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Memorial to a German Colony
 
Dedication and Blessing of the
Münchenthal German Colony Cemetery and Monument

The Münchenthal German Colony Cemetery Blessing and Dedication has been successfully conducted and attended by a host of local and international guests. If you wish to view the event as a slide show presentation (6 segments) plus a link to the official YouTube video, please follow this link ... Dedication 2018


  A German Lineage ...

There is a certain small village in Ukraine today called MUZHYLOVYCHI (known as MÜNCHENTHAL by the German colonists that lived there. It was always officially MUŻYŁOWICE, not far from present day L'viv, Ukraine). This village holds a special meaning. For in this village, many can trace their ancestry to the time period of the 1780s, when many of the descendants' great-great-grandparents settled in this village when it became a German Catholic Colony (among others nearby - see
MAP.) From that early time up until January 1940, many of their ancestors lived, worked, died there, and were buried (for the most part) in the nearby Roman Catholic cemetery. Therefore, the intent of this page is to honor the memory of the those ancestors that are traced back to this village.

Visitation of Our Blessed Mary Church...


Visitation of Our Blessed Mary Church
Archival photo of the Visitation of Our Blessed Mary Church.
Date: Unknown.
Photo: Courtesy of Brian Lenius, Canada







Visitation of Our Blessed Mary Church
Archival photo of procession leaving the Visitation of Our Blessed Mary Church.
Date: Around 1909-1911.
Photo: Courtesy of Alfred Konrad, Stuttgart, Germany







Muzhylovychi ChurchMany of the descendants linked to this village have walked the paths to the village's abandoned and derelict (and in ruin) Roman Catholic church (shown on left) and the nearby, but equally abandoned and overgrown, cemetery. Although still sanctified (as we believe), these two relics of the past German Catholic Colony, long forgotten, appeared as if there was some hope in restoring each to its past glory ... or at least a semblance of respectability.




'MuzhylovychiCommencing in 2001, two individuals crossed paths with a equal sense of interest in seeing these two relics restored. Together (as principals) they formed an informal partnership and devised ways to address these two items ... restore the Visitation of our Blessed Mary church and do something about the cemetery. In the end, they had the way but not the means to do anything about the church ... it was too far gone in its ruined state and beyond hope of salvaging any restoration, or even halting its further decay. That project was placed on hold (actually cancelled) for lack of funds. That project's plan may be read here ... Church Restoration.

A historical synopsis of the village of Muzhylovychi and the church may be read here ... History of Muzhylovychi (extracted from the project plan mentioned above.)

Before we leave the topic of the MUZHYLOVYCHI (or MÜNCHENTHAL / MUŻYŁOWICE) church, the reader may be interested in viewing this church in its various in-situ stages during the early visitation visits. The church images will clearly demonstrate the partnerships' interest in its restoration and the eventual reason for cancelling the project.

Visitation of our Blessed Mary Church - Year 2001
Year 2001 Year 2001 Year 2001
Year 2001 Year 2001 Year 2001
Year 2001 Year 2001 Year 2001
Visitation of our Blessed Mary Church - Year 2002
Year 2002 Year 2002 Year 2002
Year 2002 Year 2002 Year 2002
The two men in above-right image are from the Western Ukrainian Project and Restoration Institute - Ivan R. Mohytych (r) and his engineer. The partnership contracted the Institute for a detailed study on methods, ways, and means for church restoration. Study was received by partnership.
Visitation of our Blessed Mary Church - Year 2004
Year 2004 Year 2004 Year 2004
Year 2004 Year 2004 Year 2004
Year 2004 Year 2004 Year 2004
Year 2004 Year 2004 Year 2004
Visitation of our Blessed Mary Church - Year 2007
Year 2007 Year 2007 Year 2007
Year 2007 Year 2007 Year 2007
As is visible in the above-rightmost image, the west wall is practically on the verge of collapse. It is only a matter of time before the harsh weather conditions prevail, and the entire edifice is nothing more than a pile of bricks. Dangerous situation for the locals and visitors.

Münchenthal German Catholic Cemetery Memorial Project ...

However, the other project ... MÜNCHENTHAL GERMAN CATHOLIC CEMETERY MEMORIAL PROJECT ... a project to memorialize all the departed German Colonists who are buried in this cemetery ... inspired the partnership to undertake its formation, define its objectives, formulate a plan of action, establish design principles, solicit participants on two continents, and initiate fund raising to cover project costs.

From the onset, the partnership strategized on the best approach to start this project. Because of the distances between Ukraine and North America, the project needed a local (Ukrainian) business representative (handling our finances) and a local (Ukrainian) coordinator (handling all aspect of construction) for the memorial. The partnership was fortunate in securing the services of two individuals that assisted them in the past in their L'viv genealogical efforts. These individuals were:

Olesya BoykoOlesya Boyko
(as our business representative)










Slavko FotSlavko Fot
(as our technical coordinator)










Because there were many elements to this project, only the key segments necessary to explain our efforts, our progress, and our achievemnts will be detailed here.

The Design ...

The partnership knew basically what they were looking for in a memorial design ... they explored (in person) the famous L'viv Lychiaky Cemetery looking at memorial designs and determining the best type of stone for the memorial. For the design itself, Slavko Fot created a sketch from his observation of old German Catholic tombstones in the former colony of Ebenau. At the same time, they asked Mr. Fot to outline the methods, procedures, estimated costs and a timetable for sculpting such a memorial, once a sculptor and the type of stone was selected.

Mr. Fot came back with a basic design proposal that met the partnership's initial perceived objectives. Shown below left is the monument itself ... below right, the construction configuration.

Memorial proposalMemorial proposal



















Using the sketches submitted, the partnership wrote a PROJECT SUMMARY, which formed the basis for project management.

Before continuing with the project progress discussion, it is necessary to identify the project participants that made the project a success that it is today. Over a period of several months the partnership sent out, to a select group of people, a solicitation letter and managed to secure adequate funding to initiate serious work. The following individuals came forth and financially supported this memorial project. Although the amounts donated to this project will not be noted here, every one of these individuals' contribution was deeply appreciated. Each of these project partners became an acknowledged owner of this memorial:(if any participant is not listed, we apologize for that omission.)

Donors as of August 12, 2005
Canada
East Germany
United States
Kielman,Jerry
Lenius, Allan
Lenius, Anne
Lenius, Brian
Lenius, John
Lenius, Victor
Paish, Valerie
Proweciat, Leo
Tereshyn, Andy
Yost, Bill
Mr. Folta
Kraus, Werner
Mr. Massinger
Sept. Meeting (Halle)
( Explanation )
Rozylowicz, Edward
Wilbanks, Carol
Yost, Erich
As of March 11, 2021 there were 50 international donors

Creating the Memorial ...

This segment of the project was difficult to manage efficiently ... communications between our coordinator, our representative, and the sculptor was at times erratic and subject to many language interpretation errors. Initial proposed costs were constantly changing ... agreement as to timetable for completion was subject to the health of the sculptor, the availability of our coordinator, and the type of stone that we selected; all ongoing problems. One partnership partner, on a subsequent visit to Ukraine, resolved the stone issue, but the cost factor was still in dispute. Additionally, the principal sculptor died before serious work started ... fortunately, the sculptor's son agreed to continue with the work. Over a protracted time period all technical issues and escalating cost were mutually agreed upon and the creative process commenced ... at least on the actual stone monument itself.

Phase 1 ... quarrying and sculpting

Memorial sculptingMr. Fot, our technical coordinator, in concert with the sculptor visited several quarries to select the two types of stones to be used on the memorial ... the basic "white" stone for the memorial proper and a "black" stone to be used for the engraved plaques (to be discussed shortly.) The only way by which the results and the sculpting process may be described is by viewing images of this entire process. To that end, the gallery below should serve that purpose:




Memorial Stone Components and Sculpting
Memorial sculpting Memorial sculpting Memorial sculpting
Memorial sculpting Memorial sculpting Memorial sculpting

Phase 2 ... cemetery cleanup and preparation

The cemetery grounds were completely overgrown ... trees, saplings, weeds and general vegetation cluttered the grounds. Before the finished memorial could be located and placed within the grounds, the entire cemetery had to be cleared of the overgrowth. To indicate the condition of the original cemetery grounds prior to our project, one only has to view the images below:

Cemetery grounds - year 2002
Cemetery grounds - year 2002 Cemetery grounds - year 2002 Cemetery grounds - year 2002
Cemetery grounds - year 2002 Cemetery grounds - year 2002 Cemetery grounds - year 2002

While the memorial was being sculpted, the partnership contracted the Village of Muzhylovychi to undertake the laborious task of clearing the cemetery grounds of all undesired vegetation. This effort took several weeks. The progress on this work can best be demonstrated by viewing images showing what was found in terms of grave marker remnants, the cleanup work in progress (spring) and when completed (autums):

Cemetery cleanup 2004 - grave markers uncovered
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery cleanup 2004 - Spring
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004
Cemetery cleanup 2004 - Autumn
Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004 Cemetery grounds - year 2004

Phase 3 ... site preparation

Over the wintertime (2006-2007) the monument components were finished ... the sculpting was successful and it was time to erect the monument itself. First, the cemetery spot where the monument was to be placed had to be prepared with an access road ... then a foundation pit had to be excavated and a concrete foundation poured. See images below.

Monument foundation preparation
Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation
Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation
Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation Cemetery grounds preparation
The man in the above-left image is Olexi ... a local man. Olexi dug the foundation pit by hand. Olexi is the de facto custodian this partnership relies on to maintain the cemetery on a contractual basis.

Phase 4 ... monument panels and engraving of names

A monument is purposeless unless it is associated with a specific message. The partnership's purpose and intent of this monument was to recognize and honor the many people interred in this German Roman Catholic cemetery ... men, women, and children that for far too long have been forgotten. Now that the cemetery grounds have been restored to a semblence of order (partially at least in a cosmetic way) it was time to garner the names of the buried, compose a message of remembrance, and engrave the panels.

The archived death records for this German Colony cemetery were compiled, as best as practical, with the names (and frequency of occurrences) of the interred. That was not an easy task and took an immense effort. In the end, that list comprised a total of 1,539 total names, encompassing 188 unique family surnames. Because the name panels on the monument are of finite size, and only three name panels are to be engraved, the task of winnowing the entire list to the most frequent family burials was troubling. What names to include and what names to exclude. The concensus was that the most frequent burials were to be included PLUS
Death recordsnames of families that still held a profound interest in this cemetery, either by support or visitation to the cemetery. The process was not perfect but the only logical one at hand. A sampling of the top surname occurrences (greater than 1% of all burials) on the death records is shown at left.

A complete MÜNCHENTHAL CATHOLIC CEMETERY BURIALS (1787-1905) is available here ... Burial List.







Now on to the business of designing the panel layouts, both for the surnames and the "message". The selected surnames were not laid out alphabetically (for placement optimization), were split over the three panels and in a font and font size for ease of readability. This was a crucial decision as to allow as many names as practical but still be readable when a visitor is standing within a nominal distance from the mmonument. EpitaphThe "message" engraved was a composite of many differing opinions among the people involved in this creative process. Eventually when a concensus was reached, it was decided that the "message" would be in three languages ... German (obvious), English (universal), and Ukrainian (host country.) The font and font size for the "message" was left to the discretion of the engraver so that the full text body fit within the borders of the actual panel. Lastly, a shorter "epitaph" panel (left) was conceived that dedicates this monument.





Describing the panels is pointless when a image of that panel is available. The gallery below shows all six panels ... white on black to indicate how the panel would look like when engraved on black stone. Please note, that the Ukrainian panel includes an etching of the church as it looked like in an old archival photograph.

Monument "Message" Panels
English Language German Language Ukrainian Language
English German Ukrainian
Message in English Message in German Message in Ukrainian
Monument Surname Panels
Surname panel Surname panel Surname panel

Phase 5 ... erecting the monument

Erected monumentThe culmination of many years of effort is the assembly of the monument in situ. When the spring weather cooperated and the ground was dry to support heavy equipment, the sculptor and his crew, with the support of the project coordinator, commenced with the assembly. Images below tell the entire story (unfortunately, only a few images were submitted by the coordinator.)





Monument Assembly
Monument erection Monument erection Monument erection
Monument erection Monument erection Monument erection
Monument Coating with Preservative
Preservative coating Preservative coating Preservative coating
The partnership was advised that the preservative coating is mainly to prevent dirt buildup, necessating follow up frequent cleanup. The stone is durable enough to last for generations.

VisitationIn 2007, a visit was undertaken to Muzhylovychi for a first-hand look at the final monument (less panels, which were in the process of being engraved.) The gallery below shows the monument after a "one year aging".

Olexi, the contracted custodian, kept the cemetery grounds trimmed of vegetation.





Monument 2007
Monument 2007 Monument 2007 Monument 2007
Monument 2007 Monument 2007 Monument 2007
Monument 2007 Monument 2007 Monument 2007
Placing wreaths and candles
In memory of the many ancestors, and even before the monument was consecrated, votive candles and wreaths were placed on the monument.
In memory In memory In memory
In memory In memory In memory

Phase 6 ... finishing the monument with the panels

Engraved churchThrough late-2008 and early-2009, the sculptor worked on the panel engravings. During the course of this work, our project coordinator kept the partnership apprised. Again, he sent a few images of the completed panels ... just to let them know that the quality of the engravings was as expected and that they would be mounted on the monument as soon as weather permits ... sometime in mid-spring.





Engraved epitaphAmong one of our concerns was ... "will the engraved text be highly readable, considering the depth of engraving." As seen on the left, the verbiage is very discernible, highly readable. The partnership is pleased with the results. The balance of the panels ... surnames and "messages" are shown in the gallery below.



The plaque placement may be viewed here ... Placement.


Monument Surname Plaques
Surname plaque #1 Surname plaque #2 Surname plaque #3
Monument "Message" Plaques
English message German message Ukrainian message
Mounting the Plaques
Mounting the plaques Mounting the plaques Mounting the plaques
Mounting the plaques Mounting the plaques Mounting the plaques

Further Enhancements ... Year 2018

Further enhancements to the project were undertaken in early 2018 prior to the planned dedication ceremony to be held the coming September ...

SignageDirectional signs were mounted in key locations in the village; directing visitors to the German cemetery and written in three languages (Ukrainian, German, and English).







SignageAdditional directional signs were mounted in key locations in the village; directing visitors to the German church ruins and written in three languages (Ukrainian, German, and English).




SignageAn illustrated sign was installed near the church ruins providing a short history in three languages (Ukrainian, German, and English).








SignageAn illustrated sign was installed at the cemetery entrance providing a short history in three languages (Ukrainian, German, and English).





BenchA local Muzhylovychi craftsman was contracted to build three benches, made with metal frames and oak slats, and install them facing three sides of the monument.




SignageA substantial entranceway wide enough for vehicles and obvious to the first-time visitor was constructed in the south-west corner of the cemetery. When looking into the cemetery grounds from the entryway, the memorial is centered in full view.






Annual Maintenance ... Year 2019 shown as example

Without an annual maintenance program these hallowed grounds would revert back to nature ... overgrown with grass, weeds, and saplings ... this cannot happen. The cemetery maintenance committee has contracted with local individuals to conduct this maintenance (thrice-yearly) and the images below can attest to the work involved and the benefits incurred ...
May 2019
May 2019 May 2019 May 2019
May 2019 May 2019 May 2019
May 2019 May 2019 May 2019
May 2019 May 2019 May 2019
May 2019 May 2019 May 2019
June 2019
June 2019 June 2019 June 2019
June 2019 June 2019 June 2019
June 2019 June 2019 June 2019
July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019
July 2019 July 2019 July 2019

NOTE: The final appearance of the memorial monument should be stunning when viewed in sunny weather and after the surrounding grounds around the monument are cleaned up annualy, reseeded where needed, and made ready for visitation. The rest benches are provided for meditation.

Directional signs to the cemetery were installed in the village to guide visitors to the cemetery and the church ruin. A formal entrance to the cemetery grounds, as shown previosuly, allows for access from the adjacent dirt farm road. Cemetery maintenance (controlling weeds and saplings) is an ongoing process requiring numerous (as many as three) cutting per year to make the grounds pristine and ready for visitors.

To the visitors of this page that have ancestral links to this village, we trust that this successful mission instills a desire to visit this lonely cemetery

The project having achieved its goal of creating this memorial under difficult conditions and economic hardships, has essentially been accomplished. The multi-national partnership devoted countless hours, energies, funds and motivation to make this dream possible. The work was challenging, demanding, but satisfying.

Now a new mission is in place to carry this noble achievement forward with long-term care and upgrades. For further information on Münchenthal or to donate contact us at
Contact Us
.

 
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