The above map was constructed based on the memories of Eliezer Eisenshmidt and Liza Welbel-Shwetz; both are former Lunna residents. A map including a detailed location of residential buildings is in preparation.
As in the 1900 map, the market-square was the center of Lunna and was surrounded by residential buildings. There is a Pravoslavic (Russian-Orthodox) church in the middle of the square. Next to the church, there was a well from which water was pumped out into pails and carried to the houses. Shops and small business were located at the street level of houses around the square. Four streets lead from the market-square to different directions: the Grodno (Grodzienska) Street - led to the edge of town and through villages, to Grodno; the Zagoryany Street - led to Zagoryany village, located 2 kilometers SSW of Lunna; a side-street led to the Catholic Church and to Wolpa (Wolpianska) Street which led to the "Goysher Gas", to Wola, and from there to Wolpa, located 11 kilometers SE of Lunna; Podolna Street led to the bridge over the Niemen River, and from there to the main road to Skidel and Grodno. The major streets were paved with pebbles (asphalt was expensive) and side-streets were unpaved and muddy during the rainy season and after the snow melted. Most of the town houses were one level, built from wood (bricks were expensive) and with straw roofs. Several houses were two story buildings and had nice verandas. In July 1931 a big fire destroyed many of the town’s wooded buildings. This large conflagration began, for unknown reasons, in a wooded storage shed of a person named Mulia Kagan who resided in the middle of Zagorynay Street. The flames spread with the wind and destroyed the wooden houses and businesses in the market square. From there, the fire spread to Grodno Street. After the fire, burnt wooden houses were replaced with new houses made of brick, built on the same spot. On the top of several new houses was inscribed the year 1931.

The Market-Square
Around the square stood the residences of Moshe-Yudel Arkin - one of highly respected residents in town and a wealthy wood merchant; Raphael Zlotoyabko - a Chasid who owned the largest grocery store in town, on top of which was posted: "Iron, Harring and Other Goods"; Zeev Berachowicz - the owner of a fabrics store and a partner in the lumber mill located on the bank of the Niemen River; Yehoshua Eliashberg - a partner in the lumber-mill and the owner of a liquor store (his wife, Batya Eliashberg, had a small beverage bar in front of the house); Yosef Eliashberg and Leib Goldin - workers in ironmongery; Chaykel Friedman - the Mikvah manager; Eli Shalachman - an owner of the "Piwiarnia" tavern at the front of a two-story house his mother-in-law Basha Yogiel owned; Lubitz - an accountant of the lumber-mill whose wife had a grocery store; Berengaus - a blacksmith; Henie-Leah Arkin - the owner of a grocery store located in front of her house; and Zvi Eisenshmidt - a merchant, who bought the new house built after the big fire, his wife Frida was a violin teacher.

Among the houses destroyed by the fire were the residences of Moshe-Yudel Arkin, Raphael Zlototabko, Zeev Berachowicz, Leib Goldin, Lubitz and others. The house of Yehoshua Eliashberg was built of bricks and therefore was not destroyed by the fire, but there was damage to the contents of the house. Yitzchak Eliashberg’s high school diploma, for instance, was destroyed in the fire. Pictured below is a letter dated December 15, 1931, from Gimnazum Tarbut in Grodno stating that Mr. Eliashberg’s high school certificate was burnt in the 1931 fire.

Photos of Residences Around the Market-Square
 

Grodno (Grodzienska) Street
Along the street stood the residences of Mordechai Kosovsky - a Chasid and a grain-trader, after his death, his son Yosel Kosovsky moved in the house; Moshe Kosovsky – Mordechai's brother, the founder of the "Hekdesh"; Berl Becker - an owner of a restaurant; Zeev (Velvel) Kuperfening - an owner of a grocery store; Moshe Feinzilber - a grain merchant; Shabtai Yanovsky - a painter, Zalman Shneur - a blacksmith; Yaakov Welbel - a grain trader and one of the Jewish leaders community (in the garden around his house were many fruit-trees); and Chaya Roskin - a grocery owner.

There were several non-Jews who resided in Grodno Street including a Polish engineer who constructed the old bridge over the Niemen River. In the forest, at the end of Grodno Street, after the brick factories, stood the residence of a Polish physician named Raznetowski (who used to also medicate for free poor Jews). Among the houses destroyed by the fire and replaced with new buildings, were the residences of Zeev Kuperfenig, Mordechai Kosovsky, Zalman Sheneir, Shabtai Yanovsky and Berl Becker. The house of Moshe Kosovsky was built of bricks and therefore was not destroyed by the fire, but there was damage to the contents of the house. Moshe Kosovsky was supported by his sons who had previously emigrated to the United States (his sons including Motel, Abraham and Avigdor changed their family name to Kosow).

Photos of Residences in Grodno Street

Zagoryany Street
The 1931 big fire began at in a wood storage shed of Munia Kagan who resided in the middle of Zagorynay Street. The house of Aaron Kosovsky - an owner of hardware store, was located on Zagorynay Street (close to the market square). His wooded house was burnt in 1931 and was replaced with a new house made of brick, built on the same spot. After his death, the house was confiscated by the head of the Polish police. Pictured below is a photo of Aaron Kosovsky's house taken in 2006. Notice the inscription of 1931 and the sign of Magen David on top of the building (this is the only building in town that has an inscription of Magen David.) Other residences along Zagorynay Street included the residence of Shneur (Zalman) Friedman - an owner of dye-shop; and the two story residence of Elazar Kagan - an owner of a cloths shop. The buildings of the "Kupat Gmilut Chesed" and the Polish School were located on this street.

Photos of Residences in Zagorynay Street
 

Podolna Street
Along the street stood residences of Mordechai Yevnin - the founder and one of the partners of a mill, his house was built in 1913, the left side quarter was occupied the Fire Fighters Wind Orchestra; Yehoshua (Eshel) Win - one of the mill partners, the house was built in 1910, the first level was occupied the Post Office (at the back, in the garden, were beehives); Leib Reizner - one of the lumber mill partners located at the bank of the Niemen River (had a large vegetable garden); Yaakov Abin - a wood merchant, and his wife Debora, who owned a fabrics shop; Tudel Kaplan - an owner of a drugstore; Yaakov Maizel- a fabrics merchant, Chana Rochkin- an owner of a bakery and a restaurant; and Zalutski - a licensed wood inspector. The Jewish National Bank ("Bank Ludowski Zydowski") and the pharmacy, owned by a non-Jew, were located on the street close to the Market Square. The municipality building and a nearby Detention House were located on the street close to the Niemen River. The Lunnyanka, a small brook, ran into the Niemen River and a small bridge was located on Podolna Street.

Photos of Podolna Street
 

Wolpa (Wolpianska) Street
Along the street stood the residences of Yehoshua Eisenshmidt - the owner of carbonated water and lemonade manufactory; Abraham Yedwab - one of the mill partners and an owner of a grocery shop; Moshe-Nochum Welbel - producer of diary products (he closed his dairy sometime between 1930 and 1935) and later the owner of a mill; Yosel Welbel - a butcher (knew how to de-vain certain portions of the cow to make it kosher) whose wife functioned as a supplier of meat and other products for the deputy to the district Minister of Finance who resided in Cherlona; Murawski - an owner of roof constructing business; Aizik Sendler - a shoemaker; and Basha Becker - an owner of a tea room. The two elementary schools occupied the same building on Wolpa Street, the "Yiddish Folk Shul", in the front and "Tora Ve'daat", at the back.


Photos of Wolpa Street
 

Other Side-Streets
(i) A small unpaved side-street led from "Torah Ve'daat" School in Wolpa Street to Podolna Street. The Theater, the "Hekdesh", the bathhouse and the Mikvah were located on this lane. The residence of Berl "der Furman" was close to the bathhouse. (ii) The "Shulof" lane led from Wolpa Street to the two synagogues of the "Mitnagdim" and the Stolin-Karlin Chasidim’s Shtibl close to the market-square. The residence of Rabbi Tuvia Rotberg was close to the synagogue. The fire fighter station, a wooden house with carriages loaded with water barrels in the front, was close by. (iii) On another unpaved side lane which led from Wolpa Street to Zagorynay Street stood the residences of Shalom and Pesia Margulis who operated a coffee house in Podolna Street; Gerszon Gisser - a butcher; Shimon Alperstein- a "Shochet" and an owner of a lemonade manufactory; Yosel Werebeychik- an owner of a bakery; Tuvia "der Stoler"- a carpenter; and Efron- a skilled worker.


Photos of Side-Streets
 

Wola and Zaleski Forest
The most prominent building in Wola was the synagogue, an unaesthetic looking building, but was very beautiful inside. Many houses in Wola were old and in poor condition. Yaakov Margulis, who visited Lunna in 1958, indicated that the old houses were destroyed and new buildings were built. The residential buildings included the houses of Aron Friedman - a clerk; Berl Goland - a wood merchant; Slomianski - an owner of a grocery; Fishel Levin - a butcher; Galinski - an owner and a partner of a mill; Yaakov Klachkowsi - a teacher; Pluskalowski - a wood merchant; Yankelewicz - a tailor; Pintelewski - an operator of commercial ferry line on the Niemen river; Repanski - three brothers who resided at the edge of Wola close to Zaleski village, Nachman Replanski - a shoe-peg maker and his brother Eli- a tailor; Halpern - an operator of a small boat service on the Niemen River.

The Zaleski forest close to Wola and the Niemen River attracted summer vacationers and Lunna’s youth. Note that the name "Zaleski" comes from two Russian words "za" meaning "behind" and "lyes" meaning "forest". Apparently, Zaleski is a family name. It could be that the forest and the village Zaleskoe nearby were probably named after an old landlord or nobleman.


Photos of Wola and Zaleski Forest
 

Estates in Lunna
There were two large estates near Lunna owned by wealthy Polish noblemen. One estate was located close to the Niemen River at the edge of Podolna Street. The owners of the estate hired Jews to manage the small timber business on the estate. The other estate, near the Zaleski forest, was owned by Edward Tarasowicz, a Polish prince.
 

This site is hosted at no cost by JewishGen, Inc., the Home of Jewish Genealogy. If you have been aided in your research by this site and wish to further our mission of preserving our history for future generations, your JewishGen-erosity is greatly appreciated.