Legends surround the establishment of the town, and one of them refers to the meetings between King Sigismund Augustus and Barbara Radziwiłłówna in the wilderness forests near the Nettę River.
In commemoration of those encounters, the king ordered the founding of a town named after him. Historically, the first mentions of a settlement on the Nettę River date back to 1496.
The Magdeburg town rights were granted by King Sigismund Augustus in 1557, and on the occasion of the city's 450th anniversary, the Column of King Sigismund Augustus was erected in the center.
It was built at the initiative of the residents of Augustów as a thank you to the founder.
