Low German Mennonite Heritage Path: Vistula Delta and Valley/Masovia

 Rod Ratzlaff's Low German Mennonite Heritage Path: Vistula Delta and Valley/Masovia 

Low German Mennonites began settling in areas along the Vistula River valley, south of where the Nogat splits from the Vistula River, sometime soon after the mid-16th century.  Some of the congregations were established right about the year 1600 but the first settlement may have been right about the area directly across the Vistula from Grudziądz (Graudentz).  By the early 17th century, congregations were established at Montau, Schoensee, Przechowko, and Obernessau, with another valley congregation placed at Tragheimerweide in the early 18th century (see the previous blog post with the Delta portion of the travel Path).  All of these congregations except Przechowko were adhered to the Frisian sect so the culture (Mennonite culture, that is) of the Valley, as opposed to that of the Delta, was somewhat different.  Again, as in the Delta, Mennonites almost always co-habitated villages with local Lutherans or Catholics.  According to the 1772/3 Prussian census, the only village inhabited exclusively by Mennonites was Przechowko (Przechowko was also the only congregation/village with a Polish name).  And then, the earliest evidence we have for Mennonite settlement in Masovia is in 1785 when Przechowko congregants settled at Sady.

Link to the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1OCzRo5OpT9n8fFhhQ7-Z1nhoHqyOWB0&usp=sharing

11. Montau Church, Mątawy (Montau).  This church represents a later time period for this congregation; this building constructed in the 19th century even though the congregation can trace its history back into the last decades of the 16th century.

12. Montau-Klein/Gross Sanskau-Gross/Klein Lubin-Dragass villages (Mątawy-Wielkie Zajączkowo-Wielki Lubień-Dragacz); Vistula River Dike: 53°29'51.8"N 18°44'15.5"E; Vistula River access point: 53°29'34.2"N 18°44'26.7"E.  The way these villages were laid out deserves explanation and these Montau congregation villages illustrate the point well.  Many Mennonite will be familiar with the way Molotschna villages were organized in New Russia.  Johann Cornies made sure all the houses were lined up exactly and spaced evenly.  There's a joke saying that if you'd open all the doors to all the houses in those villages you'd be able to look through the doorways of each house from one end of the village to the other.  However, the villages in Polish Prussia were different.  Houses were spaced irregularly and they were not aligned with one another.  They were also oftentimes placed upon their fields rather than having fields stretch out behind or beside the village.  The villages were themselves just a group of farms until a convenient border naturally appeared (perhaps a waterway of some sort) and then the next village began, so villages butted right up against one another.  This stretch of villages, driving along the 207 from Montau south to Dragass illustrates this layout.  

And there are numerous points along the Vistula where you can get a good look at a dike.  Near Dragass, at about 53°29'51.8"N 18°44'15.5"E, is one of these points.  If you've read this far, then you're a Low German Mennonite and you need to understand about these dikes.  Your ancestors built and maintained them.  They were absolutely crucial to survival in these flood-prone areas so take a good look.  If you're particularly bold, there are spots like this one where you can drive up the path to the top and you can continue driving along the top of the dike.  And if you take a look at your GPS, you might notice areas where the level of the ground is actually lower than the level of the river on the opposite side of the dike.

And again, if you've read this far, this Vistula should be very important to you.  Take the crossing to the other side of the dike at 53°29'51.8"N 18°44'15.5"E and follow the road down to the edge of the river.  Sit there and take it it.  Walk to the edge of the water and at least dip your hands in it.  Seriously, take off your shoes and wade it just a little.  One thing, as "Russian" Mennonites, that we may have forgotten is how important water was to our ancestors.  As Low German Mennonites, water and water management is in our blood.  In the Russian colonies, Mennonite life became all about wheat and sheep.  But before that, during the Polish era, Mennonite life was all about water management (building dikes and canals and mills).  Mennonites were all about controlling water and, indeed, that's why they were imported into these Vistula lowlands in the first place.  Take a good look at the dike here, and the Vistula River as well.

Finally, at this stop at the Vistula, look up and you'll see the granaries and fortress of Graudentz across the river.  This is the view your ancestors had as they worked their fields or tended their gardens.  

13. Przechówko Cemetery, Przechówko; 53°23'26.2"N 18°23'17.7"E

14. 1791 Mennonite Cottage, Chrystkowo (Christfelde); 53°19'15.8"N 18°19'01.2"E

15. Schönsee Cemetery, Sosnówka (Schönsee); 53°24'45.4"N 18°37'12.5"E

16. The Nickelstein, Szynych (Schöneich); 53°25'20.3"N 18°39'50.6"E

17. Hollender Ethnographic Museum, Wielka Nieszawka (Obernessau), outside of Toruń; https://etnomuzeum.pl/o-muzeum/dla-zwiedzajacych/lets-visit-the-ethnographic-museum/

18. Vistula Settlement Open-Air Museum, Wiączemin Polski; https://muzeumplock.eu/pd-21-maja-wstep-do-skansenu-jest-platny/

19. Deutsch Wymyśle Church, Nowe Wymyśle (Deutsch Wymyśle); 52°25'36.3"N 19°50'20.2"E

20. Warsaw Market; 52°14'59.7"N 21°00'42.9"E  Michalin founded 1791

Low German Mennonite Heritage Path: Vistula River Delta

Rod Ratzlaff's Low German Mennonite Heritage Path: Vistula River Delta

1. Gdańsk

2. Danziger Kopf, Żuławki (Fürstenwerder); 54°17'07.0"N 18°58'20.2"E

3. Palschau (Palczewo) windmill; 54°10′06.2″N 18°52′21.9″E

4. Orłowo (Orloff) Arcaded Werder house; 54°12'05.4"N 19°03'40.4"E

5. Zulawy Historical Musuem, Nowy Dwór Gdański (Tiegenhof); https://zph.org.pl/

6. Mały Holender restaurant, Żelichowo (Petershagen); https://www.malyholender.pl/

7. Rosenort Cemetery, Różewo (Rosenort); 54°11'33.0"N 19°10'38.4"E

8. Elbląg 

9. Heubuden Cemetery, Stogi (Heubuden); 54°04'15.1"N 18°58'49.6"E

10. Tragheimerweide Cemetery, Barcice (Tragheimerweide); 53°52'01.3"N 18°56'37.8"E

The Vistula River delta area, basically a triangle from Gdansk to Eblag to Malbork (or the conjunction of the Nogat and Vistula Rivers), is basically the area our ancestors would have called the Gross Werder.  This was the area of highest Mennonite concentration back in the day and you'll still find many remnants of Mennonite culture today.  Back then, the Flemish sect dominated the delta area with congregations located at Danzig, Baerwalde, Tiegenhagen, Ladekop, Rosenort, Elbing, and Heubuden.  The only Frisian congregations were at Orlofferfelde, Danzig, and Elbing (both Danzig and Elbing had both Flemish and Frisian congregations).  These people spoke Low German on a daily basis and began settling in the area by the mid 16th century.  By the late 18th century, they inhabited a great many villages across the Gross Werder - far too many to list here - although none of these villages was inhabited exclusively by Mennonites.  The following sites include a good variety of churches, cemeteries, and houses, representing both the Flemish and Frisian Mennonite sects.

Link to the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1YvAQp2FgHGWeymzL58kv3GNBJMQaaJw&usp=sharing

1. Gdańsk.  Any good Mennonite tour of Poland really needs to include significant time in Gdansk.  Low German Mennonites, this is your home city; more so than Amsterdam or Halbstadt or any other place you can think of.  This is the first place Mennonites came to in Poland and it would continue to be the port of entry for additional Mennonites arriving from the Dutch lowlands.  Maybe you won't find much now that's overtly Mennonite but this is where your ancestors walked and arrived and did their initial business.  Spend some time walking along the canal waterfront.  Go out to the Wiebe Bastion and look at examples of Van der Blocke art (were Wiebe and Van den Blocke really Mennonites?).  Too back Zum Lachs is now closed but certainly sit down at a restaurant and sample a shot of Goldwasser.  Walk through the Long Market and gaze at the Artus Court building where Georg Hansen was interrogated in 1678.  Walk out to the former general locations of the Flemish and Frisian meeting houses (although you won't find any Mennonite traces today but the Flemish site was just outside the Petershagen Gate while the Frisian was just outside the Neugarten Gate).  Climb to the top of the tower of St. Mary's Church where you can get a bird's eye view of all these places.  And most of all, visit the unified Mennonite church building, just west of the walls of the old city, which is undergoing restoration even as I'm writing this.

Just as much as any of these activities, simply sit in a cafe or on a bench along the waterfront and soak in the atmosphere.  Sit quietly and pay attention.  This is exactly the place where your ancestors walked centuries ago.

Wiebe Bastion: https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/Bastion-Wiebego-i-Baszta-Nowa-czyli-spacer-po-terenie-dawnych-fortyfikacji-Gdanska,a,117016

Van den Blocke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_van_den_Blocke

Goldwasser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldwasser

Artus Court: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artus_Court

Gdansk Mennonite Church: https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Danzig_Mennonite_Church_(Gdansk,_Poland)

2. Danziger Kopf, Żuławki (Fürstenwerder).  By the later end of the Mennonite era in Poland (maybe the 18th century), Mennonites were building these great, wonderful houses with large arcade additions on the front of the original Dutch-style longhouses (housebarns).  As you travel around the northern Vistula area, you'll stumble upon many of these, restored and unrestored, and these are a wonderful remnant of our ancestors' culture.  Moving forward here I'll call them Arcade Werder House (or similar).  An amazing example of a restored Arcade Werder house is the Danziger Kopf, owned and restored by my friend Mariusz Wisniewski.  Stop and see it if you can, it's well worth it.

3. Palschau (Palczewo) Windmill.  I haven't actually visited the Palschau windmill myself, and I honestly don't know if it's still standing.  But this is (or was) one of the last examples of a Dutch windmill in the Vistula area.  Our ancestor built windmills in the Dutch style in order to pump water and to mill grain.  Dutch style windmills (according to a Dutch friend) rotate only at the cap at the top.  A Polish style windmill may rotate the entire structure from a pivot point near the base.  Thus, perhaps the Dutch mill is more stable and less apt to collapse to one side or the other.  In centuries past, mills like this one were common all along the river delta and valley and are a really striking remnant of Dutch and Low German Mennonite culture.  

4. Orłowo (Orloff) Arcaded Werder House.  This is another example of an Arcaded Werder House.  You'll probably see many such houses as you drive around but just make real sure you stop and look at a couple of them.  They're all just a little different so you need to appreciate them.  This particular one is located in the village of Orloff and was occupied by a Loewen of some sort.  Orloff became the namesake for villages in the Molotschna and Barnaul colonies, as well as Canada (I think).

5. Zulawy Historical Musuem, Nowy Dwór Gdański (Tiegenhof); https://zph.org.pl/.  This is a great museum located in Tiegenhof, which was an important center for our Mennonite ancestors.  Talk to my friend Lukasz Kepski about getting a personal tour if possible.  While the museum isn't purposely geared toward Mennonites, by default it has a lot of Mennonite stuff in it since there were so many of them in the area.

6. Mały Holender restaurant, Żelichowo (Petershagen); https://www.malyholender.pl/.  It's an amazing experience to visit this restaurant, located in a restored Werder house brought onto this site from someplace east of Elbing (I think).  You can eat a great meal, and then wander around the building a little, as well as outside too.  The last time I was there, they were constructing a mill outside and you can even wander around a little more and find remnants of the old Petershagen cemetery.  The proprietor has revived the popular Mennonite liquor, Machandel, brought by the Mennonite Stobbe family from Holland in the 18th century (yes, Mennonites produced a great deal of quality alcohol in Poland back in the day).  The Maly Holender is absolutely the best place to sample Machandel, and here you can do it properly, with a dried plum skewered onto a toothpick.  Elsewhere in Nowy Dwor Gdanski you can still find the Stobbe family granary.

7. Rosenort Cemetery, Różewo (Rosenort).  You'll find remnants of many Mennonite cemeteries throughout the Werder.  This one is notable because a stone has been erected to memorialize Cornelius Warkentin who was elder here and instrumental in moving Mennonites to Imperial Russia beginning in the late 18th century.  I remember on my first trip to Poland, standing in this cemetery and hearing a hymn sung in German to dedicate this memorial stone.  Hearing the hymn sung in German, in that setting, literally had me crying like a baby and I'm glad I had sunglasses on because it was even a little bit embarrassing.  When you stand in these cemeteries, soak it all in and understand how profound the moment is.

8. Elbląg.  That's Elbing to us Mennonites.  Elbing was a rival to Danzig in importance for our ancestors since the guilds and administration back in the 17th and 18th centuries were more friendly to Mennonites here.  And it's here in Elbing where you'll find what is perhaps the single most stunning example of Mennonite culture still standing.  Back in the day, a Mennonite church couldn't have a steeple or look like a church in any way.  Lutheran guild officials or Catholic administrators or landowners accepted the Mennonites because they were an economic boon.  However, these same officials absolutely did not want Mennonites to proselytize because they didn't want additions to the non-combatant population.  Thus, limitations were placed on their churches and some of the structures became known as "hidden churches".  Walking along on the street, you'd never even know the building behind the door is a church.  You can still find some of these in The Netherlands, but the only one you'll find in Poland is here in Elbing.  And, interestingly enough, this building was one of the few to survive WWII bombings (seriously, you can find pictures from the '40s and this church is still standing while everything else is just destroyed).  The Elbing hidden church is an absolute gem and a must-see for any Mennonite visiting Poland.  A later, 19th century Mennonite church is also located just west of the old town.

Elbing Church: https://aroundus.com/p/12355496-12-garbary-street-in-elblag

9. Heubuden Cemetery, Stogi (Heubuden).  The congregation at Stogi was one of the largest in the Gross Werder and the cemetery is one of the best preserved.  There are more grave markers here than any other Mennonite cemetery in the delta, most of which represent internments from the 19th century.  

10. Tragheimerweide Cemetery, Barcice (Tragheimerweide).  This entry would fit better on the next list; Tragheimerweide is usually considered a Valley congregation, but it rounds out a tidy 10 sites for this half of the list.  Tragheimerweide was the latest of the original Mennonite congregations to be established.  Congregants from nearby Montau left the area in 1713 for the Memel River lowlands (then in the Kingdom of Prussia) but returned to the Vistula (Royal Prussia, semi-autonomous province of the Polish Crown) in 1724, establishing this congregation south of Sztum (Stuhm).  This cemetery actually served the residents from Zwanzigerweide while another nearby cemetery served those residents from Schweingrube.  In my opinion, this is the more worthwhile of the two to visit.  Similar to the Heubuden cemetery above, this cemetery largely includes19th century memorial stones.