Vistula River Lowlands: Świecie/Chełmno/Grudziądz (Schwetz/Kulm/Graudenz)

 Mennonites lived in a great number of the villages in the Vistula River valley lowlands - specifically those villages located in the river floodplain.  The map below shows the outline of many of the villages in the lowlands between Świecie, Chełmno, and Grudziądz (marked on the map by their German name equivalents, Schwetz, Kulm, and Graudenz).

The Vistula on this map is flowing towards the north east, thus the northwest (top left) side of the map shows the Left Bank while the southeast (bottom right) shows the Right Bank.

This map is from 1893 but the villages and their boundaries would have been practically the same a century earlier when Mennonites lived here.  Typically, villages were simply a collection of houses with a border drawn around them.  Borders may be based on waterways or other natural boundaries, but villages generally simply adjoined another.  For instance, Przechowko (here marked Wintersdorf) adjoined Klein Deutsch Konopat.  The border between the two villages was naturally marked by the low point between two gentle hills.

Mennonites inhabited most of the villages marked on the map and these were congregants at either Przechowko or one of the churches at Schoensee (two churches existed in Schoensee; one Frisian and one Old Flemish, which was associated with Przechowko).  Some of the Mennonites toward the northeast corner of the map could have also been congregants at Montau (Frisian) and we can even see Gruppe, directly across the river from Grudziądz - this village was very closely associated with Montau.

Based on the 1772-3 Prussian census, Przechowko was the only village marked that was exclusively inhabited by Mennonites.  In the other villages, Mennonites cohabitated with Lutherans or Catholics.  Even in Przechowko, the Mennonites could have employed Lutheran or Catholic farmhands so in that sense, the village was not exclusively Mennonite.  But the leaseholders in Przechowko were all Mennonite.

On this map, Przechowko is marked by its German name, Wintersdorf.  Certainly, the Mennonites would have never used this name.  This name came into use after 1871 and by that point all the Mennonites were gone from this area.

Also on this map we have the dikes marked in green.  Quite a network of dikes exist on the Right Bank.  On the Left Bank, southwest of Schwetz, the dike is quite rudimentary.  We can also see that no dike existed along the Schwartzwasser (Wda) River which basically bordered Przechowko to the northeast.  Thus the Przechowko villagers were always in danger of flooding from the northeast.  There are also canals or ditches cut through the area in various places.  For instance, an important ditch borders Przechowko/Deutsch Konopat/Wilhelmsmark (Dworzisko) to the south and this helped drain the meadows of these villages.

The cemeteries at Przechowko/Deutsch Konopat/Wilhelmsmark (Dworzisko) and Schoensee (Sosnowka) are marked with purple dots.  The Mennonite Cottage in Chrystkowo (Christfelde) is marked by a dark blue dot.

A Night of Mennonite Music in Chełmno, Poland

On the night of 8 June 2025, Donna Ratzlaff Hetrick was given a special and unique opportunity to present a Mennonite-related pipe organ concert at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Chełmno, Poland.  Most of our Mennonite ancestors in Polish-Prussia did sing songs but probably did not use pipe organs; the earliest Mennonite pipe organ in Polish-Prussia was used in the United Danzig church during the 19th century.  Largely, Mennonites adopted songs from other denominations such as the Lutherans.  The purpose of Donna’s concert was to bring attention to local Polish folks of Mennonite culture.

Donna’s concert included the following: Concerto for Organ in G Major by Johann Sebastian Bach, Lobt Gott, ihr Christen by Johann Gottfried Walther, O Gott du frommer Gott also by Bach (Both of these chorales are found in the Danzig Choral Buch.  The text for O Gott du frommer Gott is included in the 18th century Jacob Thomas Liede Buch from the community of Brenkenhofswalde).  Three hymn preludes by J. Harold Moyer were also included: I Sought the Lord; O Thou, In Whose Presence; and On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand.  Closing the concert was Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow.

These links include just a few short highlights of the concert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4btzIEn772k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAo7o7FVU8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWANNI6tS3k

Chełmno (Culm or Kulm) was a particularly important city during the Mennonite era of Polish history.  The Bishop of Culm was one of the most powerful men in the Kingdom.  The city became the namesake for Culm Law and for standards of early-modern measurement.  Jagiellonian University established a branch in the city which was also home to numerous churches and monasteries.  

This Mennonite concert was held at the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a gothic church first constructed by the early years of the 14th century.  It’s a particularly grand church which would be right at home in the larger cities of Krakow or Warsaw.  In the 17th and 18th centuries, our Mennonite ancestors living at Przechowko or other nearby villages would have known the tower of this church as the tallest structure for miles around.  Indeed, this church tower could have easily been seen by Przechowko villagers working in their fields or gardens.

The concert in this church was particularly significant for Mennonite history.  Never before had Mennonite songs been played by a Mennonite artist in this church.  During centuries past, the sitting bishops of Culm sometimes protected the Mennonites while at other times contributed to their persecution.  Plaques adorn the walls of the church, honoring powerful landowners of Culm, who once were the overlords to the Mennonites.  Just outside the church, about a block to the northeast, is a large military academy building that was built on the support of taxation drawn from 18th century Mennonites.

Vistula River Lowlands: Świecie/Chełmno

 Low German Mennonites began moving into the Świecie/Chełmno lowlands by the very last years of the 16th century.  This map, from 1893, shows the Vistula River floodplain in exaggerated 3-D.  The Village of Przechowko, here marked with its German name Wintersdorf, is outlined in red.

Przechowko sits on the left bank of the Vistula, on an ancient sandbar.  The land slopes gently downhill from the northern parts of the village to the south.  The houses and church were located centrally, along the roughly east-west road through the village.  

Przechowko Village

 

At the time of the First Partition, the population of Mennonites in Polish lands was between 10-12,000 persons and in 1772, 25% of agricultural land of the Vistula delta was in Mennonite hands.[1]  Przechówko village was enumerated for taxation purposes in March 1773.  By the date of this census the village had grown to a total population of 95 persons.[2]  Cultivated land equaled 13 Hufen.[3]  The 12 wirtschaften divided 10 Hufen averaging .8 Hufe individually.  Together they shared an additional 3 Hufen.  The villagers kept horses and a small number of livestock (primarily dairy cattle) and collected hay from the southern half of the village lands; the meadow stretched toward the canal about ½ mile (0.8 km) south of the main village road.  The hay fed the dairy cattle which were the primary source of income.  The villagers also grew rye in fields stretching out to the north of the farmyards.  By the late 18^th century, the Mennonites also leased the folwark[4] (Vorwerk) immediately east of Przechówko which was owned by the village of Przechowo.  On the fields of the 6-Hufen folwark (≈8.2 Hufen after 1774) the Mennonites primarily grew rye but also a small amount of wheat, barley, oats, and peas.  Hay was also gathered here.[5]

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[1] Shapansky, Henry. The Mennonite Migrations, pp 97, 109.

[2] Przechowka Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine Akabayov.

[3] According to Adelbert Goertz, 1 Culmisch Hufe = 30 Morgen (=16.8 ha = ca 41.5 acres).  Goertz, Adalbert. FAQ: Preußen (Prussia).

[4] Folwark was also known as Przechowski Folwark and later called Marienhöhe.  Sulimierski, Chlebowski, Walewski, Et al. Geographical Dictionary, Volume IX, p127.

[5] Przechowka Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine Akabayov.  Until 1774 the Mennonites lease 6 Hufen of the folwark, after 1774 they leased the entire folwark which amounted to approximately 8.2 Hufen according to Przechowo: Act of Granting the Hereditary Possession…1774.