Poland 2008
On July 29, Max, his daughter, Hannah, and I left early in the morning from Giengen/Brenz headed to
Krzyzowa, Poland, formerly known as Kreisau. In this village there is an international youth meeting
place. This was the former home of James von Moltke, who was a cofounder of the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle,
along with Peter Yorck von Wartenburg. In 1989 the Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and the
German Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl held a reconciliation meeting here and decided to redevelop the
property as an international youth meeting place. We also planned to visit the former Yorck von Wartenburg estate,
Kleinoels.
After about 4-5 hours we arrived on the border of Poland and Germany. We stopped and visited the German city Gorlitz.
It is a beautiful city located on the Lusatian Neisse River. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was
a part of Gorlitz until 1945.
Gorlitz had wonderful fountains and cobblestone streets.
Gorlitz is known for its Astronomical Clocks.
During our stopover in Gorlitz we had brief lunch in a beautiful courtyard of a restaurant.
We were preparing to enter Poland.
We arrived in Krzyzowa, Kreisau, in the late afternoon. There are no border crossings between Poland and Germany, due
to the European Union. Ironically, there is a drastic difference in housing, roads and life style in these two countries.
Although Poland is doing better financially, they still have many hardships and challenges. When we arrived in Krzyzowa we toured
the estate. This is the actual schloss or castle of the von Moltke family. A great deal of money was used to renovate this
estate.
Inside the building was an exhibition of the von Moltke and Yorck families and other individuals who participated in the
Kreisau Circle.
Surrounding the main building were various farm structures. On the left was the former barn for cattle, which now serves as the dining hall
for the youth center. I had rented a room, while Max and Hannah stayed in their Volkswagen Camper Van, which
was very impressive with an oven, refrigerator etc.
This is a view behind the castle. There was a road that led to the "house on the hill", where the actual
meetings of the Kreisau Circle took place. They also had a few meetings at the Yorck Estate, Kleinoels.
The berghaus, mountain house, of the von Moltke estate where the Kreisau Circle held its meetings. In the yard of the berghaus is Hannah next to the VW
camper where she and her father stayed.
Behind the main building was a spot for a campfire that many youth gather during the evenings. My last shot is of
Hannah, a young man
from Portugal and me. There was a guitar workshop during the time we were there. We were entertained many evenings
with concerts from a variety of guitar musicians.
There were young students from all parts of Europe attending this workshop. What a great locale!
On the way to Kleinoels, Olesnica Mala, we made a quick stop in Reichenbach, Dzierzoniow. Notice the remnants of the communist rule on
the photo on the left.
The interesting thing about this small city was although the city center looked quite nice, one block away
one could view buildings in very poor shape. Poland does not yet have the financial resources to improve the infrastructure.
After our quick stop we continued on. This part of Poland, is known as Silesia, and is very flat. This region provides good crops of cereals,
potatoes and sugar beets.
After getting a bit lost, we finally arrived at Kleinoels, now known as Olesnica Mala. Interesting, but I thought I had seen the
bell tower while we were driving. Visibility is quite good due to the flat terrain. The Yorck von Wartenburg family resided in this
estate from 1814 till 1944 when it was confiscated by the Nazis for Peter Yorck's involvement in the overthrow of Hitler.
I suggest that one looks at this link about the Yorck von Wartenburg family that I made a few years ago.
After about 4-5 hours we arrived on the border of Poland and Germany. We stopped and visited the German city Gorlitz. It is a beautiful city located on the Lusatian Neisse River. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Gorlitz until 1945.
Gorlitz had wonderful fountains and cobblestone streets.
Gorlitz is known for its Astronomical Clocks.
During our stopover in Gorlitz we had brief lunch in a beautiful courtyard of a restaurant. We were preparing to enter Poland.
We arrived in Krzyzowa, Kreisau, in the late afternoon. There are no border crossings between Poland and Germany, due to the European Union. Ironically, there is a drastic difference in housing, roads and life style in these two countries. Although Poland is doing better financially, they still have many hardships and challenges. When we arrived in Krzyzowa we toured the estate. This is the actual schloss or castle of the von Moltke family. A great deal of money was used to renovate this estate.
Inside the building was an exhibition of the von Moltke and Yorck families and other individuals who participated in the Kreisau Circle.
Surrounding the main building were various farm structures. On the left was the former barn for cattle, which now serves as the dining hall for the youth center. I had rented a room, while Max and Hannah stayed in their Volkswagen Camper Van, which was very impressive with an oven, refrigerator etc.
This is a view behind the castle. There was a road that led to the "house on the hill", where the actual meetings of the Kreisau Circle took place. They also had a few meetings at the Yorck Estate, Kleinoels.
The berghaus, mountain house, of the von Moltke estate where the Kreisau Circle held its meetings. In the yard of the berghaus is Hannah next to the VW camper where she and her father stayed.
Behind the main building was a spot for a campfire that many youth gather during the evenings. My last shot is of Hannah, a young man from Portugal and me. There was a guitar workshop during the time we were there. We were entertained many evenings with concerts from a variety of guitar musicians. There were young students from all parts of Europe attending this workshop. What a great locale!
On the way to Kleinoels, Olesnica Mala, we made a quick stop in Reichenbach, Dzierzoniow. Notice the remnants of the communist rule on the photo on the left.
The interesting thing about this small city was although the city center looked quite nice, one block away one could view buildings in very poor shape. Poland does not yet have the financial resources to improve the infrastructure.
After our quick stop we continued on. This part of Poland, is known as Silesia, and is very flat. This region provides good crops of cereals, potatoes and sugar beets.
After getting a bit lost, we finally arrived at Kleinoels, now known as Olesnica Mala. Interesting, but I thought I had seen the bell tower while we were driving. Visibility is quite good due to the flat terrain. The Yorck von Wartenburg family resided in this estate from 1814 till 1944 when it was confiscated by the Nazis for Peter Yorck's involvement in the overthrow of Hitler. I suggest that one looks at this link about the Yorck von Wartenburg family that I made a few years ago.
Here is a memorial plaque on the castle acknowledging Peter Yorck von Wartenburg and his death due to his involvement in the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Nazis.
Here are some pictures of the castle in and outside the courtyard.
Max took these pictures of the bell tower while we waited to see the director of this agricultural testing station.
On the left is a faded plaque of the Yorck family coat of arms. On the right is the hallway where the offices of this institution are located.
Mr. Stefan Synowiec and a Mr. Kruger are the current and former directors of this institution. Mr. Synowiec is a very nice person and really took his time showing us the estate and its surroundings. Stefan is wearing his Cambodian shirt from a recent trip. We exchanged stories about our travels to Cambodia. On the right, we are walking up the main staircase of the building.
These pictures are from the library. At one time, it used to house the largest private library in Germany. It is all gone now.
I am standing under the Polish Eagle in the library. On the right is the family crest. The German eagle has been replaced by the silver colored Polish eagle in the upper left corner.
These rooms used to be the former offices of the institution when I visited in 1998.
The rooms were in general disarray, and it looked like someone deserted this typewritter.
On the left are the steps leading down to a big field used by the town football (soccer) team. On the right is a water fountain that Stefan was very proud that he had fixed since my last visit.
On the left is a green house inside the castle, while the other picture depicts that lack of care and funding for the upkeep of the old castle. The green house is not being used presently.
Some pictures from the rear of the estate. The large doors on the right were stables, while now it is used for machinery. My grandfather was a major in the German cavalry during world war one. He used to house his troops there on various visits.
We then visited the family mausoleum. Hannah looks a bit tired in this picture. She was such a joy to have along on our adventure! Unfortunately, the mausoleum has water leakage and Stefan remarked that many youths are disrepectful and break bottles and paint graffiti.
Some of the graffiti.
There are even graves surrounding the mausoleum due to limitations of space inside. After our tour we gathered back at the library for some lukewarm drinks! As stated previously, Stefan is a real gentlemen and is limited, due to funding, what he can really do for the estate. There have been interested buyers, but no one has closed the deal. Stefan is concerned for the 18 families that live in the old castle. I plan to appeal to the German Government. Stefan's daughter is in the United States as an au pair. She has contacted me and I hope she will visit me! Goodbye Kleinoels, Olesnica Mala, I hope there are better days for you.
After leaving my family's former estate, we drove up to Wroclaw for dinner. It is the capital of this region in Poland. Wroclaw used to be Breslau until 1945. Many buildings, like the rathhaus, town hall, were built by the Germans.
I liked the old city center and the different colors of the buildings. I have been to Wroclaw in 1998, and I have seen how it has progressed.
On Thursday, we decided to return to Germany. All the border crossings are now completely abandoned, due to the various agreements of the European Union. Poland still retains the Polish zolty, but will soon use the Euro. We stopped for lunch in a very nice German border town called Bautzen. It has a population of over 40,000 and is over 1000 years old.
We had a little sausage and liquid refreshment. They were taping a show in the town square and Max was very interested in the event.
I think the drive took about 8 hours. Close to home we passed Max's childhood home of Bopfingen. The last picture is of the sun setting on my trip to Germany. Two days later I flew back to the United States. Thank you Max, Adelheid, Hannah and the Goethe Institut for a wonderful trip that has furthered my love for global understanding.