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The German spelling and Bohemian pronunciation for the town "Selčan" is "Seltschan" and would be pronounced in a Bohemian dialect as "Sel-tsch'n." A person hearing this dialect may think the spelling would be "Sellgan" or "Zellgan." Looking at the Frank Mohr postcard, it was not clear if he had written Selgan or Sulzau.
Because descendants of Anton Mohelnitzky were not sure of the spelling or location of his birthplace, the town name was written incorrectly in family histories.
To hear Blanka Lednická pronounce Sedlčany, click this link https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bdQKZMSfGMF-AmdBIijivU4tKzlkWkve/view?usp=share_link
Selčan and Seltschan, also known as Sedlčany, is located 29 miles south of Prague (Praha) in Czech Republic.
Before WWI (ca 1900), it was known as Seltschan, Bohemia, Austrian Empire.
Between the wars, (ca 1930), it was known as Sedlčany, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.
After WWII (ca 1950): Sedlčany, Czechoslovakia.
ca 2000: Sedlčany, Czech Republic
Source: JewishGen database: Sedlčany map and info
A 1905 map of Böhmen (Bohemia) shows the spelling as Selčan.
From Wikipedia: Sedlčany (German: Seltschan) is a town in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It is located at 49°40′0″N, 14°25′0″E.
Region: Středočeský kraj
District: Příbram
Sedlčany Museum - Learn about the history of Sedlcany. The museum is located in the historic old town hall.
See photos of Sedlcany at my Google Photos album: https://goo.gl/photos/xH4mAJnySyEtgXZM9
See photos of St. Martin Catholic Church in Sedlcany at my Google Photos album:
https://goo.gl/photos/eayYBWrXJb1HZich6
Wikipedia websites:
From Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 1888:
"Seltschan, Stadt in Böhmen, Sitz einer Bezirkshauptmannschaft und eines Bezirksgerichts, hat eine gotische Dechanteikirche, Steinbrüche, eine Dampfmühle, Spiritusbrennerei und (1880) 2539 Einw."
Google translation:
Seltschan, a town in Bohemia, the seat of a district administration and district court, has a Gothic Deanery church, quarries, a steam mill, spirits distillery, and in 1880 it had 2539 residents.
The population was listed as 5,000 on a 1998 website:
See photos of the cemetery at Sedlcany at my Google Photos album:
Click on the map to make it larger - the red star marks Seltschan
Comparison of a 1839 Sedlcany map and 2009 Google map of Sedlcany, and comments about ancestor houses.
Comparison of a 1839 Sedlcany map and 2009 Google map of Sedlcany, and comments about ancestor houses.
Looking at a 1839 map of Sedlcany, not all house numbers match with house numbers in 2009. Around St. Martin Catholic Church in 1839 was the street called "Kleine Ring" and south of the church were houses. But in 2009, these houses do not appear and the ring has opened up into Komenskeho street. House #90 in 1839 is house #48 in 2009. #69 (a school) in 1839 is in the same place in 2009. In 1839, "Neustädter Platz" is an area with no homes; in 2009 it is still a "platz" - a grassy area with a monument near Novomestske street. In 1839, house #1 was the former Rathaus; but in 2009, house #1 is on 28 rijna (October 28) street. In 1839 the cemetery church was called Maria Himmelfahrt (in German) and in 2009 the name is in Czech language: Hrbitovni kostel Nanebevzeti Panny Marie zvany Cirkvicka (in English it is Assumption of the Virgin Mary).
In September 2009, I searched for ancestor homes in Sedlcany. I was using a list of house numbers which were found on documents in archives. Some of the houses I found were "new" and were not original. Some were located in the "original" place, in sequence with neighboring house numbers. Of the homes that were no longer present (removed to make way for large apartment buildings, etc.), some of those house numbers were given to newly built houses in other locations in town. This numbering system was explained by the city hall worker in Sedlcany. Also, there was a fire in Sedlcany on April 21, 1828 which destroyed 185 homes in 15 minutes. Whether or not the "original" homes I saw were truly ancestor homes will never be known.
Below is the house number, ancestor name associated with the house, year of document, and 2009 location of the house.
48: Sulc, Waclowa (Vaclav) [baptism 1848 & 1850] - Restaurant at Komenskeho street.
69: School [1849]. Behind St. Martin church.
72: Hospital [1849]. Not found.
78: Mohelnicky, Anton [baptism March 1848] - house is gone, may be apt. Should be behind the church.
83: Mohelnicky, Anton; wife Maria Schulz [baptism 1850] - gone; number moved to Vita Nejedleho.
93: Kopal, Maria [baptism 1848] - Lucni street.
96: Kopal, Marie; [baptism 1850] - Lucni street.
96: Soukup, Barbora [baptism 1852] - Lucni street.
169: Slaba, Josefa [baptism 1848 & 1850] - Cirkvicska street; original gone.
208: Mohelnitzky, Petr and wife Mary Rel/Lehr [baptism 1852] - not found.
228: Mohelnitzky, Anton & Josefa (Slaba) [grandson baptism 1848 & 1850] - Husova street.
228: Rel/Lehr, Jakob and wife Barbora Soukup [baptism 1852] - Husova street.
246: Mochelnitzke (Mohelnitzky) [1849 list of souls book] - Husova street.
Original text and translation of a sign on St. Martin Catholic Church in Sedlcany:
Dekansky Kostel Sv. Martina.
Je Nejstarsi Pamatkou Mesta, Ktere se Pripomina K. R. 1294. z teto doby se zachovala ves s Romansko-Gotickymi Sdruzenymi Okny a zdivo lodi. Po R. 1374 byl Kostel Rozsiren o Goticky Presbytar novymi majiteli mesta petrem a janem z rozmberka. Byl opevnen Hradbou s Bastami, v miste zvonice stala brana s padacim mostem. Od husitskych valek az do bile hory pusobili v Sedlcanech Knezi Podoboji, roku 1860 bylo opevneni zboreno a kostel byl zvetsen o severni pseudogotickou pristavbu a zapadni predsin (Grueber, Kletecka). Barokni hlavni oltar z 18. stoleti shorel v r. 1934 a byl nahrazen kopli. Obraz Sv. Martina hamaloval J. umlauf R. 1882. Cinova krtitelnice pochazi ze 16. stoleti, ostatni zarizeni je prevazne barokni. Ve zvonici z R. 1810 jsou 4 zvony, z nich je nejvetsi Sv. Martin z r. 1969. Jizne od Kostela u Hradebni zdi (Castecne Obnevene V L. 1954-55) stoji kamenny kriz s letopoctem 1728. Povest rika, ze jsou pod nim ulozeny kosti husitskych bojovniku.
Decanal Church of St. Martin.
[The church] is the oldest monument of the town, which is recalled back to the year 1294. From that time is preserved the vestibule[?] with Romanesque-Gothic compound windows and a wooden pulpit[?]. After the year 1374, the church was widened with a Gothic presbytery by the new owners of the town, Peter and John of Roz'mberk. It was fortified by a wall with bastions; in the place of the bell tower stood a gate with a drawbridge. From the Hussite Wars up to [the Battle of] White Mountain, Utraquist priests worked in Sedlicany. In the year 1860, the fortification was demolished and the church was enlarged with a northern pseudo-Gothic wing and a western entrance hall ([builders:] Grueber, Kletecka). The Baroque main altar from the 18th century burned in the year 1934 and was replaced by the chapel. J. Umlauf painted[?] the picture of St. Martin in the year 1882. The tin baptismal font comes from the 16th century; the remaining furnishings are mostly Baroque. In the bell tower, from the year 1810, are 4 bells, of which the largest is "St. Martin" from the year 1969. South of the church, by the castle wall (partiallyrenovated in the years 1954-55) stands a stone cross dated 1728. Legend says that under it are laid the bonesof Hussite warriors.
Translation by Mark Sabol, volunteer at the Facebook group, Czechoslovakia Genealogy Research.
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