Ziemia pod tory. Jak kolej cara przecięła pola Łapińskich

Before Łapy became a railway town, someone had to donate land for it. In this film, I tell the story of the sale of land for the construction of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw Railway near Łapy. The decision to build the line was made in 1851, and just a year later, the first talks began with the residents of the Łapińskie villages. This area was inhabited primarily by the nobility, whose landholdings had been severely fragmented over generations. Therefore, a single agreement with a single owner was not enough to build the tracks, railway station, depot, waterworks, and railway facilities. Sales deeds had to be concluded with numerous landowners, often holding small, partial landholdings. In 1861, residents of the Łapińskie backwaters sold land for the railway under construction. The documents mention the Łapińskis, Gąsowskis, Perkowskis, Piekutowskis, Płońskis, Roszkowskis, Tomaszewscys, and other owners from surrounding villages. Behind the great main road leading from St. Petersburg to Warsaw were hidden specific fields, pastures, roads, crops, signatures, and silver rubles. The film was created in cooperation with the Łapy Municipal Office. The film uses copies of archival documents regarding the construction of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw Railway, held by the Łapy Municipal Office. The documents were obtained during archival research conducted by the filmmaker in St. Petersburg in January and July 2016 on behalf of the Łapy Municipal Office. Sources used in the film: – Russian State Historical Archives in St. Petersburg / RGIA: f. 258, op. 3, dated 1821 – RGIA: f. 258, op. 8, dated 1316 – RGIA: f. 258, op. 8, d. 1329 – RGIA: f. 350, op. 63, d. 398 – RGIA: f. 350, op. 63, d. 399 – RGIA: f. 354, op. 1, d. 369 – State Archives in Łomża, Head of Łomża County – J. Szumski, "Łapy w lat 1862–1914", Białystokczyzna, 1/1997 – M. Ed. Collignon, Les chemins de fer russes de 1857 à 1862, Paris 1868 – National Library / Polona – licensed materials: Envato, Epidemic Sound In addition to archival materials, the film uses contemporary illustrative footage and reconstructions/visualizations prepared using AI. #Łapy #HistoryofŁap #St. Petersburg-WarsawRailway #Podlasie #RailwayHistory