EN
During the reign of the Teutonic Knights, the development of Mikołajki, a small feudal village incorporated in 1444 under the name of Sanct Niclas, was thwarted by the Thirteen Years’ War. An economic revival began only at the beginning of the 16th century when Sanct Niclas became a rent-paying village. The efforts of Keeper of the Wardrobe and Ryn Komtur Rudolf von Tippelskirchen contributed to increased settlement in the Teutonic Kommende of Ryn, including in Sanct Niclas. In 1507, a Teutonic court was created in the village, and it accumulated extensive holdings by 1525. Sanct Niclas had three inns by 1517, and their number probably increased to four by 1519. A wooden bridge was built in 1514 or earlier. The village was named after St. Nicolas’ chapel, a small wooden shrine which had been erected upon its incorporation. It remained in the care of a visiting chaplain from Ryn. Despite unfounded claims made by some historians, the St. Nicolas’ church was not built and an independent parish was not created in Sanct Niclas during the reign of the Teutonic Order. The village did not have a parish priest or an administrator before 1525. Sanct Niclas was inhabited only by farmers, gardeners, inn keepers, bee keepers and fishermen.