[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Exhibitions in Plock on Olendry/Vistula Germans and on Mennonites

[Worth Anderson]

The Mazovia Museum in Plock's Ethnographic branch, located in an a former granary next to the Plock State Archives, has two interesting exhibitions at the moment.

The smaller (but more directly relevant to this group) is entitled "Olender Settlement in Mazovia," and is about villages along the Vistula River like Sady, Nowy Troszyn, Zakrzewo, etc.  It has some nice illustrations of the ingenious methods our ancestors used to make flood-prone land cultivable and the lasting traces they left on the landscape.

The larger is entitled "Mennonites in Zulawy."  It will interest those of us who also descend from the Mennonites who lived in Wymysle and Deutsch Kazun, and is also relevant because the Mennonites pioneered the "Olender" type of village organization that is the distinguishing characteristic of an "Olender" village, whether inhabited by Germans (as the vast majority were), Dutch, Frisians, Poles or others).  The exhibition is accompanied by a nicely illustrated book with 14 essays, each of which is given a brief summary in English.  ISBN 978-83-88669-13-2.

Here's the really good news: nice clear photos of both exhibitions are available on the main Museum's website, at: http://www.muzeumplock.art.pl/index.php?s=Mennonici.  If you blow up the Olender exhibition's placard for "Potomkowie Olenderow" (descendants of the Olenders), you will see the familiar names Neitsch and Cilke (alias Zuehlke, Zielke, Cylke, etc.)

Worth