Wotzlaff (Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)
Wotzlaff (also known as Wotzlaf, Wotzlaw, Wutzlaff, Ocesławy, Goszczlaw, and Oczlaw; now known as Wocławy; coordinates: 54.2894, 18.7714 [54° 16′ 28″ N, 18° 46′ 19″ E]; population in 1905, 496; in 2012, 305) is located approximately 6 kilometres (4 miles) north-west of Cedry Wielkie (Groß Zünder), 10 km. (6 mi.) east of Pruszcz Gdański (Praust), and 14 km. (9 mi.) south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk (Danzig).
Wotzlaff was a former knights' estate, first mentioned in historical documents in 1308. Since 1310, it belonged to the Teutonic Knights, who developed the village under the Chełmno law (Kulm Law, a legal constitution for a municipal form of government). In 1457, the village came under the control of Danzig. Its privileges were renewed in 1465. Until 1793 the village was part of Danzig in Royal Prussia (also known as Polish Prussia) in the Kingdom of Poland. The Second Partition of Poland in 1793 added Danzig and its surrounding territory to the province of West Prussia. The village was situated in the district (Kreis) of Danzig from 1818 until 1887, when it became part of the district of Danziger Niederung. The village became part of the Free City of Danzig from 1920 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when it came under the control of Nazi Germany. In February 1945 it was occupied by Soviet forces and eventually returned to Poland. In 2012 it was a village in the administrative district of Gmina Cedry Wielkie, within Gdańsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The sources from 1675 mentioned 19 Mennonites, in 1725, 13 Mennonites (and three others), in 1748, 12 Mennonites (and eight others), and in 1763, ten Mennonites. The 1793 Danzig census lists two Mennonite families, named Bartsch and Pauls. In 1820, the village had 369 residents, including 12 Mennonites.
Mennonites who were residents of Wotzlaff were members of the Danzig Mennonite Church.
Bibliography
Stowarzyszenie Konserwatorów Zabytków. "Wocławy." Catalogue of Monuments of Dutch Colonization in Poland. 2005. Web. 27 December 2012. http://holland.org.pl/art.php?kat=obiekt&id=474&lang=en.
Wikipedia. "Wocławy." Web. 27 December 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wocławy.
Wolf, Hans-Jürgen. "Familienforschung in Westpreußen." Web. 27 December 2012. http://www.westpreussen.de/cms/ct/ortsverzeichnis/details.php?ID=7076.
Maps
Map:Wocławy, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland
| Author(s) | Richard D Thiessen |
|---|---|
| Date Published | December 2012 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Thiessen, Richard D. "Wotzlaff (Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2012. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wotzlaff_(Pomeranian_Voivodeship,_Poland)&oldid=69368.
APA style
Thiessen, Richard D. (December 2012). Wotzlaff (Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wotzlaff_(Pomeranian_Voivodeship,_Poland)&oldid=69368.
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