Niwiska, Poland: The Village of my grandparents

If I could live anywhere in Poland, Niwiska would win first place.  I had the opportunity to visit Niwiska, the village of my grandfather Michael Bryk, in May 2016 to meet Maria Krutys Bryk, a first cousin once removed. Maria and her family exemplify hospitality and kindness at its best.

Niwiska is a village of about three thousand residents and has a special rural charm with most modern amenities.  It is hard to believe that it was evacuated and mostly destroyed by the Nazis during WWII.  Those residents who could return rebuilt their homes during years of extreme hardship.  My great grandparents’ wooden farm house is now gone, but a new family home sits upon the homestead.  Part of the barn is from the century old one that stood from the time my grandfather grew up there.  There is now a brick home built by the Bryk family…

     

My great grandmother Jadwiga                                The Bryk home in 2016, still in the family

Clean air and fresh, locally produced foods are two of the exceptional characteristics of living in Niwiska.  Another blog will be dedicated to the wonderful assortment of foods and drink we were served as guests of many families from Niwiska and Trzesn, the neighboring village of my grandmother, Mary Cudecka Bryk.

Click below to see a gallery of photos from the village of Niwiska

http://www.niwiska.pl/galeria/galeria.html

I recently published a genealogy and travel book for anyone interested in learning genealogy with the goal to travel to Europe and to meet long lost relatives.

I also wrote a book about our trip to Poland in 2016.  Those interested in traveling for history or genealogy will find an explanation about my research and also helpful information to plan a trip to Poland.

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Donna-Gawells-Trip-Poland/dp/1533411921/