One of the best sites to look at for maps of Poland was pilot.pl. It is now (2005) called mapa.szukacz.pl and is in a beta testing stage. When you click on a link to http://www.pilot.pl/ or http://www.mapa.szukacz.pl/, you will be taken automatically to the new site. It is very easy to find a town or village on this website. Here is an explanation of some of the Polish words you may see there:

Polish word: English equivalent

Miejscowosc: Town or Place

Ulica/plac/aleja: Street/Place/Avenue

Pokaz: Find

Zbliz: zoom in

Oddal: zoom out

Srodkuj: Center (this will center your town on the screen)

Opis: Description

wies: village

miasto: city

polozenie: location

woj. (Wojewodztwo): Woivodeship is similar to a province in Poland

for instance "woj. Podkarpackie" is Province (Woivodeship) called Podkarpackie (Subcarpathian, located in Southeast Poland)

powiat: county

gmina: district, it is an even lower division than powiat

wojewodztwo (Woivodeship) has many powiats, a powiat has many gminas, and a gmnia has many miasto/wies
Wojewodztwo (state, province) - powiat (county) - gmina (district)- miasto or wies

Here are examples of the screens you will see when you use this site.

The first screenshot (below) shows a small map of Poland on the opening page. Enter the town you are looking for in the top box labeled MIEJSCOWOSC. You do not have to worry about diacritical marks, this site will work without them. The box to the right labeled Jak korzystc tells in Polish how to use the site.

The second screenshot (below) shows the result when you search for Jaslo. The red box is centered on the town's name, and you can zoom in or out to the level of detail that you want to see. The box to the right gives information about Jaslo: the woj., powiat, gmnia, population (osob = people or persons), postal codes and telephone code. If you click on Wiecej ... you will see more information about this place.

The third screenshot (below) shows multiple results for one name. Each town is indicated by a red square around the name. On the right side, hold your cursor over each choice, and the red square for that location will turn yellow. You can then choose which one you wish to examine further.

Have fun exploring the roads and towns of Poland with mapa.szukacz.pl!

Here are links to the other articles in this series:

Find Your Ancestors: Search by Surname and Province

Origin of Surnames in Poland

Origin of Jewish Surnames in Poland

How to find the Family Nest

How to use mapa.szukacz.pl to find a location in Poland

How to find your Ancestors, Final Remarks

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