Obertyn
Obertyn (Obertin) is a town located along the Czerniawa River in the district of Horodenka. It is 24 km west of Horodenka. It is bordered on the east by Czortowiec, the south by Balahorowka and Jakubowka, from the west by Zukow and from the north Chocimierz, Zabokruki and Hawtylak. In 1810 the area of the estate, including lands occupied by peasants, amounted to 3,011 morg (1.2 acres or 5,600 sq. meters). The Roman Catholic population including parashioners living in the suburb of Nietrzebowka was around 1,200. The Greek Catholic population was 1,980. Both parishes were in town. The Roman Catholic Church was established in Obertyn in 1757 by Rafaela Skarbek, standard-bearer from nearby Kolomyja. The church, which originally was a wooden structure, was consecrated at an unknown date. In 1796 a papal decree withdrew the parish from the archdiocese of Lwow but its parishioners continued to follow in the Roman Catholic Rite. Eventually, the parish was to include eight (8) towns. They were Balahorowka, 3 km from Obertyn, with 55 parishioners; Czortowiec 7 km, 300 parishioners; Hanczarow 4 km, 7 parishioners; Harasimow 10 km, 96 parishioners; Hawrylak 4 km, 85 parishioners; Jakubowka 4 km, 23 parishioners; Niezwiska 15 km, 53 parishioners; and Woronow 15 km, 25 parishioners. The deanery of Horodenka, within the diocese of Lwow, had a population which included 1,844 Catholics and 2,860 Jews. The Greek Catholic parish belonged to the Zukow deanery, this included Hanczarow population 548, Balahorowka 138, totaling 2,675 Greek Catholics.
The district highroad that goes thru Obertyn extended from Jezierzan to Zablotowa. There are many significant markets that can be seen in the surrounding area. The area is very fertile with deep humus and productive fields of corn and tobacco can be seen growing in the surrounding fields. However, the area lacks forests. There is a court that belongs to the district of Kolomyi, a post office, a permanent school for male students with four teachers, a loan office in the township with capital of 22,560 zloty managed by owner Jozefowa Kellermanowa. Between Obertyn, Kamionka and the village Zukow can be found many cemetaries.
The first settlers of Obertyn were the Obertynski family. In the year 1438 a deposition was issued in Haliczu by Derslaw from Bybla, that he received a settlement of 60 bills (grzyna-former bank notes) from Konrada of Kunaszawy for 1/4 of Obertyn and Trzchemchow (Document of Castles and Lands, v.1 pp. 25 & 26).
Obertyn became famous because of the battle that was fought in the area. It was in 1531 that Jan Tarnowski, commander of the troops, defeated Wolochow. Bielowski has so written:
“After the rescue of Gwozdza, Tarnowski withdrew deeper into the country and encamped below Obertyn, when the message came that Peter, Governor of the Wolochy with his entire was coming directly toward him. There were some who believed that the enemy was very strong. The enemy, Wolochow’s army, was 200,000 strong and ours was 5 to 6 thousand with almost all in the cavalry. The infantry had no more then 300 men. The commmander deliberated, so the operation stalled. He hurried to Halicza. “We will die or win here,” replied the commander and he ordered the camp strenghtened. These words raised the army’s spirit. They hastened to dig trenches and fastened chains to wagons. The commander ordered the infantry to follow the wagons. The loaded cannons were placed behind the oxen. The journey was hard and light camps were prepared along the way. They had barely finished the task and the enemy was before them. As the Polish camp awaited nightfall, cautiously but not without fear, a comet which had already been seen intermittently in the night sky for the past three weeks suddenly lit up the sky. On the morning of the 22nd of August Wolochy’s camp was revealed on Obertyn’s fields. Peter placed them on the hill, hoping that the Polish troops would see the greatness of the troops and military reserves and would be discouraged. His main concern was that the commander leading the forces might disappear with the army. That is why he surrounded them from all sides. Soon they became alarmed. He invaded the camp with numerious skirmishes provoking the battle by shouts, mockery and scolding. Silently with rifles, the Polish infantry moved ahead sweeping from one side to the other, they pushed with their rifles. Soon they approached the battlefield and the battle started. Fifty great divisions turned their fire on the Polish camp. The attack turned out not to be very damaging, since the gunpowder was of poor quality and the riflemen were not very skilled. Polish gunsmiths answered them under the direction of Superior Staszkowski. Although, scarce in numbers, they directed their fire united. They could see that the enemy was operating with blanks and the enemy forces began faltering. The commander made the command that his men not rush to attack. They waited patiently for five hours. Without a planned strategy Wolochy would not strike. Catching sight of the Polish camp in the opposite direction of where they were expected to be found, he ordered the attack. Balicki and Trojanowski, the old warrior and the young soldier stood before the other captains of the cavalry. The aged Balicki, who was full of courage before his soldiers, fought bravely. Woloszyn’s attack was very powerful. The company under Balicki was separated from the other regiments and began to falter. Mikolaj Sieniawski and Wlodek joined in the battle with their troops and held their position. As they struggled in battle, Wolochy brought his forces together. At this same moment Commander Prokopaw and Aleksandrow Sieniawski gave orders. They stood up so that their own company came out on the battlefield where the enemy was. They fought them according to orders and the battle became more bloody. The commander from the camp was sending his forces in for reinforcement. After battling for an hour and half, the last enforcement crept up on the enemy and fired on the division. The enemy’s soldiers broken in battle, began to leave the fields and soon scattered. Peter stood on the hill nearby watching the end of the battle. He saw his army retreating and not stopping. He joined them in the retreat. Our soldiers were chasing them for half a mile. The lord of the manor himself was injured twice. The entire camp fell into the hands of the victors. Fifty mighty brass cannons except minors, partly Wolochian, partly ours in the time of Jan Olbracht lost on Bukowina, all ironharquebus, which were held by the enemy, fifty banners, horses, wagons and over 1000 captives, occurred to be the prize of the memorable victory. “Whatever battle was won in Poland which with heart, intellect and luck, the old-fashioned battle could be compared, then Obertyn’s such will be.” writes Orzechowski. Rewarding monarch Tarnowski, with the consent of deliberated States, gave him 2 groszs for each feud: “As to no one before or after the commander happened,” so says Bielski.”
Translated by: Jane Pawlowski, Dearborn Heights, MI
Obielewo
Obielewo (also known as Obielawy or Obylewo) is a village located on the south bank of the Noltec, in the Powiat/County of Szubin, in the Archiepiscopal of the Catholic Church at Znin – Gora. Obielewo lies about 7 ½ klm to the south of Labiszyna near the road to the Railway Station to Mogilno some 28 klm distant.
Obielewo is an area of about 483 hectares said to produce clean revenues of 3803 German Marks. There are 6 homes / farmsteads, 98 inhabitants, 63 Catholic, 35 protestant. It was first mentioned in a Papal Bulla of July 7, 1136 confirming the dominion of the Archbishop of Gniezno over, a number of settlements including Obielewo. Early tax lists confirm the existence of 27 priviately owned homesteads in the vicinity the shore of the Noltec, in the present day along the shores are also wetlands and bogs (Kod. Wielkop., 7).
In the 16th century there came into existence here a “Folwark” or large manorial farmstead. The Parish Priest ? Rector of the Church at Znin Gora levied a thithe on the peasants and estate fields. (Laski Lib Ben I 151)
According to old lists in the year 1577 Obielewo comprised about 2 ½ Slad ( about 400 Morgs) and in 1579 1 ½ Slad (bout 200 Morgs), 5 zagrod or small farmsteads with buildings, gardens and courtyards. (Pawinski, Wiekop I 184). In the year 1846 the Manor Obielewa was the property of Sylwester Slawski, currently of Niemiec.
Translated by Jim Piechorowski, July 2005
Obodowo
A noble village. Its size is 951.14 mórgs. There are 52 buildings, 17 dwelling houses, and 131 inhabitants, of whom 97 are Lutheran, and 34 Catholic. In the 15th century the village belonged to the Komierowski’s, later to the owner of Sosno. Parish of Wakiowo.
Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA (May 2003)
Oborniki
Oborniki, in German Obornik, is a county seat in the Grand Duchy of Poznan. It is located about 30 km. north of Poznan, at latitude 52 degrees 39 minutes north, longitude 34 degrees 28 minutes east [measured from Ferro], on the elevated right bank of the Warta river, near the mouth of the Welna river. It has a station of the Poznan-Pila railway, a telegraph station, and a post office with posts arriving daily. The town is the administrative center of a deanery, and has an Evangelical superintendent, a landed proprietors’ counselor, and a district commissioner. Also in Oborniki are a royal county treasury, a savings bank, a master-builder’s office, a customs office, a Polish loan society, and Polish and German agronomical societies. The inhabitants are employed in farming, milling, distilling alcohol, the lumber trade, and manufacturing starch, bricks, and drainage pipes. About 60,000 quintals of flour, 9,000 hectoliters of aqua vitae [a kind of liquor], and 50,000 quintals of starch are produced here each year. The lumber trade produces annual sales of about a million marks. The town maintains a wooden bridge on the Warta; a second bridge was built by the directors of the railway.
There are two Catholic churches here, one Evangelical church, and one Old Lutheran church, as well as a synagogue. At one time there were six Catholic churches. The parish church, rebuilt after a fire in 1815, has lost its original shape completely; it is said to have contained the tombstones of the Zebrzydowskis and a baptismal font from the 13th or 14th century. In the 17th century there was also a Rosary Guild. The church of the Holy Spirit, founded and endowed in 1356 by Maciej, the soltys of Oborniki, was moved to nearby Bogdanowo in 1747. The church of St. Barbara, founded in 1599 and renovated in 1778 through the efforts of Lucja Lojczykowska, a townswoman of Oborniki, was in the nearby village of Roznowo. The church of the Holy Cross, on the right bank of the Welna, existed before 1604; in 1788 a new church was built, on the site of the old one, also by L. Lojczykowska, and in 1749 the Brotherhood of the Heart of Jesus was established there. The church of the Holy Trinity was founded by the city before 1600 and was renovated in 1781 through the efforts of the abovementioned Lojczykowska. A church and monastery of the Franciscan Fathers, built in 1768 of fired brick, was handed over in recent times to the Lutheran congregation. 141 hectares of land belongs to the pastor of the Oborniki parish, with a net income of 657 marks from the land. The town itself possesses 96 hectares with a net income of 381 marks.
The population has grown here as follows: in 1795 there were 750 inhabitants; 940 in 1811; 1,003 in 1816; 1,499 in 1837; 1,530 in 1841; 1,685 in 1843; 1,796 in 1858; 2,007 in 1861; 2,174 in 1871; 2,397 in 1878; and 2,812 in 1883. At the end of the 18th century there were: 14 carpenters, 13 bakers, 6 coopers, 6 wheelwrights, 5 dry goods merchants, 4 clothiers, 4 furriers, 3 potters and 2 each of capmakers, makers of shoe lasts, blacksmiths, gunsmiths, carpenters, butchers, lathe-turners, masons, metal workers, glaziers, as well as 5 musicians, 3 barbers, and 3 merchants. At the end of the 15th century Piotr Wedelicki was born here; he was a doctor of medicine, Krakow councilor, and a translator of Latin. He translated three treatises of Hippocrates, published 1532–1535 by Wietor in Krakow. The widespread tale of the founding in 1292 of a Franciscan monastery in this Oborniki seems to be very dubious. When Andrzej, the bishop of Poznan, was dividing his diocese into archdeaneries in 1298, he said nothing about Oborniki in the relevant document. But there is a high probability that a church already existed there next to the citadel and castle. The next year, on March 27th, when Wladyslaw Lokietek was staying in Oborniki, he signed a grant to Jan, the son of Dzierzyslaw, in the presence of Kielcz, the castellan of Gniezno; Ubislaw, the cupbearer of Kalisz; Wlost, the castellan of Drzen [or Drzensk?]; and other dignitaries. Also in 1303 a parish priest of Oborniki is mentioned.
During the reign of the Silesian Piasts, in 1312, Oborni became a county seat. In Great Poland charters we find under 1339 a wojt and three Oborniki council members. In 1456 Maciej, the soltys of Oborniki, provided an endowment for Holy Spirit church in Oborniki, which he had founded. In 1365 King Kazimierz confirmed charters he had given to the monastery of Lekno. In 1370 Przeclaw, general of Great Poland and voivode of Kalisz, sold to Idzi, the soltys of Nowa Wies, two royally-owned mills on the river Welna near Oborniki. In 1383, during domestic insurrections, Domarat, the castellan of Poznan, occupied the town and encamped there with his army from February 17th to March 8th, ravaging the vicinity of Poznan, Buk and Wronki. The wojt of Oborniki at the time was Janusz, related to Bodzeta of Brzesc and the Skoras of Gaj, who was attacked and killed in 1384 by Swidra, castellan of Naklo, near Przeclaw. In 1394 in Oborniki King Wladyslaw issued a charter exempting several commanders’ properties from all taxes. The same king, during his journey through Great Poland in 1409, stopped in Oborniki and received delegates from Ulrich von Jungingen, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. It was here in 1414 that he bequeathed Marcin of Slawsk 20 grzywnas for Cekow. In 1416 he wrote from here to the Teutonic Knights’ commander of Czluchow to demand an explanation for why he and several horsemen had approached the gates of the castle of Drahim [Drawsko] during a cease-fire. It was also here in 1424 that he announced the contents of a bull of indulgence dated December 1st of the preceding year.
In 1458 Oborniki provided 15 foot soldiers, i. e., as many as Miedzyrzecz, Gostyn, Kolo and Konin. In 1480 Katarzyna of Oborniki (Obornicka) of the coat of arms Abdank, the daughter of Mikolaj Skora of Gaj, the castellan of Kalisz, was the abbess of the convent in Owinska. These Skoras signed their name as Obornicki, from the city and starosta’s property of Oborniki, of which they were tenants. The town had a charter based on German law. Unfortunately the charter was destroyed during a fire, but it was renewed on 15 March 1485 by King Kazimierz IV, on the basis of a copy of the original document that had been preserved. From that point on the prefects’ abuse of their power subsided, and the city started to grow and develop. On the hill near the mouth of the Welna river stood the starosta’s castle, which was destroyed during the First Swedish War. Later starostas built a wooden house there, which still existed still as of the end of the last century.
In a document from 1488 we encounter Szymon of Oborniki, the pastor of Koscielec. In 1512, through the intercession of Jerzy Obornicki-Skora of Gaj, Zygmunt I confirmed two documents of the Teutonic Order dated 1363 and 1393 concerning the village of Zielona in the district of Zawkrze. As of 1599 the church of Saint Barbara stood in Oborniki. In 1580 the town paid 84 zlotys and 27 groszy 50 of the tax called szos, and and 569 zlotys, 10 groszy, 6 denariuses of liquor tax. In 1656 the Swedes demolished Oborniki. During the Seven Years War (1756 – 1763) the Russian Army entrenched itself there. In 1767, with the permission of the Sejm of 1773–1775, Kacper Rogalinski, the starosta of Naklo, exchanged his hereditary estates of Kadzew, Marszew, Bodzieniow, and Maksymilianow for the lease of the Oborniki starosta’s office and the office of the wojt. The Sejm of 1773–1775 confirmed this exchange. In 1771 the Oborniki starosta’s office paid a kwarta of 2,393 zlotys, 15 groszy, and a hyberna of 337 zlotys and 21 groszy. A commission appointed by the Sejm of 1773–1775 was to settle border disputes between the abovementioned starosta and lords of Niemieczkowo.
Before 1793 Oborniki belonged to the county and province of Poznan. During the period of Southern Prussia’s existence, the Oborniki tenancy was held by General Wegorzewski. During the Poznan rebellions in 1848 Germans from Oborniki joined the “Netzebrüder” organization [the “Brothers of the Netze”], which opposed these movements. When the line of demarcation between Polish and German parts of the Grand Duchy of Poznan was established, Oborniki was incorporated into the German Empire. The city seal shows the Polish eagle beneath a baldachin canopy spread across two columns.
The vicinity of Oborniki includes many prehistoric burial grounds. Circa 1843 a pagan burial ground was excavated near the city, in which several hundred urns were found standing alongside each other. The complete story of this find is given in the Leszno paper Przyjaciel Ludu from that year, in volume 10, page 114. Among the items excavated was an portraying a human face and covered with a pointed lid. In more recent times, in addition to numerous urns, various pots, stone hammers, and the like have been dug up. Some of them are in the collection of the Poznan Society of the Friends of Science (PTPN). Opposite to the city, on the left bank of the Warta, there are old embankments. Near the town there are said to be salt springs and hills with minerals (see Raczynski’s Wspomnienia Wielkopolskie, I, 158, and Rzaczynski’s Historia naturalis curiosa). Recently near the railroad station a mammoth’s tooth and vertebrae were dug up.
The gmina of Oborniki consists of the town (174 houses, 2,174 inhabitants), and Huby Bablinskie [now Babliniec]: Ludwigsthal (3 houses, 12 inhabitants), Paulusau (1 house, 6 inhabitants), Martinsau (1 house, 16 inhabitants), Toepferost (1 house, 9 inhabitants), as well as Rudki Male and Rudki Wielkie (4 houses, 66 inhabitants). As of 1871 the total was 184 houses, 2,283 inhabitants, 1,143 of them Catholics, 836 Protestants, and 304 Jews. In 1845 there were 135 houses and 1,526 inhabitants: 714 Catholics, 486 Protestants, 326 Jews.
In 1589 the parish of Oborniki consisted of the following properties: Bogdanowo, Dabrowka, Golaszyn, Golebowo, Kowanowko, Kowanowo, Nowy Folwark, Nowy Mlyn, Sloniawy, Stara Wies, Uscikowo, and Mlyn Wojtowski.
The deanery of Oborniki includes the parishes of Boruszyn, Cerekwica, Chojnica, Kazmierz, Kiekrz, Kiszewo, Ludomy, Lukowo, Obiezierze [now Objezierze], Oborniki, Obrzycko, Polajewo, Roznowo, Ryczywol, Slopanowo, Sobota, Stobnica, Szamotuly, Wyszyny, and Zydowo. Previously the following parishes also belonged to this deanery: Chludowo, Ojcieszyn, and Radzim.
Translated by Izabela M. Szuman, edited by William F. Hoffman. Contributed by Mike Konczak, Baird TX
>Obrona Lesna
A Folwark (Large Manorial Farmstead) near Sobiejuchy , a village in Powiat Szubinskim, about 7 ½ klm distant from Znin. It contained 3 homes and 43 inhabitants; an area of aproximately 255 hectares, generated annual revenues of 3818 German marks. It belongs to the family of Jaroslawa Jaraczewski, the hier to Sobiejuchy. Post Office at Retkowo and a Railroad station at Nakle about 30 klm distant.
Translated by Jim Piechorowski (June 2005)
Ocieka
Ocieka, with Wola Ocieska and Zadzikierz, a village on the stream Ocieka or Ociecki, in Ropczyce powiat, lies in a sandy lowland (206 meters). To the north it is surrounded by a large pine forest, the northern part of which is called Spalony las [“burned forest”], the southern Sokolny las [“falcon forest”]; to the east is the forest of the village of Kamionka, and to the south part of the forests of the village of Ostrow, Duzy [large] las, Saszczynski and Sarni [deer’s] las. In the middle of the village, near the church, runs the Kolbuszowa-Ropczyce highway, from which a branch runs west, and in Dabie (8 km. away) on the Wislok [sic] it joins the highway from RzochÑw to Debica. The outlying settlement of Zadzikierz lies to the northeast (3 km.), near the forest on the northeast flank of a hill (245 meters) [on modern maps this appears to be the place now called Sadykierz]. Wola Ocieska [today called Wola Ociecka], which has a beautiful manor, is northwest of Ocieka, on the road to Dabie, on the northwest flank of the wooded Lysa gÑrka (211 meters). Between Ocieka and Zadzikierz there are four small ponds, and on the stream a mill and a windmill.
With these outlying settlements the village has 1,465 Roman Catholic inhabitants, of whom 127 live on the grounds of the major estate, owned by Count Wladyslaw Romer. The major estate has 756 morgs of farmland, 52 of meadows and gardens, 89 of pastures, and 1,678 of forests; the minor estate has 1,948 morgs of farmland, 388 of meadows, 479 of pastures, and 343 of forests. The pastures are mostly sandy waste-land. The parish church is old and made of wood, of unknown endowment, and it has sacrament registers only from 1785. The parish includes Blizna, with 233 inhabitants; there are 37 Jews in the parish. There is a people’s school here, and a fund for the poor, which has 500 zl. in Austrian currency. Siarczynski (in a manuscript in the Ossolineum library, n. 1826), says that this village belonged to Rzemien and that Anna n³e Ocieska Mielecka named it, but adds that it is probably the ancestral seat of the Ocieskis, who also owned Rzemien. The villages nearest Ocieka are, to the east, Zdzary and Kamionka, to the south OstrÑw, to the west Krownice and Dabie, to the north Blizna.
Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Winter 1999 Bulletin
Ocwieka
Village also called Oczwioka, in Mogilno County, 4Km south of Gasawa, with 27 houses and 263 inhabitants: 246 Catholics, 10 Protestants and 7 Jews. The parish church and post office are in Gasawa. The railroad station is in Mogilno 17 Km away. In 1833, there were 15 houses and 126 inhabitants, all Roman Catholic. The Ocwieka administration and hamlet consisted of 116 hectares of land in 1877. Th v. Wilkens was proprietor of Marcinkowo Dolne and Stanislaw Jasinski owned two farms of 91 hectares. In 1145, Ocwieka was granted to the Trzemeszno Abbey and belonged to that convent until our times. The chronicle Dyplomat Wielkopolski includes these names of the heads of the village: Jan in 1357 and Mieczyslaw in 1373.
Submitted by: Alice Nelsen, Bowie, MD 20715 (Feb 1997)
Okno
Okno, a village in the county of Skałat, is roughly 4 1/2 kilometers east of Grzymałów, (Hrymalov), now in Ukraine. It lies in the midst of the Miodobor Mountains, at an elevation of 1200 feet above sea level, in a deep vale, surrounded by mountains on the east and north, and hills to the west and south. The lower elevations are dotted with many springs, which were called “okna”, plural for windows, vents or air holes. Thus the town received the name Okno. The water in the springs never froze, despite cold weather and the surrounding area was always green.
The area, in prehistoric times, was once covered by a large lake as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of a settlement and a cemetery. Excavations were begun in the 1890’s by the village owner, Władysław Federowicz, with the aid of Kikor, a member of the Krakow Academy. The digs uncovered human bones, pottery, coal, and scorched earth. Kikor estimated that the area dated back at least 2000 years.
In 1720, Okno was the property of Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski, a castellan from Krakow. Through his daughter’s marriage, it passed on to the noble Czartoryski family. Isabella Czartoryski the daughter of Count August Alexander Czartoryski married into the noble Lubomirski family. In an agreement with her brother, Okno and Grzymałów were deeded to her. She in turn passed ownership to her daughter, Konstancya Rzewuska, whose second marriage was to Count Waldstein. The Czartoryski and Lubomirski families settled in the area with so many of their illustrious relatives, that one area was called “Szlachta” (Nobility).
In 1822, the Rzewuski family fell on hard times, bankruptcy, and their assets were liquidated. In 1825, Okno was sold to the family’s attorney, Leopold Poltenberg from Vienna. In 1848 he sold it to Anthony Pajgert. In 1850, it was purchased by Jan Federowicz, and in 1870 ownership passed on to Władysław Federowicz. He relocated the Jewish population from the village. He was successful in improving farming and other industries to the benefit of the inhabitants.
The noble family holdings covered 912 morgen (morgen (mr.) = 2.116 acres) of farmland, 41 mr. of meadows and orchards, 32 mr. of pastures, and 461 mr. of forests. The remaining community covered 2181 mr. of farms, 205 mr. of meadows and orchards, and 160 mr. of pastureland. The entire area combined accounted for over 4000 mr. of land.
In the 1890’s the town had 1084 Greek Catholics and 592 Roman Catholics. The Greek Catholic Church, built of bricks, was constructed in 1840 in Okno. Its choir consisted of 40 voices, which sang in 4-part harmony. The Roman Catholic church was in Hrymalov (Grzymałów). Two teachers staffed the public school in town; the lending bank had a capital of 12,000 złotys. There was one inn in the village and it featured a reading room.
Besides farming and raising cattle, the populace tended orchards, and engaged in bird hunting. Weaving was a major industry with a production of tablecloths and bed coverings made from a hemp yarn that featured red and blue thread. During the winter months the ladies of the village made “wstawki”, a kind of coronet, made in a typical Russian pattern. These were used as borders and trimmings for pillowcases and towels. The ladies also made head coverings from yarn they spun and dyed in various colors. Among the many industries on the manor grounds was the cultivation of grapes and winemaking, and a system for irrigating the farms.
Jan Federowicz, an officer in the Polish Army, lies buried in the cemetery. He was of high rank and also a delegate to the Polish Council in 1848. A prolific writer, he wrote several books on philosophy. He was a noted benefactor who had the interest of the people at heart. He was also dedicated to expanding education and improving the living conditions of the inhabitants.
Translated from the Słownik Geograficzny by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA
Olechnowce
A village in the paris h and rural district of Kopciowo, Sejny county. It is 23 versts from the town of Sejny. In 1827, there were 3 houses and 13 people. Now there are 6 houses and 51 people.
Translated by Dorothy Leivers, Hadlow, Kent, England (May 2004)
Olszewice
Current administrative location: Olszewice, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Olschewitz, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
Listed in documents as Wolszewice. A dominium located in powiat Inowrocław. It is located about 6 kilometers east of Inowrocław. Olszewice belongs to the Parchanie Parish. The post office and railway station are located in Inowrocław. Olszewice belonged to the Slońsko administrative district. Olszewice has 5 houses with 115 inhabitants.
The Olszewice dominium has an area of land equal to 250.80 hectare (210.89 hectare of farmland, 14.57 hectare of meadows, 12.00 hectare of pasture, 5.14 hectare of unused barren land, and 8.20 hectare of water). The income generated from the land is equal to 3753 marks.
Around the year 1580, Olszewice was owned by the Baliński family.
Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.
Oporówek
Current administrative location: Oporówek, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Oporówek, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
Also known as Oporówko. A dominium located in powiat Inowrocław. It is located about 7 kilometers from Inowrocław. Oporówek belongs to the Liszkowo Parish. The post office and railway station are located on the border of Jaksice. Oporówek has 4 houses with 57 inhabitants (all Catholics).
The Oporówek dominium has an area of land equal to 249.47 hectare (229.85 hectare of farmland, 6.69 hectare of meadows, 6.92 hectare of pasture, 3.83 hectare of unused barren land, and 2.18 hectare of water). The income generated from the land is equal to 5253 marks.
The property belongs to the Baliński family, specifically its key member Bronisław Gąsiorowski. In 1583, Mikołaj Rożyński owned 3 łan (fields) and 4 crofts (enclosed sections of farmland). In 1330, a diplomat stated, “Oporowo super fluvium qui Nothes dicitur” (can’t figure out this Latin phrase), is not the Oporówek, but the Oporowo of the Łabiszyna.
Translated by Al Wierzba, July 2010.
Orawk
Is a village in Hungary, in the Trzcianka administrative district (powiat), on the Orawa Czarna River, located by the highway from the Galician border at Spytkowice and Jablonka to Rrzcianka and Twardoszyna. The Orawa Czarna flows from north to south and divides the territory west and east. The east part is called Kuligowa, 690 meters away, is mostly fields and a few scattered huts called Studanki. The west part has more forest and hills. To west is Gora Gron 798 meters away. On the west it borders with Zubrzyca Dolna, on the north with Podwilk, on the east with Podszkle and from the south with Jablonka.
The village has 1894 square miles, 150 houses, 680 people (in 1880). The Latin Church under the name of St. John the Baptist was founded in the year 1658 It is 677 meters above sea level. An old registrar was consumed by fire in 1825. Only death records exist from the year 1777. There were 650 Roman Catholics, 57 other Chistians, 12 Jews for a total of 721 people.
The court house is at Trzciana, and the post office is at Jablonka.
Submitted and Translated by: Rose Szczech (Apr 1998)
Orlik
In German, Arnsneste. A knightly estate in Chojnice, post office, school and parish in Lesno, 2.5 km (about 1 1/2 American miles) away. Telegraph station is in Brusy 8.5 km (5 1/4 American miles ) away. Railway station is at Rytel 24 km (about 15 American miles) away. Lutheran parish in Sumin in Bytow county. In 1868 there were 25 buildings, 12 dwellings. 129 Catholics, 8 Lutherans. Size 604.8 hectares (about 1495 acres), of which 232.4 (about 574 acres) were in plowed fields, 94.93 (about 235 acres) in meadows, 126.28 (about 312 acres) in grazing land (pasture), 131.37 (about 325 acres) in forest, 9.82 (about 24 acres) unused and 10 hectares (about 25 acres) in water. Net income from this land was 1665 marks.
In 1356 Grand Master Weinrich von Knipprode of the Teutonic Knights bestowed on his faithful Konrad of Lisno (von Leysten, Lesno) 33 wlokas in Orlik according to Chelm law, and free fishing rights in lake Wirscho. In return Konrad was to provide service in arms, assist with building and repairing castles, and give from his wlokas one bushel of oats yearly on St. Martin’s day. Issued in Tuchola. (See Codex Belnensis, page. 58.) In 1417 Michal Boreslaw and the common citizens of the village Orlik in Tuchola county ask if they can settle that village on the basis on Chelm law. There were 33 wlokas. From these the Grand Master bestowed on Michal as soltys 3 tax-free wlokas; to that he added every 3rd grosz from the small courts. From the remaining 30 wlokas the citizens were allowed to possess in common 9 tax-free wlokas, so that they could pay the tax better on the remaining 21. From these 21 taxable wlokas they will pay us every year from each wloka 13 skojec’s and 2 chickens and 1 bushel of oats apiece, which the soltys will also give from his 3 wlokas. The leasers of these 21 rental properties will perform labor service on a par with the others, excepting 1 rent-wloka (undoubtedly the one connected with the inn). Of the [revenue from the] inn’s wloka the soltys will collect 1/3, and we will receive 2/3. As a special favor we bestow on the soltys and the inhabitants of the village the right of fishing for their own table. Given in Lisewo on St. Agatha’s day (p. 69). According to the tariff of 1648, in which a double collection of taxes and a triple excise tax were voted, the leaseholders in Orlik paid 30 lorins, 24 groszy from 30 wloki of the manorial farmstead and from 3 wlokas of gardens. (See Rocznik Towarzystwa Poznanskiej Nauki, 1871, p. 182.) According to the 1717 tariff tax Krzysztof Gliszczynski paid in Orlik 2 groszy, 4 1/2 den. (See Codex Belnensis, p. 91) Orlik belonged at that time to the county of Tuchola.
Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA (Feb 2003)
Orłowo
Current administrative location: Orłowo, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Orlowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
A village located in powiat Inowrocław. In 1227, it was also known as Horlow. Hence the reason why Bishop Michał of Włocławek listed the village twice in records dated in 1227 (Ulanow. Dok. Kuj., 174 and 175).
Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.
Orzechowka
A village at a lake, in Pruska commune, parish in Barglow. In 1827 it had 8 houses and 47 inhabitants.
Submitted by Jay M. Orbik and translated by Iwona Dakiniewicz – June 2002
Osielsk
Or Osielsko, a church village and farm district, Bydgoszcz county, 8 kilometers north-east of Bydgoszcz, 7 km from Fordonia and Vistula, parish on site, post office and train station in Bydgoszcz. Osielsk area includes settlements one of which is called Osielsko Parowe. This area includes 84 houses, 626 inhabitants, 392 Catholics and 234 Protestants. Osielsk is one of the oldest settlements in the Great Poland region. In 1065 it was given to Mogielnice convent; it shared its later fate with non-existing today Wyszogrod; the surrounding trenches have not been explored. In about 1583 the Osielsk parish included: Czarnowka, Niemcz and Smukala. Osielsk belonged to Bydgoszcz jurisdiction. Boleslaw Kedzierzawy’s (Mazowian prince’s) document from 1155 mentions Osielsk as one of the castles.
Translated by Jim Piechorowski
Osława Dąbrowa
Current administrative location: Osława Dąbrowa Gmina Studzienice, Powiat Bytów, Województwo Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Oslawdamerow, Kreis Butow, Regierungsbezirk Koslin, Westpreußen, German Empire.
The German name is Oslawdamerow. The German name was Woyszlaff Damerow in 1437. It is a village located in powiat Bytów. It’s post office is located in Połczno and belongs to the Catholic Parish in Ugoszcz. During the time of the Tuetonic Knights it belonged to Województwo Bytów. According to accounts, rent in 1437 was paid with 3 buckets of honey (III pockoff; ob. Cramer: Gesch. d. L. Lauenb. und Buetow, II, str. 303). With visits by inspector Rybiński in 1780, he found that half the village was owned by the Kingdom and the other half was owned by noble gentry. The village owners were: Jan Sarnowski, Ad. Baron Pałubicki, Matuesz Kłopotek, Paweł Kłopotek, and Paweł Cyrzan. The Kingdom’s half has 53 Catholic inhabitants and the noble half has 65 Catholic inhabitants.
Translated by Al Wierzba, August 2009.
Ośniszczewko
Current administrative location: Ośniszczewko, Gmina Dąbrowa Biskupia, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Osniszczewko, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
A village located in powiat Inowrocław. Ośniszczewko is about 11 kilometers southeast from Gniewkowo. The village belongs to the Brudnia Parish. The post office is located in Murzynno. The railway station is located in Gniewkowo. There are 14 houses with 181 inhabitants (34 Protestants and 147 Catholics). The village belonged to the Włocławek bishopric seat. The village existed before 1583.
Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.
Ośniszczewo
Current administrative location: Ośniszczewo, Gmina Dąbrowa Biskupia, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Osniszczewo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
Inaccurately called Ośniszewo and Ośniczewo. An estate and district located in powiat Inowrocław. Ośniszczewo is about 10 kilometers southeast from Gniewkowo. The village belongs to the Grabie Parish. The post office is located in Dąbrowa (German name: Louisenfelde). The railway station is located in Gniewkowo. There are 7 houses with 137 inhabitants. The district of Ośniszczewo has an area of land equal to 414.26 hectare (378.20 hectare of farmland, 26.40 hectare of meadows, 2.05 hectare of pasture, 6.66 hectare of unused barren land, and 0.86 hectare of water). The lands net profit totals 7738 marks. The owner of the estate was Countess Flora Hejnowska of the Dąbski nobility.
In 1349, Maciej, the Bishop of Włocławek, awarded part of Ośniszczewo to Ubisław of Dąbrowa. In 1393, Bishop Henryk, passed on a tithe to Ośniszczewo for a church in Włocławek. Around 1560, Wojciech Moszczeński was an owner of Ośniszczewo (10 łan (fields) and 2 gardens). Before 1793, Ośniszczewo was incorporated into the Brześć Kujawski Powiat (County) and Województwo (Province). The Nizizna folwark (1 home with 16 inhabitants) belonged to the Ośniszczewo estate and district. The entire district had 153 inhabitants (125 Catholics and 28 Protestants).
Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.
Osobnica
In documents: Oszownicza, with Lazy , Leki, Olszyna, Skala, Wysranka and Wisniowki, village in Jasiel county. It lstreaches on a flat area with low elevation, in the region between two rivers,the Ropa and the Wislok, 254 meters above sea level (altitude), long ways the Laskowy stream till its mouth to the Ropa river on the right side. It is on the Lazy-Debowiec road.
Osobnica has 2442 inhabitants (1880), and 33 of them live in the bigger property of August Delavaux. But the records of the diocese in Przemysl and deanery in Zmigrod give a higher number of inhabitants: 3428 of Catholics and 21 Jews (which can only be a printer`s error). There was a prospering weaver industry among local people. It has a wooden , parish church, a country school and commune loan cash with 762 zlotys of capital. Formerly, Osobnica belonged to Krakow diocese. By the recruits registry in 1581 – Osobnica was a church village in Biecz district, it belonged to Jan Mniszek, and was rented by Piotr Broniowski.
There were 27 and half lans, 5 landlords, 12 households with farmland, 18 tenants (a peasant who had no own house – he had to rent a room to live in) with cattle, 8 tenants without cattle, 5 craftsmen. The major estate has 455 farmland, 44 of meadows, 45 of pastureland, and 147 morgas of forest. It is bordered on the west by Harklowa, on the south by Pagorek, on the east by Lazy, also by Debowiec and Brzesc, on the north by Ropa.
Submitted by Jay M. Orbik and translated by Iwona Dakiniewicz – June 2002.
Osowy Grunt
Properly Osowy Grąd, a village in the district of Augustów, community of Kolnica, parish of Augustów, distance from Augustów 9 versts, it has 32 houses and 287 residents. In 1827 there were here 21 houses and 123 residents.
Submitted by: Anthony Paddock, Moosic, PA
Ossówka
Current administrative location: Ossówka, Gmina Koneck, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Ossówka, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
1) A manor farm (folwark) located in powiat Nieszawa and gmina Straszewo. Ossówka belongs to the Straszewo Parish. It has 53 inhabitants living on 240 morgs of the estate and 9 peasant owned morgs.
Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.
Ostrów
Ostrów, by Tuszewie, with Zagroda, Pataraka, Stara Wies, Buda Tuszowska, Foca and Katniki, the village is also called Ostrowy Tuszowskie, district of Kolbuszowa. The village has a Roman Catholic parish church, (Diocese of Tarnów, Deanery of Mielec), and a public school. The wooden church was built in 1562. To the parish belong Kumorów, Przylek, Toporów and Szydlowiec. In 1880, there were 1,204 inhabitants (82 on the territory of the larger domain). However, the church schematic lists 1,120 Roman Catholics and 83 Jews. Budy Tuszowskie is a German settilement, established on a small area of the village of Tuszw. Ostrów has a community loan association with ../assets of 2,959 zloty, while the settlement has ../assets of 547 zloty (Austrian Currency). The fund for the poor, established by Fathers Anzelm Urbanski and Feliks Kamienski, has 275 zloty (Austrian Currency). The large estate of M. Hirsch, a Jew, has 24 mórgs of farmland, 1 mórg of meadows, 11 mórgs of pastureland, and 1,813 mórgs of pine forests. The lesser domain has 1,507 mórgs of farmland, 348 mórgs of meadows, 363 mórgs of pastureland, and 365 mórgs of forests. This village, fragmented into many hamlets, lies near the mouth of the Jamnica Stream which disappears into the Babulski marshes in the sandy, pineforested Kolbuszowa plain (218 meters). The hamlets of Pataraki, Katniki and the Brazylia Inn are situated to the north of the village, in the midst of the forest, on the right bank of the Jamnica. Budy Tuszowskie is on the west of the Komorwska Foundry. On the west Ostrów borders Toporów, on the south Kossów, on the east Jagodniki and on the north Ostrów Baranoski.
Submitted by: Anthony Paddock, Moosic, PA
Ostrowo
Current administrative location: Ostrowo, Gmina Gniewkowo, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Ostrowo bei Argenau, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
12) The German name was Ostrowo bei Argenau. A dominium, school, and church located in powiat Inowrocław. Ostrów is about 6 kilometers southwest of Gniewkowo. Ostrów belongs to the Gniewkowo Parish. The railway station and post office are also located in Gniewkowo. The Ostrów dominium has 7 houses with 169 inhabitants (144 Catholics and 25 Protestants).
The Ostrów dominium has an area of land equal to 628.44 hectare (396.16 hectare of farmland, 102.84 hectare of meadows, 74.54 hectare of pasture, 11.68 hectare of unused barren land, and 44.22 hectare of water). The income generated from the land is equal to 11,018 marks. The dominium specializes in sheep herding and Dutch cattle breeding. The owner is Richard von Roy.
Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.
Otałęz
The village of Otałęz, lies in Mielec county. The 15th century Polish historian, Jan Długosz referred to it as “Othalasz.” It is 170 meters above sea level, and is situated between the stream Jamnica, and the river Bren, as they flow towards the Wisła (Vistula) on its right bank. The town in reality is situated on a pond, which carries the run off waters from a very swampy forest, towards the north. On the banks of the Wisła stands a defensive rampart or parapet, and a folwark, “Olec.” To the south of Otałęz lies a spread out forest totaling 191 morgen of area. Otałęz belongs to the parish in Czermin, and numbered 670 Catholic inhabitants. The soil is partly slimy, partly sandy. Count Arthur Potocki’s estate covered 248 morgen of farms, 40 mg. of meadows and gardens, 37 mg. pastures, and 190 mg. of forests. The lesser holdings and estates consisted of 564 morgen of farms, 53 meadows and gardens, 365 mg of pastureland, and 1 mg. of forests. Jan Długosz in his History of Poland (II 404 and III 428) states that Otałęz was once the property of the king’s marshal, Jan of Rytwian, the count Jastrzebiec, and consisted of 5 lan (fields) tilled by peasants, and on inn. Tithes collected were donated to the convent in Beszowa. In the census of 1579, the records showed Otałęz as having 16 settlements, 5 fields, 2 gardens, 2 tenant farmers, and 1 indigent person. (See Pawinski’s history of Malopolska.): Little Poland. In the early 1800’s a customs house existed in Olec. Otałęz had a one classroom public school. On the east, Otałęz borders Otałęska Wola, Surowa and Górki to the north, Ziempniow and Słupiec to the south.
Translated from the Słownik Geograficzny by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA
Owśnice
Current administrative location: Owśnice, Gmina Kościerzyna, Powiat Kościerzyna, Województwo Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Owsnitz, Kreis Berent, Regierungsbezirk Danzig, Westpreußen, German Empire.
In 1710 it was called Owśnica. The German name is Owsnitz. It is a peasant village located in powiat Kościerzyna. The post office, telegraph station, Catholic Parish, and Evangelical Protestant Parish are located in Kościerzyna. The village is a colony of Kościerzyna, which is located 1 mile away. In 1868, there were 6 houses and 84 Catholic inhabitants. There are 2 tenant farmers and 4 crofts (enclosed sections of farmland). Altogether, it covers an area of 1669-93. It was granted privileged status in 1750. In 1710, according to inspector Szaniawski, the Mesznego records indicate that the villagers of Owśnice paid 1 bushel of rye and 1 bushel oats.
Translated by Al Wierzba, August 2009.