Powiats (Counties) in Silesia Where Central MN Poles Emigrated From (within the Opole Voivodeship)

Opole and Namyslów County within the Opole Voivodeship

Villages Where Central Minnesota Silesians Emigrated From

The majority of Silesians who settled in central Minnesota primarily came from the parishes north of the City of Opole in Upper Silesia. The parishes were Falkowice, Stare Siolkowice and Dobrzeń Wielki (then known by their German names of Falkowitz, Alt Schalkowitz and Gros Döbern). A smaller number of Minnesota Silesians immigrated from Pokoj, and Bakowice.

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Most Central MN Silesians in Morrison County, Stearns County and Benton County came from Falkowice, Stare Siołkowice, and Dobrzeń Wielki in Silesia.

Those Poles from Browerville, Todd County, and Long Prairie, Morrison County, came from Strzelce Opolskie.

See below for more information about these areas of Silesia.

Fałkowice (German – Falkowitz)

Fałkowice is a small village in the administrative district of Gmina Pokój, within Namysłów County, Opole Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is 21 miles north of the regional capital Opole. The population of he village in the 2011 census was 323.

FaŁkowice parish

The parish at Fałkowice included the villages of Domaradz (Damratsch), Lubnów (Liebenau), Zawiść and Dambrówka Dolna as well as others. The Catholic church in Fałkowice is St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, previously in the Diocese of Opole, and since 1992 has been in the Diocese of Gliwice.

To learn more about this parish, Click on this link. Then go to parafie (which means “parish” then alphabetical. Click on the “F” and go to Falkowice . You can copy the entire section in Polish and paste it in Google Translate to read all the information.

Names of St. Stanislaus Parishioners who died while serving in WWI
– Translation of headings in the St. Stanislaus document

FamilySearch Church Records – There are many baptism, marriage and death records for St. Stanislaus Church in Fałkowice, some dating back to the 1600s. FamilySearch obtained these records from the State Archives in Warsaw and from the Diocese of Opole. Some records are available online from home, while others can only be obtained from an LDS Affiliate location (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate) or at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

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Stare Siołkowice (German – Alt Schalkowitz)

Stare Siołkowice is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Popielów, within Opole County, Opole Voivodeship. It is about 12 miles northwest of the regional capital Opole. The population of the village was 2,033 in the 2011 census.

Stare Siołkowice Parish

The Stare Siołkowice parish historically included the nearby villages of Popielów (Poppelau), Chróścice (also known as Rutenau and Chrositz) and Kaniów (Hirschfelde). Popielów and Chróścice were separated from the parish in 1883-1884.

The Catholic church in Stare Siołkowice is St. Michael the Archangel and was in the Diocese of Opole. However, since 1992 it has been in the Diocese of Gliwice. The current building is the third church structure on this site. It is assumed that the first and second church buildings perished in fires. The church is a central point in the village landscape.

To learn more about this parish, Click on this link. Then go to parafie (which means “parish” then alphabetical. Click on the “S” and go to Stare Siołkowice. You can copy the entire section in Polish and paste it in Google Translate to read all the information.

The links below provide some background on the church. A translation tool is needed but there are also photos.

Church and Civil Records

FamilySearch obtained records from the State Archives in Warsaw and from the Diocese Archives of Opole.

FamilySearch Church Records for the Stare Siołkowice parish show baptism, marriage and death records starting from 1751 into the 1920’s.
FamilySearch Civil Records include records for the years 1874-1884.

Some of the records are available online from your home, some are only available online at an LDS affiliate location (the Hoffman Research Library is one of them), and some are available only at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

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Dobrzeń Wielki (German – Groß Döbern)

Dobrzeń Wielki is a village in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, in south-west Poland and is about 8 miles north-west of the regional capital Opole. It is the seat of the Gmina Dobrzeń Wielki, which has been officially bilingual in Polish and German in 2009. The population of the village in the 2011 census was 4,445.

Dobrzeń Wielki Parish

The Dobrzeń Wielki parish included the villages of Ladza (Salzbrunn) and Kup (Kupp). The original church in Dobrzeń Wielki was the Church of St. Roch, in the Diocese of Opole and since 1992 has been in the Diocese of Gliwice. It is a wooden structure and was originally built in 1658, then rebuilt in 1752. The land was originally a cemetery for those who died of the plague and was located in a forest outside of the village. Dedicated to St. Roch, patron of the sick, the church now belongs to the Parish of St Catherine of Alexandria, established in 1933.

To learn more about this parish, Click on this link. Then go to parafie (which means “parish” then alphabetical. Click on the “D” and go to Dobrzeń Wielki. You can copy the entire section in Polish and paste it in Google Translate to read all the information.

In 1898 Kup became a parish and Kaniow and Ladza became a part of the Kup parish. 

FamilySearch Church Records
The FamilySearch church records include baptism, marriage and death records that are available for the Dobrzeń Wielki parish starting in 1681.

FamilySearch Civil Records
The FamilySearch civil records includes records for the years 1874-1884.

FamilySearch obtained the records from the State Archives in Opole and the Diocese Archives of Opole. Some of the records may be available online from your home, some are only available online at an LDS affiliate location (the Hoffman Research Library is one of them), and some are available only at the LDS Library in Salt Lake City.

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Villages Where Browerville Silesians Emigrated From

Strzelce Opolskie (Groß Strehlitz in German)

Silesians from the town of Strzelce Opolskie began immigrating to Browerville, Todd County, and Little Falls, Morrison County, around 1870. Strzelce Opolskie is 19 miles southeast of the city of Opole in Gmina Strzelce Opolskie, Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship. The current population of Strzelce Opolskie is 17,900.

Strzelce Opolskie Parish

There were 6,000 catholics in Strzelce Opolskie in the middle of the 1800’s. The Catholic church in the town is St. Lawrence Catholic Church (St. Wawrzyniec in Polish). The first church dates back to the 13th century. Different church structures were built over the centuries and the current church building was constructed in the early 20th century.

To learn about the history of this church and the villages affiliated with the church, Click on this link. Then go to parafie (which means “parish” then alphabetical. Click on the “S” and go to Strzelce Opolskie, św. Wawrzyńca. You can copy the entire section in Polish and paste it in Google Translate to read all the information.

St. Lawrence Church was in the Diocese of Opole, and since 1992, is has been in the Diocese of Gliwice.

There was another Catholic church in Strzelce Opolskie.which was originally built in 1505, then rebuilt in 1683. It is called the Church of St. Barbara, named after the patron of miners and is a wooden structure located in the middle of the Catholic cemetery. The church was owned by the Church of St. Lawrence.

FamilySearch has many baptism, marriage and death records (obtained from the State Archives of Opole and the Diocese Archives of Opole) for St. Lawrence Church dating from 1656 to 1963. Some can be accessed online from home, some are available at LDS Affiliate locations (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate), and others are only available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.