Schoenlanke (modern Polish name is Trzcianka) was originally a private village that was opened to settlement by Germans. This village was the home village of the Schultz family of Alberta, Canada. This family migrated via Volhynia in the Ukraine. Family details from the 1772 land census are as follows:

The village was located near the German equivalent to the French marginot line. So it was nearly leveled in the Second World War. The only major building remaining was the Catholic Church shown below.

Following the war the village was rebuilt and became a tourist destination due to its proximity to the lakes and forests of northern Poland. The central village square is now the site of the war memorial; that site was the location of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Here is a picture:

Here are some other pictures of the modern town.

Please send any queries to Bill Remus at

October 8, 2010