During the campaign of 1807, a French infantry regiment entered Olsztyn, on 1 January. The inhabitants of the town welcomed them as liberators. However, during their short occupation, the French soldiers left many granaries, barns and warehouses destroyed. Several wooden houses served as fuel, or as material for the construction of field fortifications. The memory left by the French is therefore a poor one.
On 3 February, the Emperor himself came to Olsztyn, entering by the bridge of Saint John of Nepomuk. There he attended a parade of the troops, received the report of his scouts, then dined at the castle of Olsztyn. He thus spent only a few hours in the town, where he held a meeting with his generals to prepare a battle against the Russian troops concentrated to the north of the village of Gutkowo, where he spent the night of 3 to 4 February.
At the initiative of Professor Janusz Jasiński of the Polish Historical Society, a monument was erected to commemorate these events. It is located on Grunwaldzka Street, beside the bridge of Saint John of Nepomuk.