Neighbourhood of the Land of Mragowo - Upalty Island

Neighbourhood

Upalty is the biggest island on Mamry (area 67 ha) with very old trees, such as oaks, beeches, lindens and maples. In the 17th century the island was a place of residence of the Lehndorffs family, who built a summer mansion with a splendid park in the style of Luis XIV. In the course of time other buildings appeared on the island - a restaurant (1842) and a guest-house. Additionally, a port was founded and since the 19th century ships running on the route Wegorzewo-Upalty-Sztynort-Gizycko started to call at it. At present, you can only see ruins of former biuldings, two crosses from the local churchyard and the gravestone of August Quednau from 1931 (a friend of the Lehndorffs family, an ornithologist, a geographer, a teacher and a guardian of the reserve 'Birds' Park' in the southern part of the island). In 1991 sailors built a symbolic gravestone on the island to commemorate all sailors who had died on Masurian lakes. Today the whole island Upalty is encompassed by a nature reserve. South-east of the island Upałty there used to be so-called Pyramid Island, where at the beginning of the 17th century a count from the Lehndorffs family erected a 13 m high pyramid in honour of his friend count Donnersmarkt. Later on, however, the pyramid was flooded and disappeared under the surface of water.

Upalty Island in 1927

Prześlij znajomemu

Suggest correction

Pobierz w formacie PDF

Print version