Geography

By request, this section is being provided to give some geographical context to some of the material on this web site. Czernichow, the place of birth of Gustaw, Frank, and probably others, is not labeled on these maps but is located about 25 miles southwest of Krakow (uppermost green circled city on maps). The distance between the two is negligible in the scales of the top two maps, so Krakow can be used as a reference. The uppermost map shown below is an Austrian one from 1898.The heavy red line near the top is the northern edge of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  The Galicia area, or "Galizien" as written here, is marked in large letters across the northern part. As the other map labels indicate, just to the northwest of Krakow was German territory (Deutsch Reich), while just to the northeast was Russian-held (Russland). The second map shows the first one's area in the context of today's borders. A more detailed map of Galicia is included as the third map. Czernichow and Krakow are located on the Vistula (Wisla) River, one of the major waterways in the country. The 2nd letter from Poland makes reference to a house "by the bee garden" known by the letter recipient that was located along the Vistula having been destroyed. Very close to Czernichow and Krakow is Wieliczka (see 3rd map), the location of famous salt mines going back to early medieval times.

Portion of an 1898 Austrian map of the empire. The major cities of Krakow, Budapest, and Vienna are circled for cross-referencing.

Present-day borders. The green box is the area shown in the top map. The major cities of Krakow, Budapest, and Vienna are circled for cross-referencing.

The full 1898 Austrian map is included as a PDF below.