Elbląg [key], city, Warmińsko-Mazurskie prov., N Poland. A seaport near the Vistula Lagoon, it has shipyards, machinery plants, and an important metallurgical industry. In 1237 the Teutonic Knights built a castle, around which developed a settlement. Elbląg joined the Hanseatic League in the late 13th cent. Along with other Prussian towns, it revolted against the Teutonic Knights c.1450 and submitted to the rule of Poland. It gained increasing importance in the 16th and 17th cent. as a commercial port. The city was ceded to Prussia in 1772. It suffered heavy damage in World War II, after which it passed to Poland.
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