Key facts
- Today
- Biała Piska, Warmia-Masuria, Poland
- Former names
- Bialla (until 1938), Gehlen / Gehlenburg (1938–1945)
- Historical district
- Johannisburg (1818–1945), now Powiat Piski
- Town rights
- 1722
- Protestant church
- built 1756–1763, tower by Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1832); catholic since 1945 (St Andrew Bobola)
- Population today
- town about 3599, municipality about 10 199
Research tips
- Search under all names: Bialla (pre-1938), Gehlenburg (1938–45), Biała Piska (today). Villages have the same pattern — see the village-name table (German–Polish).
- Civil registers (Standesamt) start in 1874; church books cover earlier periods. Bialla had a Protestant parish and its own civil registry office.
- Polish archives: Szukaj w Archiwach (digital scans), State Archive in Olsztyn. German records: Geheimes Staatsarchiv PK in Berlin-Dahlem.
- Surnames vary (Polish, Masurian, Germanised) — try all spellings.
- Ask in short Polish or English; a sample letter in Polish is in the German guide.
More
- Genealogy guide (German)
- History of Bialla – original German Wikipedia text
- Biographies (German)
- Main site (Polish) — use your browser’s translate feature.
FAQ
Where is Bialla (Gehlenburg)?
Bialla is now Biała Piska, a small town in the Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship in north-eastern Poland, about 17 km (straight line) east of Pisz (German: Johannisburg). Until 1945 it belonged to the district of Johannisburg in East Prussia.
What were the German names?
Bialla until 1938; Gehlen and then Gehlenburg from 1938 to 1945; Biała Piska since 1946. Many villages around it were also renamed in 1938, so records may use two German names.
Where can I research ancestors?
Start with GenWiki (Landkreis Johannisburg), the Polish archives portal Szukaj w Archiwach (church and civil registers from the State Archives in Olsztyn) and the Olsztyn State Archive itself. Our German guide lists sources, archives and a sample letter in Polish.
This website is run independently of the town hall; information without warranty. Corrections welcome: contact.