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

The Koschneideri (in Polish "Kosznajderia") is a distinct 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.

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.

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.

Parishes of the Koschneiderei[edit | edit source]

Damerau
Frankenhagen
Gersdorf
Lichnau - Lichnowy
- History of Lichnowy Parish (in Polish).
Osterwick

Additionally, there were five affiliated churches:

Deutsch Cekzin
Schlagenthin
Obkaß
Groß Zirkwitz
Mosnitz

Koschneiderei books[edit | edit source]

Personennachweis für die Koschnaewjerdörfer von 1651-1702 by Paul Panske (in German).
- If you have trouble viewing this book, look at the link in the lower right corner that says:
  "You can view this publication in different way. Try others! More..."
  and click on the "More."
Die Geschichte der Koschneiderei:ihre Bevölkerung im Jahre 1772 und Ende 1919
by Joseph Rink (in German).
- If you have trouble viewing this book, look at the link in the lower right corner that says:
  "You can view this publication in different way. Try others! More..."
  and click on the "More."

Author	Title	Publication
Rink, Dr. Joseph	Volksmärchen aus Koschneidermund (K-B 30) Deutsche Monatshefte in Polen Jg. 8 H. 6/7	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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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