Medrzechow and Kupienen

Trip Start Jun 22, 2008
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Trip End Jul 03, 2008


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Flag of Poland  , Southern Poland,
Friday, June 27, 2008

Our first full day in Krakow and after the Salt Mines,  we take to the country to visit the ancestral villages of our father's parents.  These are the villages of Medrzechow and Kupienen about 80 km east of Krakow.  We took a quick visit down the country roads to see the towns, about 4 miles in all, and then went to the cemetery in Medrzechow.  There we found a mausoleum for Michael Swiatek,  dad's maternal grandfather,  which included also his daughter Katharine Balala and her husband.  We could find no reference to either of Michael's wives, so I don't know if they were buried there with him, or somewhere else in the cemetary.  The mausoleum was the only one in the cemetery and by far the largest grave in the cemetery,  so Michael must of been a successful farmer. 
We then went to the only parish church and inside found a stained glass window that was dedicated to Michael and Marianna, (Szajor), Swiatek when the church was built in 1917, probably for their donations.  After that, we visited with the parish priests who called Jan Mamulski, whose mother was a Swiatek,  who came down to the rectory, and we all sat around and managed to figure out that we were related and that Jan's grandfather and the Kroll boys grandmother on Dad's side were brother and sister. We visited with parish priests Boguslaw Pasierb and Josef Grabowski  and when I asked for pictures,  father Pasierb wouldn't be photographed in his tee shirt and he had to run upstairs to put his collar on. 
After that,  we travelled a couple of kilometers and visited the farm where Grandma Krol grew up, which was still being farmed by Jan Mamulski and still in the family.  What a day!  Enjoy the photos!
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