The dedication ceremony for the restored church in Nowe Wymyśle is in just a couple days. The earlier Mennonite church building in the village, known to Mennonites as Deutsche Wymysle, was reportedly built in 1860. This building stood a short distance west from the newly restored building (which was the Mennonite Brethren building) [Zabytek > Nowe Wymyśle, 35, https://zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/dom-nr-35-(mennonicki)-781979]. See: here. This building, documented in 1984, was at that time used as a residential structure but was previously the Mennonite prayerhouse.
At the Zabytek site (here) we read the following about the church building that currently stands towards the east end of the village, which has now been restored:
"The village of Nowe Wymyśle (Deutsch Wymyśle, Wymyśle Niemieckie), known until the first half of the 19th century as Olędry Czermińskie, was founded by Kajetan Dębowski in 1781 and settled by colonists Jakub Konarski, Jerzy Drews, Jan Konarski, Jan Golno, and Dawid Górski. Between 1808 and 1829, Wymyśle was inhabited by families of various denominations: approximately 50 Mennonite families, approximately 50 Evangelicals [Lutherans], and 60 of unknown denomination. They engaged in traditional forms of farming – fruit growing, raising cows and sheep, and producing Dutch cheese – and cultivated willow plantations. The first Mennonite (wooden) church in Wymyśl was built in 1818, but it burned down in 1845, and a school was built in its place in 1854. The new brick church was built in 1864 on a plot of land belonging to Michael Loter [Luther], who also financed most of the building materials. During World War I, the building was partially demolished by German troops – the roof structure was used to reinforce trenches, and the sheet metal roofing was melted down. In 1924, thanks to the help of Mennonites living in the USA and Canada, the church was rebuilt and renovated. The paintings in the main hall were likely created during this time. After World War II, the building was taken over by the Roman Catholic parish in Czermno and consecrated in 1946. In 1948, the building was taken over by the Czermno District National Council. For several years, it stood unused. In 1954, it was renovated and adapted to serve as a school club. From the mid-1970s, the building became a collection point for herbs for "Herbapol.""
An amazing digital reproduction of the building is here at the link above.
At the Zabytek site, one can also find listings for Mennonite-built houses in Nowe Wymysle, as well as nearby villages such as Sady, Nowe Troszyn, Nowe Wiączemin, and others.
Of course, the "standard" history for the area around Nowe Wymylse (Deutsch Wymylse) is Erich Ratzlaff's Im Weichselbogen but the information below is mostly apart and aside from that book.
This map (Topographical Charter of the Kingdom of Poland, mapped by the Russian Army; Kol III, Sek III) is from 1839, so right during the time when the Mennonites lived there.
Wojciech Marchlewski indicates (Mennonici na Mazowszu; Plock 2022; pp 39-41) that Mennonites began moving into Masovia in the early 1760s. Some were settled on the Swiniary Estate, which was owned by Kajetan Debowski. These particular settlers originated from Przechowko, Gruppe, Obernessau, Jeziorki, and Neumark. Specifically in 1781, some were settled at Oledry Czerminskie which became known as Deutsch Wymysle. See here.
Some of these early Masovian settlers absolutely were tied to the Old Flemish at Przechowko. In 1785 a group of 14 families led by Cornelius Wedel (GMA #81618, PRZ #241, 1747-1798) ( Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz II. HA GD, Abt. 9) received permission to move to the Swiniary Estate in Masovia. See here
I can’t prove it yet but my theory is that some of my own ancestors derive their origins from this group. It’s likely that these folks prepared goods to take up the Vistula by boat to sell at the markets in Warsaw (maybe they would have sold dried fruits, jams or jellies, dairy products, or bales of linen). In the markets of Warsaw, legend has it, that Prot Potocki encountered Mennonites and invited them to settle on his estates located on the borders of Volhynia and Podolia - a settlement which would be established in 1791 and named Deutsch Michalin. And, in turn, Deutsch Michalin villagers established Karolswalde in Volhynia proper in 1801. Again, I can’t prove that right now but I feel that in this very Masovian settlement record we actually have the earliest seeds of the Volhynian Mennonite story.
The late John D Richert states "From review of the names of ministers listed by congregation in Dutch Naamlysts and German Namensverzeichnis from 1769 to 1835 a fifth congregation can be identified: Wionczemin and Sady near Plock. This fifth congregation apparently faltered, was relocated and renamed Deutsch-Wymysle following a large influx of immigration ca. 1816. It is not clear when this congregation in the Mazovian region of Poland was established. It was located about 10 miles southeast of Plock on the south side of the Vistula River. The writings by Robert Foth and Erich L. Ratzlaff provide considerable information about the Deutsch-Wymysle congregation but scant detail about Deutsch Wionczemin and Sady which existed as a Groningen Old Flemish Gemeinde prior to the establishment of Deutsch-Wymysle as its successor. Sady was first populated by German Lutherans who obtained the land from Polish landowner Zablocki In 1769. The Mennonites who followed afterward bought land from these initial German settlers. From the evidence available it appears this congregation was started by Groningen Old Flemish Mennonites who arrived from Przechowko and Brandenburg about 1790-1795 and was followed by the ordination of their first ministers in 1799. The first appearance of this congregation was in 1802 and only Old Flemish names appeared on their list of ministers. The 1802 list states the Przechowko-Konopath, Schoensee Culmish, Jeziorki, Brenkenhofswalde-Franzthal and Wionczemin-Sady Gemeinden were closely related and elected their Aeltesters in common. The prayer house (church) was built at Sady in 1806 but it was not used for long and was abandoned by 1820. The first Elder of this congregation was ordained in 1809. The Mennonite church in Deutsch-Wymysle was built in 1813 and Deutsch-Wymysle soon replaced Sady as the center of the congregation. Some details of this separation are revealed in the letters sent from Elder Wilhelm Lange to Elder Peter Wedel in the time period 1815-1820. Minister Jacob Pankratz had appealed for help dealing with a crisis over problems in the congregation apparently involving drinking in excess. Lange expressed his exasperation that Elder Peter Wedel at Sady was oblivious to these problems. The installation of three new Ministers in 1817 and promotion of Jacob Pankratz to Elder in 1820 likely was the consequence of inaction on the part of Peter Wedel, the elder at Sady. Collapse of the congregation Wionczemin-Sady seems to have occurred in the 1813-1820 timeframe in spite of the Namensverzeichnis issued from Danzig in 1835 referring to this congregation as Wionczemin-Sada instead of Deutsch-Wymysle. In addition to Deutsch-Wymysle, the members of this successor Gemeinde also lived in the villages of Sady, Korzykow, Wionczemin, Nowosiadlo, Swiniary and Leonow among perhaps others. Jacob Pankratz began the church record book in 1815 and is recognized as the first elder of the Deutsch-Wymysle Gemeinde as well. , The membership of the Deutsch-Wymysle Gemeinde thrived in its early days but declined significantly due to immigration in the 1870’s. Transfers of members to the Mennonite Brethren in the 1880’s took its toll as well. The Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Brethren co-existed, in harmony, at Deutsch-Wymysle until being scattered in the aftermath of World War II." - The Groningen Old Flemish Society of Mennonites in Poland, Prussia and Russia, 11/2023.
At the open air museum in Nowe Wiączemin (Skansen Osadnictwa Nadwiślańskiego w Wiączeminie Polskim, also known as the Płock Museum), we have this from the permanent exhibit, the photo probably taken by Wojciech Marchlewski (information regarding Sady):
Again, Sady was likely the original church in the area, the church building built around 1806 but abandoned by 1820 and thereafter Wymysle became the chief Mennonite village in the area. Erich Lohrey indicates that the congregation in Deutsch Wymysle was established in 1813, the first elder being Flemish, and that the first church building was built also in 1813. The later Mennonite Brethren congregation was established in 1884.
