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Wilamowice (Poland)

Bielsko-Biala county, Slaskie vojvodship

Last modified: 2003-04-26 by jarig bakker
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Wilamowice commune CoA

[Wilamowice coat of arms] by Gunnar Staack, 10 Oct 2000

The little story I have written is based on the essay of Karolina Bielenin "Holland at the foothills of Beskidy Mountains" and long article from the Catholic newspaper "Tygodnik Powszechny". There is an English and German text on the town's website at:
Attached is a CoA of Wilamowice town (Wymysau in Wymysojer)

" Stöf duy buwla fest!
Skumma frmdy gest,
Skumma muma ana fettyn,
Z'brennia nysla ana epuln,
Ströf duy Jasiu fest!"

" Sleep, my boy, sound!
Foreign guests are coming,
Aunts and uncles are coming,
Bringing nuts and apples,
Sleep Johnny sound!"

(my translation, from Polish, not from Wymysojer).
No Pole, German, Dutchmen, Frisian or Belgian will understand this lullaby. It is in a language called Wymysojer and used  in the town of Wilamowice (Wymysau) in the borderlands between Silesia and Malopolska. The inhabitants of this town are descendants of the XIIIth Century settlers brought to this area after the devastation created by Mongol invasion.
When asked today where are they from, the people of Wymysau will tell you: "we are from Holland". Actually, they are a mixture of former natives of Rheinland, Holland, Frisia, Flanders, Scotland and Denmark.