There was only so much of this toponymic terror a grown man could tolerate. One of the reasons I would later purchase an actual paper map was the whole Olsztyn/Olsztynek saga. Maybe road maps are just a Hungarian thing in Eastern Europe, but I would like to think otherwise. Digital maps for directions, hard copies to gain the widest perspective possible. I am one of those rare species who prefers both. Some prefer a single piece of antiquated technology rather than the latest and greatest technologies. There were still quite a few people who found them useful. Never mind the squinting while trying to locate Olsztyn, Olsztynek and the road between them on the same screen.Ī lack of road maps at Polish petrol stations left me perplexed. How could I have been so stupid? Mapping is now the preserve of smart phones. The station did not have any road maps on offer. I imagined something much the same would greet me when I walked inside the station in Olsztynek. I have been compulsively purchasing maps of central and eastern European countries at those stations for years. Pulling into the station I had visions of those wonderful racks filled with maps at Hungarian petrol stations. This just so happened to be in Olsztynek. I vowed to purchase one at the nearest petrol station. This artifact of the pre-digital age would alleviate confusion. There was a cure for this seemingly superficial travel typo before it led to madness. Subtle grandeur – Olsztynek castle (Credit: Kozak1410) I did know where we were headed, in circles. Since I had been the one who planned this trip into provincial Poland, my travel companion assumed I knew where we were going. In an era of Google Maps and GPS systems without a large, hard copy of a map the confusion was chronic. Olsztyn/Olsztynek on the roundabout was a form of circular road reasoning that threatened to bring us back to where we started. This was like traveling in the twilight zone as multiple roads led back to the same place or so those place names made me believe. On roundabouts, I did doubletakes as one and then the other would appear on directional signs for different turnoffs. The two places can seem much closer together than distance allows. The fact that Olsztyn and Olsztynek are a mere 27 kilometers (17 miles) apart further served to muddle matters. There was one thing we wanted to see in Olstynek because it had almost completely vanished. There was a great deal of history and architecture to see in Olsztyn. My impressions of Olsztyn will stay with me for years to come. My impression of Olsztynek, with one notable exception, was not lasting. We went to and through Olsztynek twice, both on the same day. Me and my travel companion stayed in Olsztyn for several days. Each time I saw a road sign pointing the way to Olsztyn, all I could think of was Olsztynek. Each time I saw a road sign pointing the way to Olsztynek, all I could think of was Olsztyn. Go between – Highway between Olsztynek & Olsztynįor anyone who does not speak a bit of Polish, the names Olsztyn and Olsztynek are difficult to distinguish from one another. For me, Olsztynek will never be forgotten due to the confusion caused by the similarity of its name to Olsztyn. Unfortunately, Olsztynek is an afterthought for all but its inhabitants and a handful of rabid history buffs. A castle, museum, and some horrible 20 th century history. The former is a regional economic center, the latter has much to recommend it for such a small town. Olsztyn has a population 23 times the size of Olsztynek. A closer look reveals differences in population and economy. They are joined at the hip and separated by only a suffix. The two places are the Siamese Twins of town names. Olsztyn is Allenstein and Olsztynek is Hohenstein. Interestingly, their German names are also somewhat similar. It is exceedingly hard not to get them confused with one another. One a city and the other a town, their names look and sound too much alike. Olsztyn and Olsztynek, I am still having trouble with the naming convention.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |