Остроленка: История города на реке Нарев

Ostrołęka is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021)

By the beginning of the 15th Century, Ostrołęka grew into an important economic center in the Duchy of Masovia for trade with the neighboring Teutonic Order. Wood, amber, and honey were the most commonly traded items. In 1526, the Duchy was incorporated directly into the Polish Kingdom. This resulted in an economic boom, most commonly associated to today as Ostrołęka's Golden Age. At this time, Queen Bona Sforza founded a folwark in Pomian – a neighboring settlement at the time, which currently finds itself situated well within the modern city's borders. The Golden Age lasted for approximately 40 years, whose conclusion is marked by three major catastrophes which struck in 1564 and 1571. In 1564, an epidemic seriously depopulated the town and surrounding regions. The same year, a fire tore through the town burning most of it down to the ground. In 1571, before the town had time to recuperate from the two previous catastrophes, another epidemic struck, further depopulating the region, officially marking the end of the town's Golden Age. Within 20 years, however, the town was rebuilt, including with the construction of Ostrołęka's first school. By the late 1590s, the town became the center of a big administrative district, approximately 1,980.5 km2 in size. It was a Polish royal city, administratively located in the Masovian Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province.

Despite quickly recuperating in the early 17th century, the city passed through a period of impoverishment and stagnation in the middle and late 17th century. On 25 July 1656, in the midst of the Deluge, the town was laid waste by Swedish forces after having resisted them. In 1665, Bernardine monks settled in the town after a monastery was founded by Tomasz Gocłowski. The Bernardine monastery of St. Anthony of Padua was built in a late Baroque style. Despite being inhabited by only 400 people in 1676, the town was still considered to be the most populous of towns in the Łomża region. In the following century, the town was destroyed numerous times by Swedish, Russian, and Saxon armies. As a result, further economic development was hindered and the town remained in a state of stagnation for several decades. In the second half of the 18th century the city's economy revived and local merchants renewed trade with the major cities of Gdańsk, Warsaw and Königsberg. With the aim of aiding the Kościuszko Uprising, the First Brigade, led by Antoni Madaliński, started to march towards Kraków on 12 March 1794. Prussian troops reacted quickly by heading as far south as the Narew River, and reached the town's northern outskirts on the right bank of the Narew River, yet had never marched directly into, nor fully occupied, the town. The Uprising had failed and as a consequence of the Third Partition of Poland two years later, Ostrołęka found itself within Prussia's borders for ten years. At the turn of the century, the first German and Jewish families began to settle in the town and surrounding areas.

From the end of 1806 through June 1807, Ostrołęka was occupied by French troops. On 16 February 1807 occurred the Battle of Ostrołęka (1807). Taking place on the banks of the Narew outside of Ostrołęka where the French, under the General Nicolas Charles Oudinot, prevailed. Due to this success of the French Army, Ostrołęka appears on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. In May 1807 the first map of Ostrołęka was made (now located in Bibliothéque du Génie in Paris). From 1807 to 1815 the city was part of the short lived Polish Duchy of Warsaw. and in August 1915, Germans crossed the river Narew and entered the ruined city. At the time of the German occupation, life in Ostrołęka was as hard as in the time of Russian occupation. Between the years of 1916 and 1918, the Germans greatly exploited the forests for timber. To make transporting the wood easier, they built of road from Ostrołęka to Myszyniec and a narrow gauge railway line.

After the First World War and re establishment of independent Poland in 1918, the city became a part of the Białystok Voivodeship. 75% of the city and population was devastated. New schools and departments were opened as the city was rebuilt. During the Polish Soviet War, Ostrołęka once again became a center for military operations. On 4 August 1920, Soviet forces under the command of Hayk Bzhishkyan took the fort and "butchered the newly assembled cavalry group" of General Bolesław Roja. Local Jewish communists organized a rally in the city, tore Polish emblems and flags from buildings, and the newly appointed revolutionary committee leader, member of Poale Zion, announced to local wealthy Poles and Jews that their property will be taken from them. The local Polish intelligentsia and prominent religious Jews, along with the rabbi, were subjected to forced labour in the city. However, the Soviet occupation was short lived as the Soviet XV Army retreated on 20 August, with Polish forces thundering east towards the former Polish Soviet border after the Battle of Warsaw (1920). Under German occupation the town was annexed directly to Germany and in 1940 it was renamed Scharfenwiese to remove traces of Polish origin. The Germans expelled its Jewish minority, which was later mostly murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp. Ostrołęka became a border town, today's easternmost areas belonged to USSR. Quickly, a Polish resistance movement was established with a substantial presence of local Kurpes. Churches and schools were changed into workshops and factories controlled by the Underground. Underground partisans started attacking and destroying German fortifications in and around Ostrołęka. The Germans established and operated a court prison, in which they held Poles arrested in the city and county during the Intelligenzaktion. Around 500 Poles were then massacred in the nearby forest in January–March 1940. On 5–6 April 1940, the Germans carried out further mass arrests of around 200 Poles in Ostrołęka and nearby villages. The Germans also operated a forced labour camp in the city from 1940 to 1944. In December 1940, German police expelled around 1,150 Poles from Ostrołęka and Wojciechowice (present day district of Ostrołęka), who were transported in trucks to a camp in Działdowo and then deported to the Krakow and Radom districts of to the General Government, while their houses were handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy. A minority of citizens of Ostrołęka declared themselves as Volksdeutsche and signed the Volksliste. Jews that survived the Holocaust emigrated to Israel. Several local Jews were rescued by Poles, who hid them from the Germans in nearby villages. The German occupation ended in September 1944, and the city was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet installed communist regime, which then stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s.

Ostrołęka recovered very slowly from the war. A plan created by communist authorities, which allowed for an improvement of the economic situation in Poland, gave Ostrołęka a chance for redevelopment. Ostrołęka became a central city of Warsaw's region. In 1959, a cellulose and paper factory was built. Next, a sewage refinery was built along the banks of the Narew, which was supposed to keep water in the Narew clean without destroying its biological life. In 1973 a cellular concrete factory was built in the district of Wojciechowice. New jobs brought people to the city and caused a development of alimentary industry. During the 1970s a new factory, "Future", producing wooden articles was opened. A new swimming pool, a stadium for 5000 people, and a holiday resort were built. A new hospital was built. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Ostrołęka Voivodeship.

In 1989 the city entered a new era of capitalism, which has lasted until the present day. The same year Ostrołęka was granted provincial rights. The paper factory Cellulose downsized en masse after privatisation. The factory Future went bankrupt but small service establishments were opened for average people to invest their money. A new hospital was built in the new century. The economy also developed. Three new trade pavilions were built. "Cellulose" changed its name to "Intercell" (later purcharsed by finnish company Stora Enso) and the cellular concrete factory was bought by the Ytong company. The centre of the city began to fulfill trade functions. In 1996, a second permanent bridge, "Most im. Antoniego Madalińskiego", was built. In 1999 the city became a district city. A new aquapark was opened in September 2010. A modernisation of the city stadium or even a completely new stadium is planned to be built in this decade, while two new modern training grounds for football are currently being built. A new power plant is currently being built and planned to open by 2015, generating 1,000 MW of power. Also, the existing power plant is planned to undergo modernisation in the next decade.

Narew Ostrołęka Soccer team established in 1962. Currently playing in 5th league, Mazovia group I
Korona Ostrołęka Soccer team established in 1998, dissolved in 2020 (main team). Last played in the 4th league, Mazovia northern group
Jantar Ostrołęka Female soccer team established in 2010. Currently playing in 3rd women's football league, group I