HISTORY
OF SUVALKI DISTRICT
The development of settlements is the history
of the Polish-Lithuanian borderland which includes the district of Suwalki.
When Former inhabitants of this area-the Jadvingians-had perished their
settlements were covered by a forest the colonization of which began only in
the 16th century and ended in the 19th century. In the
first section of his article the author discusses the initial stage of the
re-settlement of the area in Which he distinguishes the following periods: (1) the
period preceding the new settlements (up to the beginnings of the 16th
century, (2) the beginnings of the permanent settlements along the Prussian
border and the foundation of Bakalarzew and Raczki(1524), and (3) futher
development of the settlements along the border, and the foundation of such
towns as Filipow, Przerosl and Wizajny (1524 to 1655).
The author supposes that, despite such facts as
the devastation of Jacwierz (Sudowia) by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th
century, abduction of a part of the Jadvingian population to the interior of
Prussia and emigration of some Jadvingians to Lithuania, Whiterussia, and
Mazovia, it is not impossible That some number of the Jadvingian population
actually remained in the deserted district. This population may be represented
by the Wigrans discovered by Professor Falk on the isle of Wigry. Their Traces
may be found in the solitary and mysterious places in the forest, known in the
16th century as sieliszcza ( sg. sieliszcze) or apidemia
(sg. apidemium). This population was expelled early in the 15th
century when the first forms of economic life began to be organized in the
forest. The post-Jadvingian forests were the region across which the Teutonic
Knights and Lithuanians used for a long time to travel forth and back with
their expeditions. Only at the turn of the 15th and 16th
centuries, after long disputes, an agreement was achieved according to wchich
the post-Jadvingian area was divided into two parts by the Lithuanians and the
Teutonic Knights, the Lithuanian part being larger. As early as the 14th
century the forests were utilized by the population inhabiting the villages
situated on the river Niemen, near Grodno and Merecz. Among those inhabitants
were the descendants of the Jandvingias who, after having departed from their
former land, undoubtedly maintained some connexion with it and used to travel
there in order to get honey, fish and hay. After the division, the Lithuanian
section was property of the Grand Duke of Lithuania who used to grant to his
subjects the right to exploit the resources of the forest. Such a right was
called “an entry”. In the forests the Lithuanian subjects were allotted meadows
and grounds on which they could set up wild bees nests. For better management
and supervision the forests were divided into zones stretching from the Niemno
to the Teutonic border, each of them being allotted to the manors of the Grand
Duke; the zones were subsequently named after the manors. The area of the
presentday Suwalki district belonged partly to the Perstunska, Przelomska and
Merecka Forest and its small part to the Niemonojcka Forest. At the same time a
group of foresters was organized in order to look after the forest. The
foresters, called osocznicy (sg. osocznik) were peasants living
in the villages on the Niemno. For the Grand Dukes of Lithuania who often
hunted in the forests was erected the manor at Wigry which was the first
permanent settlement in region. Beside the manor there only existed the huts of
the foresters and those who had the right “of entry”. In the Niemonojcka and
Merecka Forest these were the Lithuanians, and in the Perstuńska and
Przelomska-the Ruthenians. Hence the majority of Lithuanian namesin the
northern forests and that of the Slavonic ones in the south. In the 15th
century, especially in its latter part, the Grand Dukes began to grant the
lakes and the right of “entry” to the nobility and by the 16th
century most of the lakes became private property. This fact increased the
number of people coming to the area and brought about the construction of a
network of roads the most important of which were running from the east to the
west.
At the beginning the advance of the settlements
was set back and the forest were planned to remain as they had been in the
past. The Grand Dukes were induced to undertake colonization by the Teutonic
Knight who began to colonize their section in the latter of the 15th
century and thus endangered the safety of the frontier. King Zygmunt I granted
a part of the zone of the frontier forest to Bohdan Wollowicz in 1513, and its
northern part to brothers Mikolaj Bakalarz and Stanislaw Raczkowicz and another
part to brothers Szembel. These new owners started the colonization of the
frontier zone of the Perstunska Forest where they set up such manor houses as
Dowspuda Wollowiczowska, Dowspuda Raczkowska, Dowspuda Bakalarzowska and
Szembelewo, and also some villages. The settlers were probably brought from the
new owners` Ruthenian estates near Grodno, Lida and Wolkowysk. In order to
defend the frontier two groups of Mazovian gentry, who were granted the statut
of boyars, were established nearby. These were the first Poles who ever settled
in the area of the later Suwalki district. Most probably at the same time the
towns and parishes were set up in Dowspuda Raczkowska and Dowspuda
Baklarzewska.
When, in 1524, Queen Bona took possession royal
estates, including the post-Jadvingian forests, the awarding of the land in
Poland was discontinued and even some former donations were withdrawn. It was
probably in this way that the property of the Szembel brothers became royal
estate again. Queen Bona carried on the colonization of the forest zone from
the north to the south, and in the Merecka Forest-from the east to the west.
The earliest information about the settlements on Lake Wizajny comes from the
year 1549. Between 1558 and 1569 the land survey was carried out in the royal
estates which in the Suwalki district included the Szembels` land consisting of
several villages. The action started by Queen Bona was continued by King
Zygmunt August whose plenipotentiaries, in order to better defend the forests,
have before 1568 set up on their west side new villages of the foresters and
also have colonized further section of the frontier zone in this way filling
the gap between the southward and northward stretches of frontier settlements.
Between 1562
And 1568 the towns of Filipow (municipal
charter 1570) and Przerosl (municipal charter 1576) were established. Within
some forty years most of the villages developed around these two centres.
Filipow and the villages on the western edge of Perstunska Forest-the Przerosl
starostship. Owing to some land grants conferred at the time there were
established the estates of the Filipow, Przerosl, Raczkow and Bakalarzew
parishes as well as some smaller private landed estates, such as
Morsztynowizna, Mala Przerosl. Some villages connected with Laniewicze,
Mroczkowizna and Masalszczyzna. In consequence of the lack of sources the names
of the villages in former landed estates are known only from that period. After
the setting up of the line of royal villages along the border between the
private estates and the Perstunska Forest (belonging to the Perstun forest
district), further colonization was stopped early in the 17th
century. The colonization of the Przelomska Forest was discontinued as well.
Only in the area stretching on the edge of the forest, allotmens of several
hundred hectares were granted to former officials and functionaries as life
estates. In this way, along the western border of the forest arose small
manorial farms and settlements named Wolki (sg. Wolka) (Debski`s, Wyhowski`s
Damiecki`s, etc.) the majority of which have not survived. The colonization of
the Merecka Forest was continued. The earliest record concerning the existence
of the city of Wizajny which most probably was founded c.1570 comes from 1606.
Wizajny and newly set up villages in the vicinity formed the Wizajny
starostship. On the eastern side of the Merecka Forest was established the city
of Puńsk. The colonization of the forest on its both sides brough about the
setting up of a number of new villages and complexes of royal landes estates.
On the western side of the Forest the Kadaryszki starostship was established
and on the eastern side-the Mackow starostship. A number of leascholds, such as
Zyrwiny, Kleszczowek, Postawele, Ejszeryszki, etc. , were also set up here.
Owing to the division of former royal estates into smaller leasehold units,
numerous manorial farms were formed. In similar way the Niemonojcka Forest was
being colonized where Burniszki, founded before 1576, was most probably one of
the earliest localities. The aim of Zygmunt`s III policy of setting up such
numerous small leascholds was apparently form a large group of poorer gentry
dependent on the King. About the middle of the 16th century the
Merecka forest practically ceased to exist except for a stretch between the
rivers Szeszupa and Szelmenta which belonged to the Sejny-Merecz forest
district.
The post-Jadvingian forest were colonized by
the Poles, Ruthenians and Lithuanians. The Polish population reached this area
through Rajgrod region and the state of the Teutonic Order where, in the
southern districts, the Poles had been settled. The Poles, who were not
numerous in the early period (the first villages were boyars` settlements), in
the course of time began to populate the new towns, gradually playing more
important role role in the rural areas and to some extent Polonizing the other
national groups. The more to the south and west the greater was the influence
of the Polish population. The Ruthenian population arrived here asa result of
resettlement from the old to the new estates of the Ruthenian landlords and
Polish kings. For example, Kurjanka near Raczki, a village of the foresters,
was a colony of their old village Kurjanka near Grodno. Since the huge forest
separated the old villages from the new ones the contact with the Ruthenian
villages was not as close as with the Polish ones in Mazuria and this fact
facilitated the process of Polonization. The Lithuanian population was most
numerous in the Merecka and Niemnojcka Forest which were colonized intensely
from the east and north. Here the wide forest zone did not separate the old
villages from the new ones. Thus the Lithuanians were to little extent under
the influence of the Poles. There is not doubt that the process of Polonization
began in that period. It would be necessary to carry out special research to
establish how many families of the first settlers have survived up to the
present. The plagues and war destructions made the permanent settlements
difficult. It is possible, however, to identify a dozen of families of the
foresters and urban population who have lived in the same localities all the
time.