The “Koschneiderei”

Locality & History

Koschneiderei – About 1926

The Koschneiderei (in Polish Kosznajderia; in English literally The Tailoring) is a distinct cultural area southeast of the city of Konitz, West Prussia, that was settled by Germans at the time of the Teutonic Knights (officially the “Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem,” “Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum,” or “Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem”) in the 14th Century A.D.

The first written records come from the year 1275. It is a document about the village of Damerau, issued by a duke from Pomerania. Until 1308 the villages belonged to the Pomeranian dukes.

The German order of knights then took over the government of the area of Koschneiderei. The influence of the Teutonic Knights lasted until about 1466. During this time, the foundation stone was laid for the settlement of the Koschneiderei. The rural and agricultural character founded at that time has been preserved alongside language, religion and Germanism for 600 years up to our times.

The residents of this area retained a distinct language and culture for hundreds of years. While much of West Prussia became Lutheran, this area remained Catholic. Poles and Germans attended the same parishes, resulting in considerable intermarriage.

Some emigrants from the Koschneiderei regard themselves as Poles and others as Germans. In either case, descendants of the Koschneiderei settlers are working together to document its history and families. At last count over 16,600 persons in over 4,700 families have been identified and documented.

Rosentreters in the Koschneiderei

The first Rosentreter to arrive in the Koschneiderei was Martin Rosentreter [I0411] sometime before 1653 . He was a schoolmaster, as his son Georg Rosentreter [I0409] also became, and the family quickly established a significant presence in the area.

We cannot be totally sure of where the family came from before then, however given proximity and family naming traditions, I suspect that Martin came from Heiligenbeil in East Prussia which is about 150km away.

This branch of the family became Catholic (most of the family has Evangelical/Lutheran roots) and Bishop Augustinus Rosentreter, Bishop of Kulm/Culm was a descendant of Martin.

The family has continued to have an unbroken presence in the region for at least eleven (11) generations and through to the current day. Barbara Rosentreter and her family live in Tuchola which is at the heart of the area.

Descendants of Martin now number over 400 Rosentreters and I have identified at least nine (9) different family groups that emigrated to the USA from this area. Most notably the large family of Carlinville, Illinois Rosentreters.

Rog

CREDITS: Die Koschneiderei, Wikipedia, Family Search

Rosentreter’s from this region:

Too many to list here… Go to the private family tree, click on “Places” and search for “Tuchola”. There you will see all the villages listed for viewing.