Tołwin 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 Siemiatycze __NOTOC__ Gmina Siemiatycze is a rural gmina (administrative district) in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. Its seat is the town of Siemiatycze, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina. The gmi ...

, within Siemiatycze County,

Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest cit ...

, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of

Siemiatycze Siemiatycze ( uk, Сім'ятичі ''Simiatychi'', be, Сямятычы ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 15,209 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Białystok Vo ...

and south of the regional capital

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

. According to the 1921 census, the village was inhabited by 360 people, among whom 330 were Roman Catholic, 8 Orthodox, and 22 Mosaic. At the same time, 331 inhabitants declared Polish nationality, 7 Belarusian and 22 Jewish. There were 55 residential buildings in the village.''Skorowidz miejscowości Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej: opracowany na podstawie wyników pierwszego powszechnego spisu ludności z dn. 30 września 1921 r. i innych źródeł urzędowych.'', t. T. 5, województwo białostockie, 1924, s. 27. Local legend has it that the name of the village comes from an old inn that was located on the Eastern part, at the main crossroad of the village. The story goes that this inn was fully functional up until World War II, and that travelers going on the main route from Białystok to Siemiatycze, would stop at this inn to rest. However, the innkeeper, wanting to keep his clients longer than the usual--and wanting to make a few more pretty pennies--would keep them inebriated with cheap wine. The idea was that the drunken guests would buy more food. The innkeeper always kept large quantities of wine on the main table or "stół wina"--translated to a table full of wine. When these drunken guests would finally get on their way South or North, heavily inebriated, they were often asked by other passersby why they were so drunk. To which the answer was "stół wina" which sounds also like "z Tołwina" or "we are coming from Tołwin". As with all local legends, this story is passed down from generation to generation and has several variations. To which all variations have in common the "table full of wine" at the old inn. Since World War II, the inn has burnt down due to being abandoned. In its place now stands a small wooden cottage built after 1950.

References

Villages in Siemiatycze County {{Siemiatycze-geo-stub