Chełmno rod in Barczewko Schultheiss houses

Barczewko (ger. Alt Wartenburg) is a village near Olsztyn, Warmian-Masurian Province (northeastern Poland). Historically, it was part of the Warmian bishopric established within the borders of the State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia. In 1325, a watchtower was erected on the River Pisa, and ca. 1330, intense construction works began on the hillside near the River Orzechówka. The young colony ceased to exist in 1354 as a result of a Lithuanian invasion. The historical centre of Wartenberg was rebuilt in the present-day location of Barczewo. The first time the town was founded, it suffered the same fate as other so-called lost cities (abandoned first urban settlements). The memory of that event and the name of the hill, “Old Town (ger. Altstadt)”, lives on as part of tradition. It turns out that it hides perfectly preserved relics of an early urban settlement, vast traces of fire and a cemetery of the first settlers. It likely houses also remains of Prussian autochthones. Sources list names of the first men who serves as schultheiss, Johannes and Petrus. There are reasons to believe the location of lots and buildings that belonged to them could be identified. Since the beginning of these works, the opportunity to learn about the spatial arrangement of the town was fascinating. The final season has yielded a ‘find’ of an abstract sense albeit practically important, namely, the unit of Chełmno rod (pręt) used for measuring length for development purposes.