Online Gazetteers of Poland

Specifying a place name in Poland requires knowledge of not only the name of the village, but also the name of the gmina, powiat, wojewódstwo or gubernia, and country.

The name of the country to which a village in central and eastern Europe belonged changed relatively frequently in the past, and those country names can generally be determined by examining published histories and historical maps.

The other divisions: gmina (municipality), powiat (district), and wojewódstwo or gubernia (province) can usually be found in gazetteers.

Three very useful gazetteers of Poland are available online.

Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich

The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries) is available in book form, on microfilm, on CD, and is now available online. It is most useful for the period 1864-1918.

The first version is available through the University of Warsaw and uses the DjVu plug-in to view the pages of the Słownik. You may need to install the plug-in before you can view the pages. Select Tekst słownika (Text of the dictionary) on the left side of the page and you’ll be presented with links to selected pages in all the volumes. Select a link to a page close to the one you want to view and the DjVu plug-in will show the page on your screen. From there, you can select any specific page number, or you can move forward or backward page by page using the arrows near the top of the page. This interface is very similar to that found on the CD version of the Słownik.

The second version is available through the Małopolska Digital Library and also uses the DjVu plug-in. Click on the volume you want to view, on the next screen click Show Publication Content!, and on the next screen click Browse Publication. At this point you’ll see the same DjVu interface as available on the University of Warsaw site and on the CD. Again, you can select a specific page number or move forward and backward using the arrows near the top of the page.

The third version is available through the Domena Internetowych Repozytoriów Wiedzy (Internet Domain of Information Repository). This version is searchable. To search, look for Wyszukiwanie (look up) . Type the name of the village in the text box after either w haseł (in header) or w tekście (in text), click the checkbox szukaj w całej serii (search in the entire series) and you’ll be presented with a list of the places in the Słownik where that village name is mentioned. The search isn’t perfect. A search for the village Dubiecko doesn’t find the entry in volume 2, but it does find the entry in volume 15, part 1.

When searching for an entry about a village, search using w hasłach. If you’re interested in all entries that mention your village, use w tekśie. Polish characters must be used when using the search function. To browse the text, select a Tom (Volume) and click on poprzednia strona (previous page), pobierz skan (capture scan), or następna strona (next page). To save an image or print an image, right click on the image and select Save picture as… or Print picture…

You can also go directly to a specific page by scrolling down to the idź do (go to) selection on the lower left of the page. Select a tom (volume) and strona (page) and click on the arrow to the right of the strona entry box.

The Słownik Geograficzny presents information in a paragraph format. The information is in Polish and includes many abbreviations and archaic terms. Many of the abbreviations are explained in Volume I on pages 13-14. In Volume II, pages 929-936, there is a list of powiats with the next larger administrative subdivision (Gubernia of the Russian Empire, Galicia in Austria, or Province of the Kingdom of Prussia)

Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

The Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z oznaczeniem terytorjalnie im właściwych władz i urzędów oraz urządzeń komunikacyjnych (Index of Placenames of the Republic of Poland with corresponding governmental agencies and offices, including communication facilities) is the gazetteer of the Second Polish Republic and is useful for the period from 1918-1945.

The online version is provided by the Digital Library of Wielkopolska. Click on Show Publication Content! and then Browse Publication. This site uses the DjVu viewer and allows you to select a page, browse pages using the arrows near the top of the page, and allows you to print or save a page.

The Skorowidz presents information in a tabular format:

• Miejscowość i jej charakter: Place and its character (type of place)
• Terytorjalnie właściwe władze i urzędy oraz urządzenia komunikacyjne: Characteristic territorial authorities and offices as well as transportation devices
• Gmina: Municipality
• Powiat polityczny: Political district
• Wojewódsto: Voivodeship or Province
• Poczta i telegraf (telefon): Post office and telegraph (telephone)
• Stacja kolej. z odległością km.: Railway Station with distance in kilometers
• Najbliższa linja komunik., autobus., z odległością km.: Nearest transit line (bus) with distance in kilometers
• Sąd: Court
• Grodzki: Municipal
• Okręgowy: District
• Urzędy parafjalna: (rz-kat., gr-kat., wsch. słow., orm.-kat., prawosł., ewang., ew.-ref.): Parish Offices (Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Eastern Slavonic, Armenian Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical Lutheran, Evangelical Reformed)

Copyright © 2007 by Stephen J. Danko