The Village Pettelkau Today

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 The church in Pettelkau today

Vicar
Tadeusz Rudzinski

The place Pettelkau is in the Kreis (county) Braunsberg/East Prussia of the banks of the river Passarge. We think it was founded in 1286.

in the battle between the Red Army and a German division of tanks under the command of Rittmeister Schroeder Pettelkau was destroyed nearly total on march, 28th 1945. In this battle the church burned out.

Since the end of WW II the village belongs to Poland and is called today Pierzchały. The former German population does not live today there no more.

How the parish priest Rudzinski of the there catholic Pfarramt indicaded to me, the village counts today 328 inhabitants. The village inhabitants are workers of the earlier local Kolchose. They live partly in poorly conditions.

After the former German population had left the place, also the church St. Mariae birth and St. Margaretha expired. It was a branch church of the parish Schalmey. The place of worship was used by the Kolchose at that time as depot.

Only after the fall of communism property the ruin of the church was returned to the church. 1994 began Mr. Rudzinski with the reconstruction of the church. The construction measure was financed to 90 % by the society for GermanPolish co-operation. The remainder came from the inhabitants of the village and former German inhabitants.

On 17 October 1999 the church was solemnly inaugurated as sw. Malgorzaty of his Eminenz, archbishop Dr. Edmund Piszcz, Metropolit of Ermland.

Pictures of the old church of Pettekau, the status forwards, during and after the reconstruction can you regard over the table of contents - in the left.

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