 |
|
Myszyniec, the largest town in
the Kurpie region and the
regional trade and commercial center of the area, can
trace its beginnings to a chapel erected here by the Jesuits
in 1654. The Jesuits in Łomża assigned two priests to the
chapel, whose mission was to convert the inhabitants of the
nearby Kurpian Forest. King Jan III gave the Jesuits
permission to clear two "włoks” of
land to build a school, tavern and brewery. During the
Swedish wars in 1702, the Swedes
were defeated by the Kurpian tribesman. As punishment, the
Swedish invaders burned down the entire town to the ground
in 1708 including the first wooden church dating from the
1650s. In 1716 Jan Kos, the Wojewoda of Ostrołęka,
supervised the construction of a new church edifice. King
August II gave permission to conduct fairs
|
|
at the town's market place in 1719 and a
settlement gradually grew here.
Originally the settlement was called Martuny,
after a certain tar maker named Martun who settled here
after the conclusion of the Swedish Wars. In 1774,
the church was granted parish status and was served by
diocesan priests. The present church structure was erected
between 1909 and 1919 and is one of the largest in the area.
. The red brick neo-Gothic church has three naves and
features five altars, two of which date from
the 18th century.
Myszyniec is located on a flat plain on the Rozoga River. In
the 19th century it was located in the area of
Poland seized by Russia during the partitions of the late 18th
century. Administratively,
Myszyniec belonged to the Province (gubernia) of Łomża,
County of Ostrołęka. It was only a few miles from the border
with Prussia. The people inhabiting the town and surrounding
villages were and are distinct from other nearby regions in
speech and customs. The Kurpian region is known as a major
folklore center in Northeastern Poland and the distinct form
and characteristics of Kurpie peasant art is visible in the
architecture and customs of the region.
The
territory of the Myszyniec parish in the 19th
century was expansive. The parish counted 17,000
parishioners. Newer parishes were carved from the original
parish’s land area, in Lipniki in
1838 and in both Łyse and Czarnia in
1884. The villages currently belonging to the parish at
Myszyniec include: Antonie, Bialusny Lasek, Browary,
Charcibałda, Cieck, Dąbrowy, Drężek, Gadomskie,
Gradzkie, Koryta, Krysiaki, Niedźwiedź, Pełty, Stary
Myszyniec, Swidwyborek, Wołkowe, Wydmusy, Wykrot, Zalesie
and Zdunek. The daughter Parish at
Czarnia serves the following villages: Bandysie, Brzozowy
Kąt, Cupel, Cyk, Długie, Michałowo, Rutkowo and Surowe. The
Łyse parish serves Dęby, Pupkowizna, Serafin, Tyczek and
Wejdo.
The land in
parts of this area is sandy and swampy making efficient
farming difficult. At the end of the 19th century
the basis for existence and livelihood of most Kurpian
families consisted of a 7 to 10 acre farm, in many cases
located in a forest clearing. Since families were large,
consisting of 7 to 10 members, it
was estimated that a minimum of 28 acres was necessary to
sustain an average sized family of the era. It is no
surprise that by 1914 nearly 20% of the population of the
area had departed for the United States, Canada and Brazil.
One of their destinations was New Britain. Some of New
Britain’s first Polish marriages involved couples from
Kurpie. In the first years of the 1890s Mikołaj Nadolny wed
Marianna Popielarczyk and Franciszek Brodzik took Marianna
Blogoslawska as his bride. Many others were to follow them.
A good number of the names of the first parishioners at
Sacred Heart Church reflected their Kurpian heritage. Two of
New Britain’s mayors and New Britain's
first Polish funeral director traced their roots to this
culturally distinct area of Northeastern Poland.
|
