The
Village of Przechówko
Rodney D Ratzlaff
Low German Mennonites began arriving from the Dutch lowlands
to Przechówko village by the late-16th century.[1] Situated about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the
Vistula River and 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest from the Świecie castle, the
village was home to Anabaptist Mennonites belonging to the Gröningen
Old Flemish Society. By the early 1820s,
most of these Mennonites had moved away and the village became populated by
German-speaking Evangelical Lutherans.
Today, the northern parts of the village are occupied by the Mondi paper
factory (Świecie; built 1961) and the southern parts are largely uninhabited. The most significant remnant of the
Mennonite/Evangelical Lutheran village is the cemetery.
The beginnings of Dutch colonization in Prussia can be
traced into the 15th century when Polish King Casimir IV rewarded
the city of Gdańsk (Danzig) by gifting it the fertile Danzig Werder
(lowlands south of Gdańsk). Due to
constant flooding by the Vistula River, attempts to settle local populace into
this area had been previously unsuccessful.
The Gdańsk mayor sought to bring settlers from the Dutch lowlands to
transform the area into farmland and this process was begun by the mid-16th
century. These Dutch settlers became
known as Hollanders (Olęders; Olędrzy).
This was a time when the Vistula
area had a unique relationship with the Dutch lowlands. Cities such as Gdańsk and Elbląg (Elbing)
relied on Dutch cities as trading partners and displayed decidedly Dutch
cultural characteristics. Royal Prussia
during this period – basically the region of Prussia west of the Vistula plus
Culmerland and Żuławy Wiślane (Gross Werder) – was wholly
controlled by the Polish Crown.[2] Regions
of Prussia east of the Vistula (except Ermland) were known as Ducal Prussia
(which would later develop to become the Kingdom of Prussia).
A subset of the
Hollanders belonged to an Anabaptist sect called Mennists or Mennonites, a
group which was eager to escape religious persecution in the Dutch
lowlands. Poland was an island of
tolerance and democracy at the time so when the religious wars broke out in the
Dutch lands in the mid-16th century, Royal Prussia was a
particularly logical landing spot for Mennonite Hollanders. The Hollander settlers were skilled at
draining swampy lowlands and immigration organized by Gdańsk officials helped
place them throughout the Danzig Werder. In time these Hollanders, and specifically
the Mennonites, moved east to Elbląg and southwards up the Vistula valley,
settling in low-lying floodplain areas as far as Toruń (Thorn) and beyond.
Vistula River delta and valley, 1608[3]
Mennonites soon came to occupy many villages in the Vistula
delta and valley, and over the course of the next centuries the population of
this unique religious group quickly grew.
They originally established fourteen congregations and divided
themselves into different sects – divisions which had been established back in
the Dutch lowlands. The predominant
sects were the Flemish and the Frisians, although further subdivisions
existed. While a congregation’s adherence
to a sect could change over time, the Flemish were generally the dominant group
in the delta while the Frisians were dominant along the valley. By the early 17th century, the
only congregation along the valley which adhered to the Flemish sect was the
one found at Przechówko, immediately west of Świecie (Schwetz) in the Schwetz
lowlands. Congregants belonging to Przechówko
were also found throughout the Świecie, Chełmno (Kulm), and Grudziądz (Graudenz) lowlands (Schwetzer,
Culmsche, und Graudenzer Niederung).
Earlier historians have speculated that Mennonites settled
in Przechówko around 1540. This date has
been based on the earliest known land contract for the village which was
settled in 1642 for the period 1640-1690.
The contract was granted by Johann Zawadzki, castellan of Gdańsk and
starost of Świecie. However, there is no
clear evidence that Mennonites were in Przechówko by 1540. The first mention of the village appears to
be a 1597/98 protocol of a visitation by the Bishop of Włocławek. This protocol mentions “Brzechomko”, a
village of 6 farms, associated with Przechowo, in the Diocese of
Przysiersk. This is almost certainly a
reference to Przechówko but there is no mention whatsoever of Mennonite
settlers in the village. It seems likely
that Mennonites arrived in the area shortly afterwards, around the year 1600,
executing a 40-year land contract which preceded the 1640-90 contract mentioned
above.[4] We also cannot be certain about the initial
number of farms in Przechówko during the Mennonite period although the 1642
contract has been thought to include 12 farms.
In 1662 the total population of the village was 32 and in 1676, 41. These seem very small numbers for 12 farms.[5]
Not much is known about the earliest land contracts. The Mennonites would have been assigned with
specific benefits and obligations, but those specifics are currently unknown. Leases for neighboring Montau (Mątawy) and
Schönsee
(Sosnówka) are extant so Przechówko could have been similar.[6] However, we do know that the villagers at
Przechówko from the earliest times would have been contracted to the village
through emphyteutic leases. An
emphyteutic lease was a land contract, for a 40 or 50-year period of time, that
gave the tenant many of the same benefits as ownership. The tenant was expected to make improvements
on the property and treat it as his own.
A mechanism was included in the contract designed to expedite
renewal. Strict rules regarding
subdivisions of land, inheritance, taxes, etc., were all stipulated. Mennonites executed emphyteutic contracts in
groups of 10-25 individual leaseholders.
The houses in the village were combination-type longhouses
containing house, barn, and stable all under the same roof. Each house stood on the south side of the east-west
village road. Houses were not built to a
standard size and yards were irregularly shaped. Each plot was likely separated from the next
by a fair distance. The church stood in
the center of the village on the north side of the road, immediately east of
the cemetery. This church would have
looked similar to a residential house and was probably built large enough to
seat as many as 150-200 worshipers.[7]
Hollander housebarn. This structure originally stood in the village of Niedźwiedź and today is located at Olenderski Park Etnograficzny w Wielkiej Nieszawce.[8]
Przechówko was named after the larger village immediately to
the northeast, Przechowo. Przechówko is the diminutive form of Przechowo (literally,
little or small Przechowo; German = Klein Przechowo). According to the Geographical Dictionary
of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavic Countries, the name Przechowo
derives from the Polish term “przechowywać przezimować” which means to
store something over winter or to winterize.
This was a place where Vistula bargemen would store their boats over
winter, the Wda tributary providing safe storage away from the harmful Vistula
ice floes.[9] Wikipedia proposes the name derives from “przechowywać”,
a term referencing storage in regards to the many warehouses and granaries in
Przechowo.[10] Wegner also asserts that the name Przechowo
derives from Polish term “przechowywać” meaning “to store”, or even more
precisely, from “przezimować” meaning “to store over winter”.[11] Przechówko’s later German name, Wintersdorf, could
also derive from this term in some way.
Another possible explanation of the village name is that it stemmed from
the Slavic name “Przech” which is a diminutive form of the name “Przemysław” or
similar. “Przechowo” would thus mean
Przech’s (Przemysław’s) property.
The 17th and early 18th centuries presented
unique challenges to the whole of Royal Prussia. A war with Sweden took place over the period
1626-1629, followed by the Swedish Deluge in 1655-60, and these were all times
when invading armies occupied the area.
Armies brought with them disease and destruction and interrupted local
economies; soldiers required supplies which the local populace was obliged to
provide. Such disruptions helped foster
the rise of epidemics and bouts of plague frequently swept the area during the
first half of the 17th century.
Crops were ruined, livestock died or was pillaged, markets were closed,
and cities were burned or destroyed. The
area near Świecie was particularly affected in the 1620s and 1650s and Świecie
itself was burned in 1655. The entire
population of the Świecie lowlands was wracked with ruin.[12]
From the period immediately following the Swedish Deluge we
get the first good look at the village in the form of a tax list. In 1662 villagers over the age of ten years
were enumerated for the poll tax or head tax (Kopfgeld or Pogłówny). The record indicates six families living on
three farms with a good number of hired servants. This record gives the first glimpse of
surnames which would become common to the village including Ratzlaff, Wedel,
Unrau, Isaac, and Voth.
1662 tax record
The total number of people in the village at this time was
only 32. This likely reflects a decline
in population as a result of hardship during the Deluge; the village could very
well have been home to even twice as many people only a few years earlier, but
the deprivations of the war likely took their toll. Beggars and the very poor were also not
liable for the poll tax and it remains possible that the war drove some into
poverty so that they were not listed here.
Again, in 1676 the population of the village was recorded at 41 people
so as the troubles of the war faded, the village grew in size.[13]
Another period of war came in the early 18th
century. The Great Northern War
(1700-21) again pitted Poland against Sweden (among other belligerents) and it
was at this time that the King of Sweden, Charles XII, for a long time set up
his headquarters at Topolno, only a short distance southwest from
Przechówko. Afterwards, the Russians
occupied the lowlands near Świecie from 1757-65 and again during the winter of
1769-70.[14] During all these periods, the lives of the
Mennonite farmers at Przechówko were affected by the occupying military troops.
Przechowko Village
in the late 18th Century
The Przechówko villagers faced challenges based upon the
physical properties of the village lands.
The village was actually built on an ancient sandbar built up by the
river. The village soil was thus of a
very high sand content instead of the fertile silt found in some other
villages. Further, the fields were
situated on land which sloped downwards towards the south. Some contemporary visitors were surprised
crops could even be grown on such land.[15]
Since income from raising crops was low, most farms were
forced to supplement income by spinning and weaving flax into linen cloth.[16] Flowing towards the east, the Vistula River ran
about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Przechówko.
The Wda River or Czarna Woda (Schwarzwasser) ran parallel to the
northeast border of the village, also flowing to the east. Both rivers regularly overflowed their banks
in the springtime, but the Wda presented more danger to Przechówko than the
Vistula. Flooding could cause damage to
both crops in the fields and grasses in the meadowland thereby diminishing the
villagers’ grain yields as well as restricting their ability to feed their
dairy cattle.[17]
The upkeep of dams, dikes, and canals was a very serious
issue in these low-lying areas. All the
villages in the floodplain were prone to flooding so cooperation was essential
to ensure proper maintenance.
Inspections to dams and dikes were performed twice annually and each
village was required to lend assistance for repair measures. Negligence was a grave offense since flooding
destroyed property, ruined crops, and killed livestock. Minor flooding likely occurred every year,
but significant flooding was held to a minimum thanks to strict and proactive
measures. Nevertheless, major flooding
events on the Vistula did take place in the immediate area around Przechówko sixteen
times in the years 1635-1816.[18]
Seventeenth century Mennonite farmers plowing and sowing rye.[19]
By 1661, the Przechówko Mennonites had affiliated themselves
with a particular sect of the Old Flemish that was centered in Gröningen
back in the Dutch lowlands. The Gröningen
Old Flemish Sociëteit was among the strictest and most conservative of the
Mennonite sects and the Przechówko villagers’ lives reflected these
values. The men wore long, dark, coats
which had neither collars nor buttons nor pockets. The women were forbidden from adopting trendy
hairstyles or tying ribbons or bows into their braids. Horse harnesses were constructed without any
shiny buckles or rings. Religious
discipline was harsh; offenses such as excessive drinking, sexual misconduct,
or striking another adult were quickly punished by shunning the offender. Due to their beliefs, Przechówko congregants isolated
themselves; they rarely intermarried with Mennonites from other sects. Strictly speaking, their custom was to shun
relationships with local Catholics or Lutherans.[20] However, in reality, there appears to have
been some fluidity in between religious sects.
The Mennonites’ relationship with their Catholic and
Lutheran neighbors was always difficult due to the Anabaptists’ distinctive
religious beliefs; they refused to take oaths, they were strict pacifists, and
they did not baptize their children until the teenage years. They enjoyed conditional religious freedom as
long as they continued to pay inordinate fees to local authorities, but
harassment did occur from time to time.
The torment is well-illustrated by the story of the Haxberg extortions (Axembergsclien
Erpressungen) of the 1640s. Through
extortion, a royal Polish magistrate named Wilbald von Haxberg, attempted to
seize land confirmed upon the Mennonites of the valley, including those at
Przechówko. Decades earlier this
magistrate had attempted this ploy with Mennonites living in the Vistula
delta. The extortion was alleviated
through a royal writ of protection signed by King John II Casimir.[21] This was an extreme example, but events of
harassment were pervasive for the Mennonites.
Closely tied with their Dutch brethren, the Przechówko
villagers spoke the Dutch language in church until the late 18th
century when they changed to German. A
dialect of Low German called Plautdietsch was the common spoken
language. Correspondence was conducted
in Dutch or High German depending upon the recipient. Church elders from Gröningen visited the
village periodically in the early 18th century and completed
ordination of ministers as well as baptisms of new members. Gröningen elders also brought Dutch-language
song books and Bibles and even provided the Przechówko villagers with financial
assistance.[22]
The Przechówko villagers themselves came from three general
backgrounds. Villagers with the surnames
Cornels, Dircks, Isaac, Jantz, Köhn and Nachtigal likely had origins
from the Dutch lowlands. Surnames
including Harparth, Pankratz, Ratzlaff, and Tesmer all descended from native
Pomeranian families that converted to the Mennonite confession. The Przechówko group also included a good
number of families with German (Upper German) backgrounds such as Becker,
Buller, Decker, Frey, Funck, Richert, Schellenberg, Schmidt, Thoms, Unrau,
Voht, and Wedel.[23]
Przechówko was the seat of the church for Mennonites of the Schwetz
Niederung, but adherents populated many villages throughout the Świecie and
Chełmno lowlands. Mennonites
associated with the Przechówko church lived in Wielki
Konopat (Gross and Klein Deutsch Konopat), Chrystkowo (Christfelde), Kosowo,
Głogówko, Dworzysko (Wilhelmsmark), Piekary/Bekierzyc (Beckersitz), Terespol,
Niedźwiedź (Niedwitz), and Świecie on the left bank of the river. On the right bank, Przechówko congregants
lived in Ostrower Kaempe (Ehrenthal), Dorposz (Dorposch), Sosnówka (Schönsee), Szynych (Schöneich), Horst
(Jamrau and Gross Lunau[24]), Górne and Dolne Wymiary (Ober and Nieder
Ausmaas), and Brankówka (Jamrau).[25]
Przechówko Mennonites cohabitated many of these places with
Lutheran or Catholic villagers. The Old
Flemish Mennonites at Przechówko also cohabitated those villages on the Vistula
right bank with Frisian Mennonites.
Przechówko was the only village in the area that was populated
exclusively by Mennonites.[26]
[1]
The Low German Mennonites who lived in Prussia are alternately called Low
German Mennonites, Dutch Mennonites, Prussian Mennonites, or Vistula
Mennonites.
[2]
Royal Prussia was divided into 3 voivoidships: Pomerelia, Marienburg,
and Kulm.
[3] Prussiae
Vera Descriptio, Jan Baptista Vrients.
[4] Visitationes
Archidiaconatus Pomeraniae, p 341.
Dr. Michał Targowski points out there is no clear evidence of Hollander
or Mennonite settlement in the Świecie, Chełmno, Grudziądz, Toruń area any
early than 1565. Further, other Mennonite
settlements nearby to Przechówko, such as Schönsee, traditionally dated into
the mid-16th century, also likely originated between the years
1595-1610. The Przechówko church records
do not list birth dates for the very earliest Mennonite villagers. However, logical extrapolation of birthdates
from their descendants indicates the earliest settlers could have been born no
earlier than the first decade of the 17th century.
[5] Regestrum
subsidii,
1662, and Maercker, Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, p 350.
[6] Klassen,
Peter. Mennonites in Early Modern Poland, pp 80-83.
[7]
Based on membership reports from Hulshoff; see Przechowka, West
Prussia, Memberships lists for 1715, translated by Penner,
pp 9-16.
[8] Zagroda Jednobudynkowa
z Niedźwiedzia. This
house is strikingly similar to one that stood in Przechowko from the first
decade of the 19th century until the late 1960s (see: Przechówko,
dom 141 at zabytek.pl).
[9] Sulimierski, Chlebowski, Walewski, Et al. Geographical Dictionary,
Volume IX, p 127.
[10] Przechowo. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przechowo.
[11]
Wegner, Richard, Ein Pommersche Herzogthum, Volume 1, p 72.
[12] Maercker,
Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, pp 14-16.
[13] Regestrum subsidii g[ener]alis palatinatus Pomeranie cum sius dismetibus, 1662. Sygnatura 1/7/0/3/147. Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, Archiwum Skarbu Koronnego.
[15]
Hulshoff says that “one should stand at it in wonderment because there are
hills and valleys and then so high and low and steep that one at various
locations has hard work that one can get to it”, meaning the crops. Przechowka, West Prussia, Memberships lists
for 1715, translated by Penner, p 6.
[16] Duerksen,
Jacob A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl”.
[17] Przechowka
Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine
Akabayov.
[18] Maercker,
Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, pp 59-61. Significant flooding events took place in
1635, ‘51, ‘63, ‘74, 1708, ‘13, ‘25, ‘36, ‘44, ‘45, ‘65, ‘72, ‘75, ‘80, 1813, ’16.
[19] Beuthner,
Friedrich. Neuer und Alter Schreib Calender.
[20] Duerksen,
Jacob A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl”.
[22] Duerksen,
Jacob A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl”.
[23] Shapansky,
Henry. The Mennonite Migrations, pp 80-87.
[24]
The location of the village of “Horst” is unknown. Late 18th century maps by Friedrich
Leopold von Schrötter, as well as early 19th century maps by Daniel
Gottlob Reymann, both show the villages Jamrauer Horst and Lunauer Horst in the
areas between Jamrau and Gross Lunau.
[25] Przechowka Church Records. Translated by Lydia Pankratz
and Anna M. Unruh.
[26] Przechowka
Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine
Akabayov.
