A founder of Olsztyn and its first administrator came from Łajsy near Melzak (Pieniężno). He was from a family recognized for colonizing Warmia. His father Geriko founded Łajsy in 1304 and in 1364 his brother Henryk became a founder of the village of Skajboty and the town of Wartembork (Barczewo). Jan was also assigned a similar task by the Cathedral Chapter of Warmia. He was to found the town of Olsztyn, in the terrain equal to 178 lans . For his work he was given 7 lans of land for his sole use and a hereditary title of an administrator of Olsztyn. He was an owner of the first brick house in Olsztyn.


The town founded by him flourished. As a result in 1378 Jan of Łajsy was given a permission to move the town borders towards the north (the Fish Market with the adjacent area). At that time the Upper Gate (preserved until this day) was erected. Moreover, Jan of Łajsy is also a founder of the villages of Praslity and Różnowo.

Jan of Łajsy attained high social status owing to the fact that he was a founder of Olsztyn. In 1372 he was promoted to nobility and acted as an arbitrator during an argument on delimitation of Galindzka Forest near Pasym, an argument between the bishop of Warmia Jan Stryprock and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Winrych von Kniprode. For the last time Jan of Łajsy is mentioned in documents in 1388, as an expert defining the inner borders between the property of the Chapter and of the bishop during the reign of the bishop Henryk Sorbom.

During the crisis in 1921 Jan of Łajsy’s image was printed in Olsztyn on so called ”crisis banknotes”. His portrait, painted in 1987 by Teodor Nowak from Grudziądz, decorates the Session Hall of the Olsztyn Town Hall. In 1999 a commemorative plaque was placed under the arcades of the Jan of Łajsy house. In 1934 a 14th- century helmet was found in the very place the founder of Olsztyn used to live. The helmet dates back to the times of Jan of Łajsy. The work of Jan of Łajsy survived centuries. Today Olsztyn, with the population of 170,000, is the capital of the region.