Around Wroclaw, Poland
June 11, 2004
Maslowiec / Masslich-Hammer
Kuzniczysko
/ Gross-Hammer
Maslow / Massel
Trzebnica / Trebnitz
MK
Panorama of the houses set apart at the end of the village of Maslowiec. Presumably, this is where my great-great-grandfather's house and shop stood, "which was the middle one of a small terrace - the smithy at one end, a farmhouse and yard at the other." (see First Chapter 1, p. 3 and The First Ten Years, p. 8) The road seen here leads to the main road (Chaussee), which in turn leads to Trzebnica (Trebnitz).
MK
The left-most house of this set of buildings (the old farmhouse?) looks like it's been around for quite a while. The others were newer or had new additions.
MK
Across the street stood an amalgom of buildings from different times. This is presumably the spot of the old pub / inn.
MK
The village is still a farming village, with small plots used for hay, vegetables, and livestock. Several old deserted buildings still sit in fields along the road.
MK
Some farmhouses now sport modern amenities such as satellite dishes.
MK
The road through the village leading to the mill stream and pond at the far end, where my great-grandfather had a saw mill. (see First Chapter 1, p. 3)
MK
"There was for one the parish church, built of enormous logs." (see The First Ten Yars, p. 9) You can't see the logs so well in this picture, unfortunately, but this church is built of massive cross beams. Clearly, it's no longer open for service.
MK
Instead, a new Catholic church has been built just down the road.
MK
We went down to the stream in Kuzniczysko to see if we could find "[my great-great-]Grandfather's water mill with its stork nest on the roof... The farm was attached to the mill as well." (see The First Ten Years, p. 9) It wasn't clear which set of buildings might have been the mill, but this one is a contender, being right next to the stream -- especially if this stork's family has used the same nest over the generations.
MK
Close-up of the stork and its nest
MK
Houses and yard in Kuzniczysko
MK
This building stands right at the center of Kuzniczysko. It looks like it might be a school or other public building.
MK
The old church in Maslow (Massel), which was the parish church for the nearby villages.
MK
My great-grandfather was buried in the now untended cemetary of the church.
BH
While waiting for menus at a restaurant in Trzebnica, Ben spotted this picture on the wall of Villenstraße 20. (see picture in chapter Trebnitz, p. 2 for an idea of our astonishment)
BH
A close-up of the woman on the balcony in the restaurant's photo. A relative?
BH
After showing our finding to our friendly waitor, he pointed out that this house at Villenstraße 20 also appears in this other photo, also on the restaurant's wall. It's on the far left side of the photo, with its distinctive tower rising above the tree tops.
BH
The waitor then brought us a historical and geographical atlas of the city (in Polish and German) to look through. It was fascinating.
MK
Our waitor had told us that the house at Villenstraße 20 was destroyed by Russian soldiers, but we took a walk down the street anyway. We found a new house in the style of the old one. Many others on the street are preserved as historical buildings.
MK
We also visited St. Hedwig's chapel. The monastery complex begins with the building on the right.