Galician Trails: The Forgotten Story of One Family

by Zalewski, Andrew

  Over the years, Joseph would often contribute to projects that educated the less fortunate, indicating that he was a man of conviction who had stayed his course—even though his current profession took him away from the classroom. He also joined an organization providing financial assistance to a local boys’ orphanage. Looking at this from afar, his small contributions to this noble cause might be seen as a mere matter of paying annual dues, hardly worth mentioning. But to us, knowing Joseph Regiec’s life story, it seems that this more likely had a deep personal meaning for a man who knew what it was to grow up without a mother.60

  Map of Bohorodczany and the surrounding communities. To the northwest of town on the other side of the river, a cluster of farms and fields in Old (Stare) Bohorodczany is visible. To the southwest, the village of Lachowce stretches along the River Bystrzyca. (Based on a map of the region from 1880.)

  OUR JOURNEY THROUGH TIME NOW takes us to a different place, one that will play a special role in this story. In the town of Bohorodczany, two families would cross paths—one that we have already met and another, yet to be introduced. Even a cursory look at the origins, aspirations, and life experiences of both families would show that the Regiecs and the Sobolewskis were quite different. For the old Sobolewski family, Bohorodczany was an ancestral home. A livelihood centered on the land had defined the family from one generation to another. But for young Helena Regiec, coming from a family that thrived on change and the steady pursuit of opportunities, the town must have felt a bit strange at first—perhaps more like a brief stop than a permanent home.

  Bohorodczany, a district town in eastern Galicia, was only about 9.5 miles south of Stanislawow.1 It lay in a beautiful spot at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, near the River Bystrzyca, which took its name from rapids rushing through stony riverbeds. The place was a microcosm of the rural society of Galicia, now long gone—with its strengths but also its prejudices. It forms one more example of the complex, easy-to-misinterpret, and quite amazing human diversity of Galicia, which constitutes an important part of our story.

  The origin of the town’s name is not entirely clear; it may reflect what the Virgin Mary was called in the old Slavic languages (Bohoroditsa). It was sometimes known as Brotchin or Brodshin in Yiddish or Bogorodchany (Богородчани) in Ruthenian. In any case, it was an old settlement dating back to 1441, when it had belonged to a royal official.2 From the latter part of the fifteenth century, Bohorodczany and the surrounding region became part of the estates of the aristocratic Potocki family, the same clan that founded the city of Stanislawow.

  For centuries, the town’s main connection with the outside world was by a government road. This was an ancient trans-Carpathian thoroughfare, originating far west in Silesia and then, like a thread through fabric, traversing the western part of Galicia, passing through many towns and over many rivers to reach its eastern segment. From there, it continued to Stanislawow, where it took a sharp turn to the south, as if avoiding the borders of tsarist Russia. Advancing further south, it crossed the Carpathians, finally arriving in Bukovina, a far-flung province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that we have visited before.

  By 1880, the population of Bohorodczany had grown to 4,597; census information on religious affiliations and spoken languages gives a clear picture of the place’s diversity at the time. The largest group in town was the Jewish community of 2,009 people. Jews had lived in Bohorodczany and the surrounding area for as long as anyone could remember. In written records, they are mentioned for the first time when they paid a head tax of 756 gold coins in 1717. Over the next 200 years, the community of Israelites continued to grow, at one point accounting for at least half the local population. Under Austrian rule, census after census shows a large number of Jews, living mainly in the town with only a few in the surrounding villages. They were engaged in leasing, innkeeping, the lumber trade, and manufacturing of linen from locally grown flax.3 Thus, it will not be surprising when we meet several Jewish merchants a bit later in our story. This was also a community that looked after its members in need. A local Jewish charity for the poor and sick had operated there since 1870.4

  Bohorodczany. The interior of one of the town’s synagogues. (Photograph from the beginning of twentieth century.)

  Not far from the town’s center was the synagogue courtyard (shulhoyf), where several places of worship were found, including the “Great” Synagogue (Groyse shul) with its study hall (Beit Midrash), and the “General” Synagogue (Algemayner shul), as well as the Vizhnits and Stretin Hasidic synagogues. Every Sabbath, the place was filled with people coming to worship and to exchange local news and gossip.5

  Next in size was a large population of Greek Catholics, consisting mainly of Ruthenians. In the census of 1880, these totaled 1,788 inhabitants, who belonged to the archdiocese of Lvov. At the beginning of the twentieth century, their wooden church, in outward appearance much like other churches in the countryside, attracted visitors from many places in eastern Galicia who admired its famous wall of old icons (ikonostas). This unique work of religious art, which some thought bore resemblances to works of the Flemish masters, had been created elsewhere between 1699 and 1705, and had later been bought by the Ruthenian community of Bohorodczany. On occasion, the town hosted high dignitaries from the Greek Catholic hierarchy arriving to see the ikonostas.6 The Greek Catholic parish also served inhabitants of the small rural settlements of Pochowka and Skobyszowka. By 1880, this extended parish, including not only the town but surrounding villages, numbered 2,807.

  Roman Catholics, 800 altogether, were mainly Poles and a few families of German or Bohemian origin; they were clearly the smallest group, although not necessarily the weakest when it came to local influence. Their parish had been established in 1691 by Constantia Potocka, remembered as the widow of the king’s treasurer. (As the owners of small towns and villages, many Potockis donated money and land so that churches could be erected in the region.)7 Over the years, the parish grew, and with this growth came many changes to the appearance of the building, which would become a landmark of the town. In 1742, the original wooden church was replaced with a brick structure, followed by the addition of a Dominican cloister in 1762. From then on, friars in their distinctive white robes became a permanent fixture of the parish, not only tending to religious matters but working in the surrounding fields.

  Entries in the church’s books from the early eighteenth century mention rare visits by “Illustrissimo Magnifico Dominus (Illustrious Magnificent Master) Josephus Potocki.” A son of the founder of neighboring Stanislawow and a colorful magnate, he was the owner of these lands. Powerful but often betting on the wrong horse in the Kingdom of Poland’s confusing alliances, Joseph Potocki was also the overseer of the eastern Kiev province and was the crown’s grand hetman. He was deferentially referred to as Palatinus Kieviensis and Duci Regni (Crown Duke).8 Since he was frequently away on military campaigns, his daughter, Sophia (married to Dominic Kossakowski, another noble), and other members of his family were more often mentioned in local records.9 We can only assume that on their visits, the Potocki and Kossakowski families stayed in a small fortress castle that stood in Bohorodczany at the time.

  The book of baptisms from the Dominican church in Bohorodczany (dated 1715).

  Although this small, provincial town was far from the capitals of Europe, it once welcomed a group of very high-ranking celebrants. There must have been a big commotion in town when on June 6, 1744, a series of esteemed visitors related to two royal families arrived in their carriages. With many members of the powerful Potocki clan also in attendance, twin boys newly born into the Leszczynski family were baptized, with much fanfare, in Bohorodczany’s church. The Leszczynskis were not an ordinary family; the infants’ father was closely related to the former king of Poland, Stanislaus Leszczynski, who during his struggles to hold on to the throne, had always had an ardent supporter in Joseph Potocki.10 We can safely suspect that the grand hetman’s steadfast defense of the king�
��s cause was not only a matter of his own convictions; perhaps the influence of his wife, Victoria, contributed to his political choices as well. Indeed, this would not be surprising, as some claimed that Victoria was Stanislaus Leszczynski’s sister. But the links with royalty did not end there. Upon marrying the French monarch Louis XV, King Leszczynski’s daughter Marie had become queen of France, reigning from 1725 to 1768. Thus, for a brief moment, and with a bit of imagination, a baptism in remote Bohorodczany brought the place closer to two royal courts of Europe.

  Bohorodczany. The Roman Catholic church, with its distinctive towers. (Postcard from the beginning of the twentieth century.)

  Over the next 170 years, Bohorodczany’s Roman Catholic church continued to evolve; ultimately, it would become the highest structure in town. From the beginning of the twentieth century, its characteristic facade with two belltowers would be featured on postcards. Record books from the church have survived, offering us a unique glimpse of this community; they show that the parish eventually extended to a series of smaller villages with names like Old Bohorodczany, Grabowiec, Horocholina, and Lachowce.11

  Bohorodczany was primarily a farming community. Its boundaries included more than a market square and the surrounding houses; there were also large farms, meadows, apple and pear orchards, and pastures, all not far from the town’s center. Some of the less wealthy residents cultivated small farm plots scattered throughout the area. During Austrian times, undoubtedly Count Franz Stadion, and later his brother Rudolph, were the largest property owners. They owned arable land, several mills, and a large forested area outside of Bohorodczany.

  Bohorodczany. Manor house from where the Stadions’ estate was administered. (Postcard from the beginning of the twentieth century.)

  Over the decades, the members of the Stadion family had distinguished themselves as bankers and politicians, serving the Austrian crown in many posts, including the governorships of Galicia and Moravia.12 They had purchased big swaths of an old property in 1837, after the government took possession of Polish crown lands from the Potocki family. Ownership of the estate remained solidly in the hands of the Stadions until the end of 1918.13 Running it was a big business, requiring a steady supply of local contractors and farmworkers. Within the town’s boundaries was a self-governing manor house occupied by those administering and working on the estate, with more than 50 listed inhabitants.

  The Stadion family oversaw their huge estate from afar, probably not living in the town for any notable period of time. At the beginning of the twentieth century, advertisements for bids to manage, among other holdings, the forests of the estate, originated in Chodenschloss, Bohemia, rather than from a local address.14 Despite their impact on the community as an employer and an occasional benefactor to civic causes, the Stadions did not have a single member born, married, or buried in the district.

  Bohorodczany. The district offices are seen in the foreground with the Roman Catholic church visible in the background. (Postcard from the beginning of the twentieth century.)

  Bohorodczany was also the district seat. It had a local commission to regulate land taxation and a collection office, probably not much appreciated by those being taxed. There were a few other institutions, including a district court, a notary, and a gendarmerie headquarters occupied by just a few men. A small post office in town was not too busy, being staffed by a single contract postmaster. Every few years, the male citizens of Bohorodczany elected not only a representative to the Galician diet in Lvov, but also one deputy to the national parliament in faraway Vienna.15

  At the beginning of the twentieth century, Bohorodczany grew to a town of more than 600 houses, two elementary schools, and two registered Jewish schools. The official statistics also noted several religious institutions. Bohorodczany at this time had a stable population of approximately 4,700, dominated as in prior years by Jews and Greek Catholics. Most of the rest of the inhabitants identified themselves as Roman Catholics, with just a few others of less common faiths.

  In those times, one’s religion often determined one’s spoken language. It comes as a surprise that German was listed as the primary tongue of approximately 2,000 people, which would have been nearly half the population. However, the apparent predominance of German, in fact, reflected the Jewish majority in town, which spoke mainly Yiddish. As in the rest of Galicia, Yiddish was not officially recognized as a separate language; thus, it was frequently, though incorrectly, designated as German.

  BOHORODCZANY ALWAYS STRADDLED TWO worlds: one connected to its self-contained pastoral heritage and the other requiring a degree of entrepreneurship. In 1870, it was hard to find many businesses there—just three tanneries processing animal hides, a small distillery, and a couple of breweries. Those who did not own land were employed in leather processing, in shoemaking, or on farms as seasonal workers. But the picture started to change with the dawn of a new century. As if slowly shifting its profile to address the changing needs of its population, Bohorodczany in the first decade of the twentieth century had many more businesses than before. Small retail or manufacturing establishments were mainly owned by Jews, with a few Polish stores and only a few Ruthenian owners. There were two simple restaurants, owned by Leib Klarberg and Franciszek Swietlik. In the absence of modern plumbing and running water, an important institution was the public bathhouse, run by Simon Meyer Rubin. As there was no gas or electricity, the firewood needed by residents for cooking and heating was brought from surrounding forests and sold from several lumberyards.16 There was a barbershop for haircuts, trimming stubborn mustaches, or getting a good shave for big occasions; it was owned by Mendel Barci. For those interested in leather saddles and various pieces of harness, Chaim Bauch’s store was in town. These items came in quite handy if one wanted to ready a horse for a quick gallop to a neighboring village or go for a more leisurely ride in a small carriage.

  Bohorodczany. The market square was surrounded by one-story townhouses. On the left side of the main road, there was a Greek Catholic church (Heil. Dreyfaltigkeit, Church of the Holy Trinity), with the Roman Catholic church (Maria Heimsuchung, Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) situated across the road. Several synagogues were located just north of the market square. The agricultural fields are clearly visible within the town’s boundaries. (Based on the section of a cadastral map from 1878.)

  There were other, more complex businesses as well. The busy town now had several tanneries owned and operated by Jewish proprietors. Aron Geller’s shop applied different dyes to fabrics, making among other products the thin, decorative ribbons bought by Ruthenians to adorn Sunday dresses. If you wanted to build a house, bricks could be purchased from a brickyard administered on behalf of the Stadion family. A chimney service was offered by Jan Bednarczuk, and lumber came from a mill owned by Herzel Halpern. There was a small savings bank and, for the more affluent and cautious, the office of insurance agent Michal Polluk offered life and fire protection policies as well as crop insurance against occasionally devastating hailstorms. The town also had a local “garage” for renting or repairing carriages. One could send or receive telegrams at a telegraph office, but there were no public or private phones in town as late as 1912.

  Bohorodczany. The courthouse. (Postcard from the beginning of the twentieth century.)

  Health and safety issues seem to have been well-covered in Bohorodczany. The town had three local physicians, a veterinarian, and four midwives.17 The local apothecary was owned initially by Simon Edelmann and later by Henryk Löwner, both from the Jewish community. The nearest hospital was in the larger city of Stanislawow, but it was seldom considered as an option. Order in town was maintained by four policemen. The district court in Bohorodczany was situated in a small house by the main road; the appellate court was in neighboring Stanislawow. The district court’s jurisdiction extended over the town and the surrounding villages; it grew from an office occupied by a single judge and a few clerks in 1907 to one with five judges, seven clerks, and two
court messengers in 1912. But despite their provincial location, these judges could impact the lives of the townspeople in very unforgiving ways, as will become apparent later in this story.

  A small road and a bridge linked Bohorodczany with the village of Old Bohorodczany, situated just one-quarter mile to the northwest. As described in 1880, the town and the village were separated by the River Bystrzyca. Old Bohorodczany was mainly an agricultural place, dotted with numerous small farmers’ plots, a few orchards, pastures, and a forest. As in the neighboring town, the largest property, far surpassing all the peasant lands taken together, belonged to Count Stadion. The population of 3,551 was mainly Ruthenian, with 3,106 Greek Catholics, 415 Jews, and only 30 Roman Catholics. There was a local Greek Catholic parish, a small school, and a loan office for farmers. By 1907, Old Bohorodczany had grown to 4,029 people, with approximately 3,900 of them self-identifying as Ruthenian based on their primary spoken language. By that time, the village had more than 650 farmhouses and two manor houses with 122 people living on their premises.18

  In the opposite direction was Lachowce (Ляхівці in Ruthenian), situated about two miles southwest of Bohorodczany. The village was another simple farming settlement that will also become important in our story.19 This was more or less a rural suburb, with inconspicuous mounds marking its boundaries. In the center of Lachowce, the small St. Nicholas Greek Catholic Church stood, entirely surrounded by fields. There were no other places of worship in the village; the few residents of the Jewish and Roman Catholic faiths belonged to congregations in Bohorodczany. The River Bystrzyca, which flowed from the mountains south of the village, divided itself into many tributaries in and around Lachowce. On the river’s east side, a stream called Dzwiniacz emptied into it; on the west side, simple farm buildings could mainly be seen.