Genealogy / Looking Into The Surname Bednarczuk: Ukrainian, Polish, Ruthenian, Belarusian, etc? [27]

Name and nationality don't have much in common. You are still using your name Bednarczuk but you are not Ukrainian nor Polish.

They nationality can be guessed if you know what language they were speaking, what alphabet they were writing, what church they belonged to.

Names ending with -uk are refereed to be of Ruthenian origin but because eastern Poland was settled by Ruthenians (Podlasie) or was Ruthenian (south-east) since middle ages and then were Polonised now such names are also found in Poland very often and people that use them are 100% Polish...

It is not the name that decides your nationality so I find those attempts to guess nationality by name not sensible. Especially in CE where borders were shifting, people migrating etc. you would find many Polish with German names many German with Polish names, many Polish with Russian and Ruthenian names, many Russian with Polish names and of course Jews who could have German (Yiddish), Polish or Russian names...

Of course name can give you a hint about the "origins" of your family but the family could already change their nationality twice beafore they emigrated...

Regards

£ukasz

Travel / Bieszczady: Ustrzyki Górne to/from peak of Tarnica in a day? How intense? [7]

The trail is very easy. Probably you would manage to do it in 6 hours as written in guides.
It is just a path - nothing very steep.

However if you have higher boots it is advisable to wear them because especially while coming down it is easy to twist an ankle on slippy rocks or mud.

Kind regards

£ukasz

Travel / Best way with car from Szczecin to Bielsko-Biala? [6]

I would give you 2 opitons:
1- road nr 3 to Legnica, then A4 to Katowice, then S1
2 - va Germany to A18 then A4

But try google.maps...

Regards

Lukasz

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

You can find it for example here:



But of course it is not a "map of Poland", becouse there was no Poland at that time...

Regards

Lukasz

Genealogy / Manko, Federowicz, Baszczek, Zatwarnicka. Family history mystery. [36]

To give some clues:

There was no Poland after 1795 and before 1918 and no Polish borders before 1921 so the villages mentioned above which names sound Polish can be in Poland now, but back then they were in Austraia...

Poland was partitioned between Austria, Germany and Russia, so it was normal that people living under German or Russian government were speaking also German or Russian because it was the official language... Only in Austrian part (Galicia) Polish was also treated as official language because there was some sort of autonomy.

So living in Russia back then can mean living anywhere in today's central and eastern Poland (Warsaw was also in Russia).

Regards

Lukasz

History / What Was Happening in Poland around 1905? [73]

I wonder why nobody had mentioned the revolution of 1905 in Russia that spread around Polish territory as well. It is even sometimes called 4th uprising (after 1794, 1830, 1863) because in "Poland" together with social claims people were fighting for autonomy and freedom of using Polish in schools etc. It's been the first time since 1864 that Polish start shooting at Russian army.

And the repressions were severe - all 5 older brothers of my grand-grandfather who were involved in strikes were send to Siberia from where they haven't come back (I have one letter from one of them from 30's) and the same time the family (parents and sisters) of my grand-grandmother emigrated from northern Mazovia to US - they left her with uncles because she was too young to survive the trip and told that they'll come back for her which never happened (otherwise would be a Yankee today ;-))

Regards

Lukasz

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]

I don't want to argue but...

For me eastern Europe means the cultural ancestrors of Bizantine Empire with orthodox church, Greek (then changed) alphabet, Julian calendar etc..., and wide tracks...

For me regarding a caountry to be eastern European just becouse it was under Russian influence for 50 years is too simple conclusion....

I my opinion there is no straight line and even inside Poland when we consider for example Podlasie and Silesia there are big differences...

Lukasz

Life / Polish and Czechs [191]

It can be that Czechs and Slovaks, especially those from villages near the border can see Polish as troops of stupid tourists just wantng to get drunk for a long taime alcohol was much cheaper behind southern border), feeling supreyor etc... Something like Dutch and German if yo know what I mean...

And of course not very nice history (we took Zaolzie in 1938 when Hitler partioned Czechoslovakia, then Polish army was present there in 1968 etc.)...

On the oposite it is quite different. Polish people generally like Czech. Of course they treat them more like "minor brothers" with funny language but there is no anger (maby becouse Czech last time invided us in 1348...).

My expirience is that on "neutral ground" (my and my friends expirience from Erasmus in different countries) Polish and Czech stay together and are closest from the cltural point of viev (no culture clash, silmilar life expirinces, opinions, food customs etc.)..

And the closesd multi-maional friends that were made diuring erasmus exchanes (resulting in vistis later on) were made between Polish and Czech students...

Lukasz K