Birthplace of Stefan Żeromski

“I was born on October 14, 1864 in the village of Strawczyn to my parents Wincenty and Józefa née Katerl”. This sentence begins Stefan Żeromski's Diaries. It would seem that it dispels all doubts.

However, the date of birth of the writer engraved on the symbolic stone is different from that given in the diaries - it is November 1, 1864. This date is also given in the local parish church, where we read:

"It happened in Strawczyn on November 1, 1864, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Wincenty Żeromski appeared (...) and showed us a male child, declaring that it was born at five o'clock in the morning in Strawczyn. From his wife Józefa née Katerl, twenty-nine years old.

Where does this inaccuracy come from? The writer's biographers explain it with the foresight of parents whose child was born in the difficult times of the fall of the January Uprising. The later official date of birth was to protect young Żeromski from early conscription into the tsarist army. The age of fitness for military service was counted from October 15, not from the beginning of the calendar year. The date of birth on November 1 would therefore postpone the possible conscription of the recruit by a whole year.

The fact is that the larch manor house, where the later writer and publicist was born, and which was leased by the impoverished noble Żeromski family, has not survived to our times. In its place, however, you will find a boulder commemorating the place of birth. Behind it, a wooden wall with a fragment of the roof was placed, symbolizing the house of the Żeromkisch family.