bahnhofwirtschaft

shtetlinks

Gargzdai (Gorzd), Lithuania

Bahnhofswirtschaft (mailed 1913)

Print at upper left of postcard:

"Greetings from the Russian Border
Rail Station Inn B. Schwellnuss"

Print in center:

"Inn and
Tourist Lodgings
B. Schwellnuss"

Sonntag [Sunday], 6:30, 9th June 1913 in Gorshdy

Postmark showing Gorzhdy, Kovno province

For notes concerning the narrow gauge railroad (the train shown in this picture), click here.

Map 0294 Laugallen 1:25000 (1939) showing location of building.

Portion of Aerial #158 (January 16, 1945, from www.wwii-photos-maps.com) showing building

Note: June 9, 1913 in the modern (Gregorian) calendar was a Monday. At this time Russia and a few other eastern European countries were still on the Julian calendar. Russia did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1918. The difference between the calendars was 13 days. The Russian date of June 9th, 1913 was Sunday, June 22nd in the Gregorian calendar.

The photo of the building at top right was taken in 2008. At that time no remnants of the train track could be located. For current aerial photo on Wikimapia, click here.

For a view of an identical postcard without handwriting, click here.

For Lithuanian webpage showing current photos of locations along the railway, click here.

There were at least two towns named Laugallen in East Prussia: one in Kreis (district) Memel (adjoining Gargzdai), and the other farther to the south, which at various times (as district boundaries changed) was in Kreis Tilsit, Kreis Pogegen or Kreis Heydekrug. Both towns were next to a border, and had a customs house ("Zollamt" or "Zollhaus"), as shown on these maps of Laugallen, district Memel and Laugallen, district Tilsit.

Laugallen as shown on the following postcard is likely not the one next to Gargzdai. The inn, and the guard's shelter at the border, do not match the photos in the article about Laugallen (Kr. Memel) at Wiki-de. The proprietor of the inn stated on the postcard is not listed as among the inhabitants of Laugallen (Kr. Memel).

"Gruss aus Laugallen (1908)

Gargzdai main page