Specifying a place name in Poland requires knowledge of not only the name of the village, but also the name of the gmina, powiat, wojew\u00f3dstwo or gubernia, and country.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The other divisions: gmina (municipality), powiat (district), and wojew\u00f3dstwo or gubernia (province) can usually be found in gazetteers.<\/p>\n
Three very useful gazetteers of Poland are available online.<\/p>\n
S\u0142ownik Geograficzny Kr\u00f3lestwa Polskiego i Innych Kraj\u00f3w S\u0142owia\u0144skich<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The S\u0142ownik Geograficzny Kr\u00f3lestwa Polskiego i Innych Kraj\u00f3w S\u0142owia\u0144skich<\/em> (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries<\/em>) is available in book form, on microfilm, on CD, and is now available online. It is most useful for the period 1864-1918.<\/p>\n The first version<\/strong> is available through the University of Warsaw<\/a> and uses the DjVu plug-in to view the pages of the S\u0142ownik<\/em>. You may need to install the plug-in before you can view the pages. Select Tekst s\u0142ownika<\/em> (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 S\u0142ownik<\/em>.<\/p>\n The second version<\/strong> is available through the Ma\u0142opolska Digital Library<\/a> and also uses the DjVu plug-in. Click on the volume you want to view, on the next screen click Show Publication Content<\/em>!, and on the next screen click Browse Publication<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n The third version<\/strong> is available through the Domena Internetowych Repozytori\u00f3w Wiedzy<\/a> (Internet Domain of Information Repository). This version is searchable. To search, look for Wyszukiwanie<\/em> (look up) .\u00a0Type the name of the village in the text box after either w hase\u0142<\/em> (in header) or\u00c2\u00a0w tek\u015bcie<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0(in text), click the checkbox szukaj w ca\u0142ej serii<\/em> (search in the entire series)\u00c2\u00a0and you’ll be presented with a list of the places in the S\u0142ownik 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.<\/p>\n When searching for an entry about a village, search using w has\u0142ach<\/em>. If you’re interested in all entries that mention your village, use w tek\u015bie<\/em>. Polish characters must be used when using the search function. To browse the text, select a Tom<\/em> (Volume) and click on poprzednia strona<\/em> (previous page), pobierz skan<\/em> (capture scan), or nast\u0119pna strona<\/em> (next page). To save an image or print an image, right click on the image and select Save picture as… or Print picture…<\/p>\n You can also go directly to a specific page by scrolling down to the id\u017a do<\/em> (go to) selection on the lower left of the page. Select a tom<\/em> (volume) and strona<\/em> (page) and click on the arrow to the right of the strona<\/em> entry box.<\/p>\n The S\u0142ownik Geograficzny<\/em> 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)<\/p>\n Skorowidz miejscowo\u015bci Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Skorowidz miejscowo\u015bci Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z oznaczeniem terytorjalnie im w\u0142a\u015bciwych w\u0142adz i urz\u0119d\u00f3w oraz urz\u0105dze\u0144 komunikacyjnych <\/em>(Index of Placenames of the Republic of Poland with corresponding governmental agencies and offices, including communication facilities<\/em>) is the gazetteer of the Second Polish Republic and is useful for the period from 1918-1945.<\/p>\n The online version is provided by the Digital Library of Wielkopolska<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n The Skorowidz<\/em> presents information in a tabular format:<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2007 by Stephen J. Danko<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two very useful gazetteers of Poland are available online. Continue reading \n