Boleszyn is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Grodziczno __NOTOC__ Gmina Grodziczno is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Nowe Miasto County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the village of Grodziczno, which lies approximately east of Nowe Miasto Lubawskie and sout ...

, within

Nowe Miasto County __NOTOC__ Nowe Miasto County ( pl, powiat nowomiejski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local go ...

, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland.

Geographical location

Boleszyn is located northwest of Lidzbark. The place has the same distance if you come from Grodziczno to Boleszyn from the south-west. Larger towns are

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini'' * Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...

in the east and

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

in the west. The

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of St. Martin in Boleszyn belongs to the Diocese of Toruń. However, the responsible administrative district is not the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, but the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship with the capital Olsztyn.

History

The origins of the place go back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The name of the village first appears as Boleschino (1402-1416). Later the names Bollozin (1490), Boleszyn (1570), Bolesino (1647) Bolleszyn (1888) and Bolleschin (1908) can be found. The oldest written mention of the name of the parish can be found in the documents of the Chełmno bishop, where it is mentioned that the church in Radoszki was annexed to the parish in Boleszyn (1414-1416) as a branch church. The church in Boleszyn was under the patronage of the Chełmno chapter. In the second half of the 16th century the commune included the villages: Boleszyn, Wielekie,

Leźno Leźno ( csb, Lezno; german: Leesen) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Żukowo, within Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately east of Żukowo, east of Kartuzy, and west of the region ...

, Sugajno, Słup and Zalesie. In the 17th century, during the

Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) The Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629 was the fourth stage (after 1600–1611, 1617–1618, and 1620–1625) in a series of conflicts between Sweden and Poland fought in the 17th century. It began in 1626 and ended four years later with ...

, the Boleszyn commune lost its independence for a while and was annexed to the Mroczno commune. At the beginning of

Modern era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

there was a one-teacher

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

in Boleszyn, which is mentioned twice in the sources (1647 and 1740). After the First Partition of Poland, the area around Boleszyn was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

. According to a decree of September 1, 1848, a mixed patronage was established for Boleszyn, which was exercised by the Bishop of Chełmno in even months and by the

Prussian government Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in odd months. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, in August 1914, the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

invaded the Lubawa area and briefly occupied Boleszyn. In January 1920, the area where the Boleszyn commune is located fell to the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

. The community, which at that time consisted of 98% Catholics, belonged to the ecclesiastical

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Lidzbark. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(1939-1945), after the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, Boleszyn was incorporated into the Strasburg County (

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

) and renamed Bolleschin. This administrative district belonged to the government region Marienwerder. The village already belonged to this Prussian region from 1815 to 1920. From 1874 to 1920 Boleszyn (Bolleschin) was a separate administrative district, which included the rural communities of Bolleszyn, Groß Leszno, Klein Leszno, Kowallik, Slupp, Zalesie, Zembrze and Slupp (forest). After the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

came into force on January 10, 1920, the County of Strasburg became part of the Republic of Poland and was assigned to the Powiat Brodnicki, whereby Boleszyn lost its right as an administrative district. With the end of the Second World War, the area of the government region Marienwerder then came to the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. The County of Strasburg was renamed back to Powiat Brodnicki and Bolleschin back to Boleszyn. Since 1989 Boleszyn has belonged to the

Third Polish Republic Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

The Roman Catholic Parish Church of St. Martin

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows

The Parish of St. Martin in Boleszyn was founded in the mid-19th century and originally belonged to the Chełmno chapter. The first church, built in 1653, was a wooden building. The current temple, also made of wood, was built in 1721–1722. The church is known as the

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

of Our Lady of Sorrows, whose cult has been developing since the 17th century. A

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic broke out in Boleszyn at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Believers turned to the

image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

of the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

to ward off the dangerous disease. Since then, the temple has become a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Memorial place for the martyr priest Franz Boehm

On September 15, 2015, a memorial plaque for the martyr Franz Boehm was inaugurated by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Andrzej Suski Andrzej Wojciech Suski (born 24 December 1941) is a retired Polish Roman Catholic prelate. Born in Płock, Suski was ordained to the priesthood in 1965. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of Płock from 1986 to 1992, when he became the Bishop of Toru ...

. An urn filled with soil from the Dachau concentration camp is intended to commemorate the life and suffering of the resistance fighter against

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. The

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

, who had a German father and a Polish mother, was born in Boleszyn on October 3, 1880, and baptized in the church of St. Martin on October 31, 1880. After the family had to leave Boleszyn by order of the Prussian government in 1893, they came to the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

. Franz Boehm was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Cologne in 1906. On June 5, 1944, he was arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and taken to the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. He died there on February 13, 1945.

References

External links

Maryjny Boleszyn: Marian sanctuary in Boleszyn

{{Gmina Grodziczno Boleszyn Shrines to the Virgin Mary Churches in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship