Steve's Genealogy Blog

The Saxon Garden, located adjacent to Pilsudski Square in Warsaw, was among the first public gardens in the world. The garden was originally created in the 17th century and opened to the public in 1727.

One of the most striking features of Saxon Garden is its collection of sandstone sculptures. Originally, there were 70 sculptures in the park. Many of these sculptures were removed from Saxon Garden at around the time of the Kosciusko Uprising in 1794, and sent to the Summer Garden in St. Petersburg. In 1797, only 37 sculptures remained. Today, only 20 of the sculptures survive.

Most of the statues bear inscriptions, describing the subject of the sculptures. Four of these are Astronomia (Astronomy), Historja (History), Malarstwo (Painting), and Medycyna (Medicine). Three of these names are apparently incorrect, the result of maintainence throughout the lifetime of these sculptures. Astronomia should be Astrologia (Astrology) and Historja should be Rozumność (Rationality). Medycyna is probably incorrect as well.

Astronomia

SOURCE: Astronomia (Saxon Garden, Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Historja

SOURCE: Historja (Saxon Garden, Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Malarstrwo

SOURCE: Malarstwa (Saxon Garden, Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Medycyna

SOURCE: Medycyna (Saxon Garden, Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko

The city of Warsaw is home to a large number of monuments to famous Poles. A quick walk along Krakowskie Przedmieście allows the visitor to view monuments to Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Prus, and Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński, among others.

Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855) is regarded as Poland’s greatest romanic poet. His longest poem and his masterpiece was entitled Pan Tadeusz. He referred to Lithuania as his ‘fatherland’ and is considered there to be a Lithuanian himself.

Monument to Adam Mickiewicz

SOURCE: Monument to Adam Mickiewicz (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Bolesław Prus, the pen name of Aleksander Głowacki (1847-1912), is one of Poland’s most noted novelists. His best known works include The Doll and Pharaoh. He took his pen name ‘Prus’ from the name of his family’s coat of arms.

Monument to Bolesław Prus

SOURCE: Monument to Bolesław Prus (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński (1901-1981) was the Primate of Poland. During communist times, Cardinal Wyszyński negotiated with the communist authorities to allow the Roman Catholic Church to function in Poland. In addition, Cardinal Wyszyński helped establish separation of church and state.

Monument to Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński

SOURCE: Monument to Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Warsaw is the Old Town Marketplace (Rynek Starego Miasta). Destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, this historical location was rebuilt according to the original plans using, as much as possible, the original bricks.

The Warsaw Mermaid

SOURCE: The Warsaw Mermaid (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Warsaw Old Town Marketplace North

SOURCE: Warsaw Old Town Marketplace North (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Warsaw Old Town Marketplace East

SOURCE: Warsaw Old Town Marketplace East (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

The Old Town marketplace is filled with restaurants and shops, and many of the surrounding streets are likewise lined with restaurant and shops. The Archives of Historical Documents is also located within the Old Town, though not in the marketplace itself.

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko

Much of my time in Warsaw was spent in the Central Archives of Historical Documents (AGAD).

AGAD-Warsaw

SOURCE: AGAD-Warsaw (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2008.

Entrance to AGAD

SOURCE: Entrance to AGAD (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 28 Sep 2009.

Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie (The Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw) is located at ulica Długa 7, PL 00-263 Warsaw and includes:

• AGAD Division 1: Records prior to 1795
• AGAD Division 2: Records from 1795-1918
• AGAD Division 3: Genealogy Archives and Private Collections
• AGAD Division 4: Map Collections
• AGAD Division 5: Information, Records, and Public Resources

For the most part, I researched Polish Court Records from Ciechanów, located in Division 1. These records included land and property transactions, dowrys, and disputes.

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko

During this past week, I had lunch in a milk bar (bar mleczny). I don’t remember whether or not I had had a meal in a milk bar during my previous trip to Poland (at that time, I didn’t even know that milk bars existed, much less what they were), but my experiences in the Bar Under the Barbikan (Bar Pod Barbakanem) in Warsaw will be ones to remember.

Steve Danko at the Bar Pod Barbikanem

SOURCE: Steve Danko at the Bar Pod Barbakanem (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Christa Shukaitis for Stephen J. Danko on 02 Oct 2009.

When I studied Polish at the Polish Club in San Francisco, one of the dialogs in our textbook was set in a milk bar. At that time, I really didn’t understand what made a milk bar a milk bar.

Actually going to a milk bar answered all my questions. The establishment a no-frills eatery. Customers order from a menu on the wall, pay at the register, and hand the receipt through the service window to a woman in the kitchen. The food is passed to the customer back through the same window. Customers bus their own tables, returning the dishes to a second service window to the kitchen. Just don’t get confused and return the dirty dishes to the wrong window. If you do, a woman who looks a lot like your Great Aunt Sophie will scold you severely.

The Milk Bar Menu

SOURCE: The Milk Bar Menu (Warsaw, Poland). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 02 Oct 2009.

The choices on the menu consist of basic, Polish home-cooking. On my first visit, I ordered a kotlet schabowy (pork chop), ziemniaki (potatoes), and a Coca Cola Light. Everything in ala carte. The pork chop was really cooked to perfection and the potatoes were mashed so they were delightfully lumpy.

On my second visit, I tried to order żurek (sour soup) but was told “Nie, dzisiaj nie ma żurek (No, there isn’t any żurek today)” and I settled for zupa pieczarkowa (mushroom soup) instead. I was once again surprised at how good the food was. The cook prepared a ladle-full of noodles in a bowl, and then filled the bowl with mushroom soup. This wasn’t any old homogenized mushroom soup, but instead consisted of lots and lots of mushroom pieces swimming around in a delicious broth.

If the good food weren’t enough, take a look at the prices! In US dollars, the pork chop was less than $3.00, the potatoes were about $0.70, and the mushroom soup (a full meal by itself) was just over $1.00.

When asked if I could take a photo inside the establishment, the proprietor was at first reluctant, but finally allowed me to take a picture of just the menu. I guess she didn’t want to take the chance that her trade secrets might be divulged in the photograph.

Milk bars, once a common sight in Poland, are becoming more and more rare. In Warsaw, I’m told, there are just two milk bars left.

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko

I spent most of the day today at the Polish State Archives (AGAD) in Warsaw with my cousin Christa. For the most part, we searched through books of Polish Court Records and did, indeed, find records of our families. I did sneak out to take some photos, though.

We also met up with Christa’s friend Adam for supper and, during dessert, we got into a discussion that started to sound like an Abbott and Costello routine.

Steve: “Once I made the mistake of asking for ‘jeszcze jeden kot’ (another cat) instead of ‘jeszcze jeden koc’ (another blanket).”

Adam: “Why would you say ‘blankiet’? Blankiet is a blank piece of paper, a blank form.”

Christa: “No a blanket is something you pull over you to keep warm.”

Steve: “My grand aunt Stefania’s will was written in Polish, but used the word ‘blenkiet’ rather than ‘koc’.”

Christa: “So, what is ‘blanket’ in Polish?”

Adam: “‘Blankiet’ is Polish for a blank form.”

Steve: “No, the word you want is ‘blanket’, not ‘blankiet’.

Christa: “We just always called blankets, blankets.”

OK, the conversation didn’t proceed exactly like that, but you get the idea. And, would you believe we got into this discussion after Christa brought us to a stationery store to buy a pillow?

Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko