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Dutch villages --> Mazowsze
WOLA WODZYŃSKA
Następna miejscowość Next village
Explanations
Map of district

gm. Ojrzeń, pow. ciechanowski, woj. mazowieckie

The village was founded by Mennonites who were imported from Royal Prussia between 1820 and 1842. The village was one of the three most important Mennonite centers in Mazowsze. The Mennonite church located in Wola Wodzyńska was mentioned for the first time in 1843. It was a branch of the Kazuń Niemiecki church. Ca. 1854, the Baptist community called Odrodzony Zbór (Newborn Church) in Adamów (30 km from Kicin) began to affect the religious life of the Mennonites who inhabited the village. The missionary activities in Wola Wodzyńska as in Kicin were conducted by Peter Ewart and Johan Penner. As a result of their activities, many residents of the village were converted to Baptism. Fridrich Alf, the founder of the Mennonite Brotherly Church, carried out missionary activities in the village between 1860 and 1826. Under the influence of Alf and his coreligionists, some of the Mennonites began joining the Mennonite Brotherly Church.

The residents were divided into three denominations. Initially, the Baptist and Mennonite Brotherly churches were not recognized by tsar authorities. Only in 1868, did the tsar government recognize the Baptist sect. However, as a result of introduction of the compulsory military service by the authorities, almost all Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren left the village and emigrated to Canada or the USA. Only a few Mennonite families remained in Wola Wodzyńska; no Mennonite families remained in Kicin after 1874. In 1900, 8 Mennonite families lived in the village; they had their own house of prayer.

However, military actions that began in 1914 led to displacement of the residents to the Russia's interior. As a result of the front passage, the village was almost completely destroyed. Few residents returned from exile after the war had ended. In 1939, 17 farmers resided in the village. After WWII, as a result of the Jałta agreement, the entire German-speaking population of the village was forced to leave the farms. Their land was divided out among the new settlers.

Wola Wodzyńska is a linear village located along a north-south line on the north side of the Płońsk-Ciechanów road. The cultural landscape has been strongly transformed; a field layout and planted vegetation are the only detectable features.. There are several examples of traditional buildings associated with the Dutch colonization.

House no. 6 is a masonry building, erected ca. 1910. It is located in the northern section of the village on the western side of the road ca. 100 m from it. It is situated in the northern part of a two-building homestead (with a farm-residential building in the western section of the homestead). It is positioned along an east-west line. The homestead is surrounded by a picket fence. Originally, the building also included a farm section (a cowshed - on the eastern side) under one roof.

This section was taken down after WWII. It was built of bricks (northern and western section) bonded with cement-lime mortar and of clay and straw mixture (southern and eastern section). High (2.9 m) walls are covered with a high (3.6 m), double-pitched, rafter-collar beam roof, which is reinforced with queen posts, and roofed with asbestos tiles. It has a two-bay and two-axial interior with a centrally located, chimney, a bread oven, and a kitchen stove (all elements made of brick). The building is in poor condition.

Building no. 7 is a masonry house dating from 1929. It is located in the northern section of the village on the western side of the road ca. 100 m from it. It is situated in the northern part of a three-building homestead with a farm-residential building in the southern section and a barn in the western section of the homestead. It is positioned along an east-west line.

The homestead is surrounded by a picket fence. Under a common roof, the building includes a farm section (cowshed) - on the western side. The building is made of clay and straw mixture. High walls are covered with a double-pitched, rafter-collar beam, thatched roof, which is reinforced with queen posts. It has a two-bay and three-axial interior with a centrally located, chimney, a bread oven, a heater, and a kitchen stove (all elements made of brick). The building is in poor condition.

Building no. 8 is a wooden house, erected ca. 1920. It is located in the northern section of the village along an east-west line on the western side of the village road. The building is part of a four-building homestead and is situated in its northern section. It also includes a barn, a pigpen, and a cellar on the southern, eastern, and western sides respectively. The homestead is surrounded by a picket fence. The building has a timber frame structure made of pine wood. The structure is filled with clay-straw mixture and boarded on the southern side with poplar planks. Walls are covered with a high double pitched, rafter-collar beam roof, which is reinforced with queen posts and roofed with ceramic tile. It is only used for housing purposes. The interior has a two-bay, and two-axial layout with a centrally located chimney, a kitchen stone, and heaters. The building is preserved in satisfactory condition.

Building no. 8 is a wooden barn, erected ca. 1920. It made of pine wood and has a timber frame structure, which is boarded with vertical boards. The walls are covered with a double-pitched, rafter-collar beam roof, which is covered with rye straw. The interior has one threshing floor and two storage spaces. The building is preserved in satisfactory condition.

Building no. 8 is a masonry cellar dating from 1923. It is made of brick and stone bonded with cement-lime mortar. It has one room and is buried in the ground. The building is in satisfactory condition (BK - all above objects - Wojciech Marchlewski, 1983).


    
W. Marchlewski, Wola Wodzyńska i Kicin...


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