Masurians began to settle the region in the 16th century while it was part of the Duchy of Prussia, a fief and part of the Kingdom of Poland. Systematic settlement began in 1565, while the town was officially founded by Caspar von Nostitz on May 15, 1570. Located at a profitable location on the crossing of several trade routes near the Prussian border with Lithuania, Gołdap grew rapidly. Its coat of arms depicts the House of Hohenzollern and Brandenburg, while the letter "S" stands for Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland, who was the suzerain of the region.[1] In 1656, during the Polish-Swedish War, Polish troops under command of Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki were stationed in Gołdap.[2]
From 1709 to 1711 eastern Prussia suffered from a plague. The deceased were replaced by Germans from Brandenburg, Pomerania, Magdeburg, Halberstadt, the Electorate of the Palatinate, and Nassau, as well as Swiss and Lithuanians. In 1732 Protestants expelled from Salzburg also resettled the area. In the 19th century Gołdap's population consisted mainly of Poles, Lithuanians and Germans, mostly Protestants. Lutheran services took place in all three languages.[3] In 1831, the Polish pastor's house was burnt down.[3]
In the 18th and 19th centuries Goldap was a notable centre of commerce and production of various goods for the local market, as well as an important centre of grain production. In 1818 it became a seat of Landkreis Goldap. In 1825, the county (including the town) had 24,911 inhabitants, including (by mother tongue): 17,412 (~70%) German, 3,940 (~16%) Polish and 3,559 (~14%) Lithuanian.[6][7][8] In 1879 the town was linked to a railway.
During World War I Goldap was a scene of fierce fighting on the Eastern Front, which passed through the town twice. As a result, it was almost completely destroyed. The town was rebuilt, and soon after the war ended it reached a similar number of inhabitants it had had before.
During World War II Goldap was planned by the German staff as one of the strongholds guarding the rest of East Prussia from the Red Army on the Eastern Front. As a result of heavy fighting for the city and the regions directly east of it, in August and September 1944, 90% of the town was yet again destroyed. According to German war-time reports, about 50 civilians were murdered (some raped) by the Red Army on its initial entry into Goldap in October 1944. It was the first town of Nazi Germany to fall. However, in November 1944 the Wehrmacht reconquered Goldap and would be able to keep it until the end of December of the same year. In January, the German positions in far-eastern East Prussia collapsed completely.
Post-war Poland
After the war, the town became again part of Poland under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. The town was renamed to its historic Polish name Gołdap and rebuilt. The town retained its status as a seat of a powiat until 1975, when all powiats were abolished. After their re-establishment in 1999, Gołdap was not restored as a county seat, being instead assigned in the years 1999-2001 to the Olecko-Gołdap County. The town has subsequently reclaimed the original status, following re-establishment of a standalone Gołdap County.
Today the town of Gołdap remains an important centre of local trade and commerce. There are several small food production facilities (milk plant, industrial slaughterhouse, mill) located there, as well as a paper mill and a small tourist equipment works. In addition, it is one of the centres of tourism, with many skiing, swimming, sailing and leisure centres located both in the town and around it.
Sports
The Piękna Góra ski resort is located on the outskirts of Gołdap.
^ abTomasz Darmochwał, Marek Jacek Rumiński, Warmia Mazury. Przewodnik, Agencja TD, Białystok, 1996. ISBN83-902165-0-7, p. 210-212
^ abSłownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom II (in Polish). Warszawa. 1881. p. 668.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Uchwala Nr XL/258/2017 Rady Miejskiej w Gołdapi z dnia 30 maja 2017 r., p. 39