Koschneiderei

Alternatively, the villages of this area were called
the "Koschnaewjerdörfer" in German

The Koschneideri (in Polish "Kosznajderia") is a distinct cultural area southeast of the city of Konitz, West Prussia, that was settled by ethnic Germans at the time of the Teutonic Knights (officially the "Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem," "Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum," or "Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem" Wikipedia article) at the of the 14th Century A.D.

View a map (abt. 1900) of the Koschneiderei here.

The residents of this area retained a distinct language and culture for hundreds of years. While much of West Prussia became Lutheran, this area remained Catholic. Ethic Poles and ethnic Germans attended the same parishes, resulting in considerable intermarriage.

Some emigrants from the Koschneiderei regard themselves as ethnic Poles and others as ethnic Germans. In either case, descendants of the Koschneiderei settlers are working together to document its history and families.

Parishes of the Koschneiderei

The extant Catholic parish registers and civil records for the Koschneideri are being extracted and may be searched (pick your flag to change languages) at the Pomeranian Genealogical Association website.

• Damerau - Dabrowka. Google Maps. FHL Catalog.
• Frankenhagen - Silno. Google Maps. FHL Catalog.
  See also Osterwick parish records in the FHL Catalog.
• Görsdorf or Gersdorf - Ogorzeliny. Google Maps. FHL Catalog.
• Lichnau - Lichnowy. Google Maps. FHL Catalog.
  History of Lichnowy Parish (in Polish).
• Osterwick - Ostrowite. Google Maps. FHL Catalog.

Additionally, there were five affiliated churches:

• Deutsch Cekzin - Ciechocin. Google Maps.
• Schlagenthin - Slawecin. Google Maps.
• Obkaß - Obkaz. Google Maps.
• Groß Zirkwitz - Duza Cerkwica. Google Maps.
• Mosnitz - Moszczenica. Google Maps.

Koschneiderei books

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Author	Title	Publication
Panske, Paul	Personennachweis für die Koschnäwjerdörfer (Koschneiderei) von 1651-1702 On the web. From the Family History Library.	Posen 1938 Verl.d.Hist.Ges.
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Die Geschichte der Koschneiderei - Ihre Bevölkerung im Jahre 1772 und Ende 1919, nebst einem Anhang "Neues zu den Orts- und Flurnamen in der Koschneiderei" (K-B 10) Quellen u. Darstellungen zur Geschichte WP, 1 On the web. From the Family History Library.	Danzig 1932 Danz.Verl.Ges.
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Volksweisheit aus Koschneidermund (K-B 25) Deutsche Monatshefte in Polen Jg.6 H.8/9	Kattowitz 1940 Gauverl. NS. Schlesien
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Nochmalige Ergänzungen zu Volkskundlichem über den Menschen aus Koschneidermund (K-B 27) Bericht des Westpreußischen Botanisch-Zoologischen Vereins, 62	Danzig 1940 J.Sauer
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Die Koschneiderei im Wechsel der Zeit (K-B 28) Sonderdruck aus: "Der Deutsche im Osten" Jg. 3, Heft 7	Danzig 1940 Danziger Vorposten
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Volksmärchen aus Koschneidermund (K-B 30) Deutsche Monatshefte in Polen Jg. 8 H. 6/7 From the Family History Library.	Posen 1941
Semrau, August	Plattdeutsche Gedichte in Koschneider Mundart	Konitz 1845
Semrau, Dr. Maria	Die Mundart der Koschneiderei Zeitschrift für Deutsche Mundarten Jg.1915 Heft 2	Halle a.d.S. 1915 Waisenhaus

Koschneiderei on the web

• Die Koschneiderei at glischinski.de (in German).
• Die Koschneiderei at koschneiderei.de (in German).
• Kuchenbecker-Ahnen database in English.
• Wikipedia article (in German).

Individuals researching the Koschneiderei

• Kurt Matthia, Pleasant Grove, Utah, his website.
• Peter Pankau, Heikendorf, Germany, his website.