Suwałki

A relatively young city, Suwałki is one of the largest cities and economic and cultural centers of north-eastern Poland, and the largest city and the capital of the historical Suwałki Region. The city owed its past growth to its administrative role and location on important trade routes. It escaped major destruction in each of the world wars preserving the historic city centre. It is a tourist destination thanks to favourable location near the Suwałki Landscape Park and Wigry National Park. Suwałki is located next to the strategically important Via Baltica road connecting Warsaw with Kaunas, Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki, about 30 km (19 mi) from the southwestern Lithuanian border. The Czarna Hańcza river flows through the city.