Machlinec (pronounced mah-kleen-its or mah-kleen-ek with the stress on the first or second syllable) is a tiny village in Ukraine that was founded by the Galizien Deutsche about 175 years ago. I don't have any ancestors from there (I suspect not, anyway) but I've been there twice and I thought I'd collect the information I have about it. I adapted the text below from text originally written by Angela Fabian and translated by John Kaminski. I am grateful for their help, and to Ute Romanski for telling me the cavalry soldier's name.
Online resources for Machlinec:
- A transcription of the old cemetery.
- A transcription of the new cemetery.
- An 1877 topographical map covering Machlinec and its surroundings. You want the map called Bolechów.
- A handful of photos from Machlinec.
- A page auf Deutsche about Machlinec.
I picked the flower below in the old cemetery in May 2003.
History
Machlinec is a tiny village in Ukraine. It was founded by the Galizien Deutsche about 175 years ago. Unlike many Galizien Deutsche villages, it wasn't built on free land made available under the Austro-Hungarian government's settlement patent. The settlers bought land from local landowners.
It began around 1812 when Daszawa Felix Dobrzanski met Bohemian cavalry soldier Christoph Angermann who was working in the stables in Wierczany. Angermann went back to Bohemia to try to find settlers for Dobrzanski's land. At first he didn't have much luck -- only one came, a fellow named Mathias Sollner. Sollner lived by himself for eleven years, although one presumes he eventually learned to speak with his Ukrainian neighbors.
In 1823 Dorbzanski wanted to make a village with fifty or so farms of about nineteen joch each. (Editor's note: one joch is .57 hectares or 1.4 acres; nineteen joch is therefore 10.8 hectares or 26.6 acres.) He opened his offer to all families with good references and by 1830 he had his fifty families. They were Roman Catholics from the Bohemian areas of Pfraumberg, Tachau and Königswart.
Key dates in Machlinec's history:
- 1842 - The first small church -- a chapel really -- was built. Before this was built everyone had to travel over 10k to Kochawina in order to visit a church.
- 1852 - The first schoolhouse was built. Prior to this the teacher went from house to house with the children.
- 1859 - The rectory was built for the priest.
- 1861 - The new cemetery was started about 500m outside of the village on the way to Nove Siolo.
- 1860-62 - The first stone church was built and named St. Nepomuk. On the day it was opened, many people came from other Roman Catholic villages, including Königsau.
Königsau and Machlinec had a lot of intermarriage between their respective villagers. In 1939, three people from Königsau lived in Machliniec and about thirteen people from Machliniec and nearby villages lived in Königsau. There was also a lot of contact between Machliniec and Roman Catholic villages like Pöchersdorf and Felizienthal. Those who conduct genealogical research in these villages find the same surnames in each village.
As Machlinec grew it became a hub for the Galizien Deutsche Roman Catholics living in the villages around it, Kornelowka being one example. Eventually, as with many villages in the area, Machlinec's population began to outgrow its land. Many inhabitants chose to emigrate overseas. In all about 1000 people left Machlinec and its environs. Before WW1 most went to the USA. In the 1920s most went to Canada and in the 30s they also went to South America, mostly Argentina and Brazil.
Machlinec's inhabitants numbered 398 in 1837, 441 in 1880, 579 in 1917, 538 in 1921, 514 in 1928, 431 in 1931 and 418 in 1939. Machlinec's houses numbered 52 in 1823, 74 in 1914, 79 in 1917, 85 in 1931 and 94 in 1939. The population of Machlinec and nearby Galizien Deutsche villages (the "Machlinec metropolitan area"?) was 736 in 1837 and 1650 in 1928.
As with all other Galizien Deutsche villages, Machlinec was almost completely depopulated in 1939/1940. The current inhabitants are Ukrainian and the village is quite small.