Local heritage book of Dittmerau

Ortsfamilienbuch Dittmerau

Family Register of Dittmerau

Dittmerau, today Polish Dziećmarowy, is a village in the historical region of Upper Silesia. The village belonged to the former district of Leobschütz, today Głubczyce, near the present-day Polish-Czech border.

The Catholic parish of Dittmerau was located in the eastern part of the district of Leobschütz, about 6 km northwest of Bauerwitz / Baborów and about 11 km east of Leobschütz / Głubczyce.

Contents of the family register

The Ortsfamilienbuch Dittmerau, or family register of Dittmerau, currently includes mainly the oldest filmed baptismal registers from 1782 to 1923.

Unfortunately, most of the marriage and death registers have not yet been filmed or may have been lost. For this reason, it is often difficult to link individuals securely into families. As far as possible, individuals have nevertheless been grouped into families. Some individual records may be completed or connected with other families at a later date.

The spelling of surnames has usually been standardized. Variant forms of a name are generally listed in the notes. Some names and place names, especially when they occur only rarely, were difficult to decipher. For this reason, errors may have entered the database. Complete accuracy of all information therefore cannot be guaranteed.

Inquiries, corrections, additions, and other information are always welcome.

Sources

• Heimatkunde des Kreises Leobschütz. Geschichtliches der einzelnen Ortschaften des Kreises Leobschütz mit 111 Abbildungen und Plänen, Robert Hofrichter, Leobschütz, 1914.
• Church books of Dittmerau: baptisms 1782–1941, on microfilms of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formerly often referred to as FHL or “Mormon” films.
  FHL film no. 2084489, items 3 and 4.
• Church books of Dittmerau: baptisms, marriages, and deaths from 1847 to 1874, with gaps, in the Archiwum Państwowe w Opolu / State Archive in Opole.
• Civil registration records of Dittmerau: births, marriages, and deaths 1874–1884, on microfilms of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  FHL film no. 1899179, items 26–38, and FHL film no. 1899180, items 1–20.
• Civil registration records of Dittmerau: births, marriages, and deaths 1874–1906, in the Archiwum Państwowe w Opolu / State Archive in Opole.

Local history

The following information is based mainly on Robert Hofrichter’s Heimatkunde des Kreises Leobschütz from 1914.

In earlier times, Dittmerau was also recorded as Dittmerow, Ditmaraw in 1418, and Ditmeraw in 1447. The village originally belonged to the Duchy of Cosel and was acquired in 1311 from its then owner, Johannes Czesnitz, by the commandery of Gröbnig.

According to Hofrichter, there was no manorial estate in Dittmerau. However, the baptismal registers indicate that around 1800 there was a free estate named Radowietz or Radonowitz. Dittmerau appears to have been established early as a rent-paying village. The abolition of the dependent status of the villagers took place around 1825.

In 1723, the village had one village headman, 24 farmers, and 24 cottagers. In 1914, 22 farmers, 76 gardeners, and 32 cottagers were recorded. The total village land area covered 846 hectares.

The population developed as follows:

• 1783: 446 inhabitants
• 1855: 744 inhabitants
• 1910: 779 inhabitants

Among commercial establishments, the village formerly had two windmills. A distillery and brewery existed until about 1852. The village was connected to the Leobschütz–Cosel road in 1901. The village street was paved in 1890. A postal agency existed from 1888, and telephone service from 1901. The nearest railway station was in Bauerwitz / Baborów, about 6 km away.

The veterans’ association was founded in 1889, and the savings and loan association in 1895. The municipal seal showed the goddess of justice with scales and sword.

Water supply

The southern part of the village was formerly very poor in water. For a long time, there was only a single well there that provided drinking water. Several cisterns held water only after rain or thaw.

In the central and northern parts of the village there were several wells with good drinking water, but even these failed during prolonged drought. In 1865 and 1866, water had to be brought from the Niedermühle near Gröbnig and from the Zinna. Later, several owners deepened their wells, making another water shortage less likely.

Church and parish

Ecclesiastically, Dittmerau belonged to the Diocese of Breslau and to the archpresbyterate of Kostenthal. Before 1660, Dittmerau was a filial church of Babitz.

Around 1660, a farmer named Koska, who owned three hides of land, endowed the parish benefice. In 1668, Dittmerau was elevated to an independent parish.

The old church, only partly built of masonry, burned down in 1783 together with part of the village. Older church books were probably also destroyed in this fire. In the following years, the community built the present church. It did not receive a slate roof until 1857. The spire had to be renewed in 1895. The tower clock was donated in 1897 by the retired gardener Johann Malik.

In 1896 and 1897, the church was thoroughly repaired. The addition of a chapel opposite the sacristy created additional seating.

The church is dedicated to Saint Michael, who is depicted in the painting on the high altar. The side altars are dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Stanislaus. In 1903, the organ received three new stops. The parish owned 25 hectares of parish land.

In 1898, the community established a new cemetery outside the village on the road to Leobschütz. It covered 1.25 hectares. The path to the cemetery was paved in 1903. The cross on the Leobschütz road was donated by Franz and Anna Lux. Since 1900, an Mount of Olives chapel has stood on the southeastern side of the old cemetery. The Chapel of Saint John in the middle of the village has existed since the great fire of 1780.

Priests in Dittmerau

The following priests served in Dittmerau, among others:

• Urban Franz Medecki, 1668–1684
• Franz Chimasius, 1684–1692
• Nikolaus Bernhard Alberti, 1692–1739
• Szyga, 1739–1763
• Joseph Zembak, 1763–1793
• Georg Poppe, 1793–1803
• Michael Pitenek, 1803–1806
• Anton Woitala, 1806–1828
• Isidor Hain, 1828–1851
• Archpriest Ignaz Lodzit, 1851–1853
• Rudolf Hirsch, 1853–1862
• Anton Wermund, 1862–1893
• Johannes Manderla, 1893–1910

School

The school probably existed from the time Dittmerau became a parish. In 1750, a schoolmaster named Beck is mentioned.

The old wooden schoolhouse was demolished in 1833 and replaced by a new building. This one-story building contained two classrooms, an apartment for the head teacher, and a room in the western gable for an unmarried teacher.

The school had two classes from 1857 onward. From 1901, it had three classes with two teachers. In 1885, the old beam ceilings in the two classrooms were replaced with reed ceilings, and in 1889 the same was done in the teacher’s apartment. The school owned 6.44 hectares of school land.

The following school heads are mentioned:

• Paul Ambrosius, around 1719
• Franz Pixa, around 1747
• Pixa, until 1790
• Ambrosius Sedlag, 1790–1822
• Johann Czekir, 1822–1866
• Philipp Gawlik, 1888–1912
• Theophil Krawietz, from 1913

Notable people from Dittmerau

Anastasius Sedlag was born in Dittmerau in 1796 and died in 1856. From 1834 to 1856, he served as Bishop of Culm.