Postcards provided courtesy of S. Arthur Boruchoff, M.D.

This page concerns two of the postcards which Dr. Henry and Frances Boruchoff obtained on their trip to Lithuania in 1923. The two cards are based on the identical photograph, as is shown by the location of the people on the road.

The same postcard also appears in the Gorzd Memorial Book, p. 11 [Image 490], posted by the New York Public Library.

The building at the far left of the lower postcard is the chapel. For a present day view of the chapel, click here.

The buildings at right (the tower and roofless building, evidently part of the palace) had been part of the estate of the Rönne family. A history of the family is given in Janina Valanciute, Gargzdu miesto ir parapijos istorija, Vilnius: Diemedzio Leidykla, 1998 (ISBN 9986-23-047-0). The English summary at page 503 indicates that the owner of the estate from 1875 to 1895 was Baron Eugenijus Rönne, and then his widow Gabriele until 1912. The estate suffered damage during World War I. The absence of a roof in the photo may reflect this wartime damage.

The Baron's sister Anele owned lands on the east bank of the Minija, which gave rise to the placename Anieliske (or Anielin).

For further information about the Rönne family, see Family von Rönne in the Baltics, page 28 (VR 194c) [.pdf file, to view must have Adobe Acrobat reader] - information about Felix II Baron Rönne (b. ca. 1797), his son Eugene Baron Rönne (1830 - 1895), Eugene's wife Gabriela Princess Oginska, and Eugene's sister, Aniele Amalia Baroness Rönne. For additional information about the Rönne family (in German) and picture of Eugene Baron Rönne, see Baron Rönne in Litauen, page 14 (VR063a). Eugene was a noted poet and dramatist.

In Yiddish, the Baron was called the "Graff," Gorzd Memorial Book, p. 43 [Image 458], which means "Count" or "Earl." A. Harkavy, Yiddish - English - Hebrew Dictionary (YIVO Institute, 1928).

The street from the north center of Gargzdai to the Minija River is Minijos gatve (street). The Town Diagram in the Gorzd Memorial Book [Image 12], seems to indicate that the bridge pictured in the postcards is an overpass over a road or path, and was not the bridge over the Minija. This small bridge appears on one available map - Russian Military, ca. 1910 (1:50,000) (see pink arrow below), which shows that this path led to the Jewish Cemetery. This map also contains the symbol for a mill (green arrow), which may be the building in the mid-foreground of the postcard.

I. Minijos gatve heads directly from Baron's estate to Minija river (?) The northerly of the two roads on the east bank of the river to "Angelina" may be a remnant of an early bridge or ferry crossing from the estate lands. See Prussian General Staff Map (1860; supplemented 1875).

II. Minijos gatve heads from town center directly to river and straight across. See Russian Empire (1866-1872); Prussian General Staff Map (1860; supplemented 1875); Karte des Deutschen Reiches (1860 - 1880; supplemented 1910).

IV. Minijos gatve heads southeast from town center; curves to south before reaching concrete bridge.  Photos of concrete bridge at Kestutis Demereckas and Ruta Cirtautaite, Gargzdai, Klaipeda: Libra Memelensis, 2003 (ISBN 9955-544-12-0), p. 21; Valanciute, pp. 114 and 146. Valanciute indicates at p.508 that a concrete bridge was constructed over the Minija in 1926-27.  The 1929 Karte des Deutschen Reiches appears unchanged from 1921 and does not reflect any changes caused by construction of the concrete bridge.

V. Direct road constructed from town center to bridge. See Birman photo October, 1937; Lithuanian Army Topographic (1938).  

VII. Temporary wooden structure replaced missing portion of span.

VIII. Present bridge rebuilt in 1955. Valanciute, p. 508.

Aerial photo of current bridge on Wikimapia.

Landing at foot of Minijos gatve	View of river and pilings from landing. A resident of Gargzdai indicates these are not remnants of a bridge but instead are to protect the bridge from ice in winter.
View of landing and pilings from bridge	Bridge in 2001

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Gargzdai main page

Gorsdy Postcard

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