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I visited Ostpreussen ( East Prussia ) the summer of 2006, hoping to see the village of Worgullen that my father spoke of when he reminisced about Germany. I had also received several letters from Germany from persons who had been to the village, so my expectations were high. While the village was clearly marked on the map, we could not find it. Finally after talking to several persons in nearby villages, we thought we were on the right road, - actually more like a small country lane. The woods were beautiful and quiet.It was here that the van had some trouble with the shock absorbers and springs, and, while the van was temporarily stopped for repairs, some Polish forrest wardens came by and offered to be of help. While one drove into Drygalen for the necessay part to fix the van's undercarriage, the other took us to the place where Worgullen used to be. There was nothing left of the village. Even the rubble was gone. I saw the base of what must have been the foundation for a pillar or porch, and a small slab sticking out of the ground, but nothing else. The forest had taken over the area. But off to one side there was obviously an abandoned German cemetery. The grave stones were also gone, but the ground was heaped up unmistakenly in burial fashion. I erected a makeshift cross over a grave and said a prayer of remembrance.
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Heinz Olk, as a lad lived on a farm in New Drygaly (Neu Drygallen), and was able to supply interesting information on life in the little hamlet of Worgullen. In the early 1940's, before the war, there were eight small farms that made up the village of Worgullen, the houses all being on one unpaved road, with a population of fifty-two persons. The road itself was described as being horrible, never maintained except as people, disgusted with the deep ruts in the mudy seasons would fill them in. The road abruptly ended in the woods on the other side of town. That road still exists today, and must be the one described in the above paragraph. There was no school. Chidren attended the nearby Sulimmen school about two kilometers (1.5 mile) from the village. This school, made of brick, would remind one of the schools in early America in some ways. Pupils had to walk there not only from Worgullen, but also those who attended from other villages nearby. Holes for ink wells were in each desk and of course ink pens were used, ball points were not yet invented. Wood stoves were used, heated by wood gathered from the nearby forrests. There were three classrooms containing roughly about 100 students from the first grade through the tenth grade. That was the end of their education except for those who passed an exam with a high enough score to allow them to go to public school at the next level.There was a small grocery store that served not only the village, but nearby farms as well, and where the children bought penny candy and their parents bought househod staples. There was no Church in the village, which in itself was not unusual for a very small village, so people attended the Lutheran Church which was in the Drygallen district. The houses were perhaps typical of what we would see today in the villages of the area. They were heated with tile stoves made out of firebrick that put out a warm steady heat that was very comfortable. They also had an oven underneath the stoves where bread and other victuals were baked. All the houses had out buildings where the family milk cow was kept, as well as coops for the hens and rabbits, and of course a smoke house where hams, bacon, sausages and wursts of all kinds were cured and where fish from the nearby Worgullanka River were smoked for wintertime eating. This river emptied into the Roschsee River (Pol. Jez ) and contained a good variety of fish, with eel, pike, bass, silver flat fish, and stint (smelt) in abundance. This river, only about four feet deep, also was a favourite for the chidren's skinny dipping, and for jumping into from the bridge that crossed it. The people in the village were basically subsistence farmers, tending their garden spots and caring for their animals, but also cutting timber in the woods to sell to other farmers for fence posts and other uses. The nearby woods also produced blackberries, blueberries, mushrooms, and other enjoyable fruits. All of this came to an end on January 21st, 1945, when the German commandant of the area ordered everyone in Drygallen and Worgullen to evacuate and escape while they could in advance of the Russian armies. The German army also retreated from the area which explains why Drygallen and Worgullen were left almost intact and suffered but little damage during the war. After the war, the whole area of Ostpreußen was forcibly ceded to Poland by the United Nations, and for the most part, all the Germans left except a few who stayed and lived to regret it. Others were expelled. The houses were then given to Polish settlers who had been displaced in eastern Poland when a part of their land was ceded to Russia . But Worgullen was not to be inhabited again. The houses were torn down for their building materials to repair the houses in Drygallen. Even the tombstones were razed, and anything else of value. There is now nothing left but unmarked graves, and the forrest has reclaimed the road that ran through the town. The Village lives on in the memories of the few people who once lived and played there, but soon it will be just an uninhabited place on the maps of the region. Note: If you have information or a photo of Worgullen, perhaps of a house that was once there, the bridge over the Worgullanka river, or of a farm nearby, please send it to me. I will be grateful. |
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As mentioned above, nothing is left of Worgullen except a graveyard where people were burried since its beginnings in 1534. It is my desire to place an historic memorial stone in the ruins of the village containing a brief history, important dates, and perhaps if they can be found, some of the names of the persons who lived there. There would be a certain cost to this memorial which should be shared by those who are descendants of persons who lived in that area. Permission of the Polish government would also have to be obtained. If you are interested, please contact me by e-mail in either German or, preferably English, and we will talk it over and see if the project is feasible. |
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WORGULLEN s. Worgule Worgule, 1534 Worgule Um 1790 Worgullen 1882 Worgule 1893 Worgule, deutsch Worgullen 1946 Worgule Worgullen 1951 Worgule, deutsch Worgullen 1952 Worgule mundartlich Vorgule / Vorgulen Expl. Etymologie: Preuß. Name *Wargul-ai, erinnert an den
Preußischen Lehnsmann von Zur Deutung vgl. die preußischen Personennamen: Wargalle, Wargitte, Wargule. Ortsnamen: Wargyn, abgeleitet von wargs. >schlecht, böse"
oder evtl. Aufgrund der konsequenten Schreibung mit Wor- aber wohl eher
als *Wor-gul- |
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Worgule A town name in todays district of Suwalki, formerly district of Johannisburg (Pisz), municipality of Drygaly (Drygallen). The german form of this name is Worgullen. Dialectical versions are Vorgule / Vorgulen. Etymology of the name: The Prussian name: Wargul - ai, reminds very much of the former prussian land man ( Lehnsmann) by the name of Worgula of 1534. This name can be compared to other prussian names: Wargalle, Worgitte, Worgule. Place names: Wargyn, is a derivation of wargs, meaning "evil, naughty" and eventually the lithuanian name Vargas, meaning "poverty, tragedy" and Vargti, meaning: "torture, harassed, struggle". Due to the consistent writing of "Wor - more likely Wor - gul could be interpreted as a compound of wors "old" + gule which refers to guolis "Camp". |
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