Schwansdorf (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland)

Schwansdorf (now Żurawiec, Poland)
Source: Wikipedia Commons

Detailed map of Schwansdorf, early 20th century
Source: Archiwalne Mapy Pomorza Gdańskiego website

Schwansdorf (also known as Schwansdorff; now known as Żurawiec; coordinates: 54.0875, 19.407 [54° 5′ 14″ N, 19° 24′ 25″ E]; population in 1905, 297; in 2013, 260) is located approximately 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) south of Elbląg (Elbing), 24 km (15 miles) north-east of Malbork (Marienburg), and 24 km (15 miles) south-east of Nowy Dwór Gdański (Tiegenhof).

Until the 14th century, the area of Schwansdorf was under water. In 1631, Dutch settlers began to develop the terrain. Until 1772 Schwansdorf was located in what was known as Royal Prussia (also known as Polish Prussia) in the Kingdom of Poland. The First Partition of Poland in 1772 resulted in the creation of a new province in 1773, called West Prussia, in which the village was located. Schwansdorf was situated in the district (Kreis) of Marienburg until the end of World War I, when it came under the jurisdiction of the German province of East Prussia. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, it came under the control of Nazi Germany. In February 1945 it was occupied by Soviet forces and eventually returned to Poland. In 2012 Żurawiec was a village in the administrative district of Gmina Markusy, within Elbląg County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship.

The Prussian census of 1776 lists 21 Mennonite families in Schwansdorf with the following surnames: Albrecht, Allert, Dau, Funck, Goertzen, Grunau, Harms, Hein, Horn, Jantz, Jantzen, Martens, Niese, Pauls, Philipsen, Siebert, Tetzlaff, and Wall. In 1820, Schwansdorf had 258 residents, including 88 Mennonites. In 1885, Schwansdorf had 721 ha. of land, 52 houses, and 323 residents, including 99 Mennonites.

Mennonites who were residents of Schwansdorf were members of the Thiensdorf-Markushof Mennonite Church.

Bibliography

Stowarzyszenie Konserwatorów Zabytków. "Żurawiec." Catalogue of Monuments of Dutch Colonization in Poland. 2005. Web. 18 February 2013. http://holland.org.pl/art.php?kat=obiekt&id=484&lang=en.

Wikipedia. "Żurawiec, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship." Web. 18 February 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Żurawiec,_Warmian-Masurian_Voivodeship.

Wolf, Hans-Jürgen. "Familienforschung in Westpreußen." Web. 23 June 2020.  http://www.westpreussen.de/pages/forschungshilfen/ortsverzeichnis/details.php.

Maps

Map:Żurawiec, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland

Author(s)	Richard D Thiessen
Date Published	February 2013

Cite This Article

MLA style

Thiessen, Richard D. "Schwansdorf (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2013. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Schwansdorf_(Warmian-Masurian_Voivodeship,_Poland)&oldid=168707.

APA style

Thiessen, Richard D. (February 2013). Schwansdorf (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Schwansdorf_(Warmian-Masurian_Voivodeship,_Poland)&oldid=168707.

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