Soroki - Tombstone of the Olszewski family

The Olszewski family tombstone is one of the few reminders of the Poles who once lived in the town of Soroki (Moldova). It is located in the local multi-ethnic cemetery and is surrounded by contemporary Roma burials.

Tombstone of Leon and Joanna Olszewski

The tombstone of Leon and Joanna Olszewski was made of sandstone and has the very popular late 19th and early 20th century form of a truncated tree branch with a cross on top. It was made in a local stonemason's workshop, and the clumsily carved letters indicate that its maker was not comfortable with the Latin alphabet and worked primarily for an Orthodox rural and small-town clientele. The tombstone is still preserved in good condition today and is located in a fenced-off plot occupied by contemporary Roma burials. It is noteworthy that the present-day caretakers of the plot have not chosen to remove the gravestone, respectfully referring to unrelated people buried over 100 years ago .

Unfortunately, apart from the dates of death engraved on the tombstone, it has not been possible to establish any information about the Olszewski family of Sorok. It is known that the surname occurred among the minor nobility in neighbouring Podolia. It is also difficult to say what the inscription "Joanna Olszewska of Dżerla" refers to - this "Dżerla" is probably a distorted name of a village in Podolia or Bessarabia.

Poles made up a few percent of the Sorok population

Poles appeared in Sorok and the surrounding area after the Russian occupation of Bessarabia in the early 19th century. They came mainly from neighbouring Podolia in search of work in local offices. They also often purchased or leased landed estates in the area. Although Poles made up only a few percent of Sorok's population, they played an important role in the life of the town, as well as of the whole district, before the First World War. A large number of them left for Poland after the Russian Revolution and the entry of Bessarabia into Romania, and another wave of emigration took place after the end of the Second World War.

Soroki, picturesquely situated on the Dniester River, is today best known for its fortress dating back to the turn of the 16th century and its gypsy settlement, one of the largest in Moldova. The Dniester River forms the border with Ukraine. According to the 2004 census, of the town's more than 28,000 inhabitants, only 17 declared Polish nationality.