city albeit outside the immediate city walls. In 1814, the Simonson brothers opened the first Jewish store. Yet, the growth of the Jewish community worried city authorities that attempted to curb it with various restrictions and punitive measures. For example, in 1850, a new laws were issued imposing fines and imprisonment on anyone harbouring a 'wandering' Jew in their home. The roots of the Jewish congregation in the town can be traced to 1820. Shortly after that date, an official prayer room was established on Richterstrasse. In 1877, the congregation bought a plot of land on Liebstädterstrasse and built a synagogue there. A Jewish cemetery was built on Seestrasse (present-day Grunwaldzka). At its peak, the town's Jewish population reached 448 people (1933). During the Kristallnacht, the town synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis, only to be later used as a bomb shelter. Today, the site of the former synagogue is occupied by a local sports club. By 1939, only 135 Jews were left in the city. The remainder fled the country. Those who still lived in the town by 1940 were deported to Nazi concentration camps. In June 1946, 16 Holocaust survivors settled in the city and in 1948, the congregation had 190 worshipers. Most of them emigrated to Israel throughout the next few decades. There is no trace of the Jewish cemetery. The city was the birthplace of world-famous Jewish architect Erich Mendelsohn. In town, Mendelsohn planned the mourners' chapel (called the Mendelsohn house) next to the cemetery. The building is restored. In addition, it was the birthplace of German Socialist and SPD leader Hugo Haase. , an Impressionist, lived and worked in the city from 1910 to 1927. Documentation of the Jewish owned shops in town exists. Geography Olsztyn is located in the north-east part of Poland in the region known as the "Thousand Lakes". Greenbelt More than half of the forests occupying 21.2% of the city area form a single complex of the Municipal Forest (1050 ha) used mainly for recreation and tourism purposes. Within the Municipal Forest area are situated two peat-land flora sanctuaries, Mszar and Redykajny. Municipal greenery (560 ha, 6.5% of the town area) developed in the form of numerous parks, green spots and three cemeteries over a century-old. The greenery includes 910 monuments of nature and groups of protected trees in the form of beech, oak, maple and lime-lined avenues. Lakes The city