Vilamovians *

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Wilamowianie'' () are a Germanic-speaking peoples and an ethnic group in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, living in the town of

Wilamowice Wilamowice (earlier ''Willamowice'', german: Wilmesau, Wymysorys: ''Wymysoü'') is a rural town in southern Poland, situated in the Bielsko County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town is inhabited by a Germanic ethnic group of Vilamovians, who spea ...

near

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

, who speak the

Wymysorys language Wymysorys (, or ), also known as Vilamovian or Wilamowicean, is a West Germanic language spoken by the ethnic Vilamovian minority in the small town of Wilamowice, Poland ( in Wymysorys, ), on the border between Silesia and Lesser Poland, nea ...

and maintain their own

folk costume A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...

s and

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

History

During the

Mongol invasion of Europe From the 1220s into the 1240s, the Mongols conquered the Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, Alania, and the Kievan Rus' federation. Following this, they began their invasion into heartland Europe by launching a two-pronged invasion of ...

, the area was left depopulated and was subsequently settled by German, Scottish and

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

settlers. Over time the colonists were assimilated, with the exception of Wilamowice.Magda Szkuta
A Mysterious Linguistic Enclave in Southern Poland
December 11, 2018,

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, European Studies blog Vilamovians' traditions say they are descendants of immigrants from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

. After

World War II 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 ...

, Vilamovians were harshly persecuted in

Communist Poland 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 ...

, since they were regarded as Germans. Their language and costumes were banned in 1946. Some of them were moved to "

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

". A considerable number of representatives of this group live in Austria."Mountains, hills, cover us!" - Wilamowianie in the face of post-war persecution
/ref> about 300 people in the community could understand the Wymysorys language and approximately 60 people had the ability to speak it.

Notable Vilamovians

Józef Bilczewski Józef Bilczewski (26 April 1860 – 20 March 1923) was a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Lviv from 1900 until his death. He served as a theological and dogmatics professor in the Lviv college after himself havin ...

Florian Biesik Florian Biesik (March 4, 1849 in Wilamowice – March 13, 1926 in Trieste) created a literary standard for Vilamovian, trying to prove it did not derive from German, but possibly Frisian, Anglo-Saxon or Dutch. An Austro-Hungarian civil serva ...

Józef Gara Józef Gara (29 January 1929 – 10 July 2013) was a miner who spoke an endangered language of Wilamowice Wilamowice (earlier ''Willamowice'', german: Wilmesau, Wymysorys: ''Wymysoü'') is a rural town in southern Poland, situated in the Bi ...

Jan Gawiński Jan z Wielomowic Gawiński ( 1622–c. 1684) was a Polish Baroque poet. Gawiński is counted into the classical generation of Sarmatians – the generation of John III Sobieski, though his nobility is not certain. He likely descended from t ...

Notes

References

External links

Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Zachowania Dziedzictwa Kulturowego Miasta Wilamowice "Wilamowianie"

Ynzer łidła – nasze pieśni (Ynzer Łidła – Our Songs). Songs, Lullabies and Counting-out Rhymes from Wilamowice
Dutch diaspora in Europe Ethnic groups in Poland {{Poland-stub

History

Notable Vilamovians

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links