Lowicz Parish History
Original German and English translation by Klaus-Guenter Leiss with editing by Jerry Frank.
Source: Die evangelisch-augsburgischen Gemeinden in Polen 1555-1939 by Eduard Kneifel. [The Evangelical-Augsburg (Lutheran) Parishes in Poland, 1555-1939]
Description
Germans first settled in this region at the villages of Łyszkowice and Zawady around 1800. A leased hall in Lowicz served as a church but most of the colonists in the rural villages were served by teachers and Kantors. At first Łowicz was served by pastors travelling from Wiskitki but this proved unsatisfactory due to the large numbers there. So, in 1836, Pastor Gustav Schwarz moved from Wiskitki to Łowicz and it became the new parish center. Wiskitki became the Affiliate, served by the pastor from Łowicz.
With the help of funds provided by the Warsaw Consistory and by Czar Nicholas I, construction of a church was begun in 1838 and finished in 1840. A parsonage was completed in 1855. Attendance here peaked in 1864 after which it began to decline. The emigration of Germans to Volhynia 1866-1880 was especially devastating. In 12 original settlements, there were no longer any Germans and in others, only a few remained.
Pastors
1836 - 1846 Gustav Ludwig Schwarz
1846 - 1857 Peter Beczkowski
1857 - 1858 Kasimir Lembke
1858 - 1868 Leopold Bartsch
1869 - 1909 Jan Adolf Oppmann
1909 - 1919 Edmund Bursche
1920 - 1944 Stefan Stegmann
Some Statistics
Founded in 1836; In 1939: 1000 parishioners ( 800 Germans, 200 Poles ); church language: German and Polish
Villages
(with founding date if known)Łowicz
Łyszkowice about 1800
Zawady about 1800
Bednary 1817
Gongolin 1817
Skowroda 1817
Kompina 1817
Osiek 1817
Marywil 1820
Kamilew 1820
Erminów 1820
Szwarowskie Budy / Bronisław 1825
Anetów (Pomeranian) 1840
Klotyldów (Pomeranian) 1840
Ernestinów (Pomeranian) 1840
Karlshof-Karolew 1840-42
Polish-Gongolin
Deutsch-Gongolin (Swabian)
Kurówków (Swabian)
Zakulin (Swabian)