HISTORY
The oldest available sources date back the foundation of the town to 1327, when - according to the legend – a group of settlers from Thuringia, who were migrating to the East and led by Nicolas Kumin, founded a grad on the River Bauda and named it after the town from which they came – Muhlhausen, which translates into Polish as “Młynary”. The town was established on the basis of Kulm law, known also as the Chełmno Law. Out of the 103 lans of the land given to the town 10 free-of-tax lans were given to the founder and his heirs. Four lans free off the fief were also given to the parson, and 12 lans – to all the citizens for common exploitation. The founder, Nicolas Kumin, was given a hereditary post of the administrator of Młynary and Płonne, as well as a part of the income from law-administered fines. The administrator’s purse was also supported by the rents for terms, booths, merchant guilds, half of which went to the Order.
The town was located on the river Bauda and a stream which supplied the river, on the crossing of the old routes from Elbląg and Frombork to Orneta and Pieniężno, as well as from Braniewo to Pasłęk. The medieval town was designed on an area in the shape close to that of a quadrangle , with a quadrangular marketplace in the centre and a net of perpendicular streets coming out of the market’s corners. The town was surrounded with stone-bricked walls, with towers and two gate-ways from: the West and from the East. The church was situated in the north-west quarter, while the governor of the forests of the Teutonic Commandry was in the north-east quarter till 1410 (his settlement was burned down in 1414 and in 1455). There were suburbs in the Middle Ages, stretching towards Pasłęk and Młynarska Wola. The change of the main trade routes resulted in the stagnancy, drastically slowing down the development of the town, which survived almost in an unchanged shape until the 19th century. During the Protestant Reformation, and then Secularization of the Order, the church was taken over by the Protestants. The opening of a new railway route Berlin – Królewiec (Kaliningrad) marked the beginning of a new stage in the town’s history. Sawmills and watermills were opened; the town continued its development, though – luckily- it did not affect the original architectural design of the old town. Part of the walls was demolished, and a Catholic church was erected. During the Russian offensive the town was destroyed in 80% and it has never been rebuilt in its full beauty.
The citizens of Młynary used to have two breweries and two malthouses, and the fame of the exceptional flavor of the beer was spreading across the country. Not to mention the name of the product itself – “The Light Beer of Młynary”.
The town has often been plagued by diseases, devastated by wars and fires. In 1628 the town was invaded by the Swedes, who plundered and left it. In the years 1713-1716 the town hall was built. It was situated in the central spot of the town, occupied by the town market nowadays. In 1807, the Napoleon army entered the town and stayed there for over a year. The field near the walls were also the scenery of the battle between the French and Cossacks in 1813. In 1871 a great fire destroyed the Town Hall.
Town privileges were given back to Młynary in 1984.
