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Masonic lodge

galileo galilei

O:. Bydgoszcz, Grand Orient of Poland

This article is only a short note of early 20th Century situation in Pomerania. It depicts suspicious attitude to german freemasonry, which was belived (not without proves) to be anti-Polish.

freemason

On 25 Dec, 1923 during the Christmass Holiday, state police (accompanied by some journalists) entered to lodges in Torun. However, the investigation did not strike the Craft and resulted only in some articless in the right conservative (but also left socialist) press.

Freemasonry in Kuiavian and Pomeranian (excerpts from early 20th Century press)

The oldprussian lodges existed and worked till the fall of Prussia. In Torun there were 4 of them: "Sedulla", "Od Fellow", "Bienenkorb" i "Gabriel Rüsserloge". The prussian law system allowed the Craft and some of them even had special privileges granted to them by the freemason cesar Wilhelm I. Members of the Craft were usually German and Poles were not allowed.

Right now (around 1920) only two lodges are operative: "Bienenkorb" (founded 1772) located at Łazienna Street and "Od Fellow" (founded 1895), known also as "Kopernicus-Loge", located at Chełmińska Street. Other lodges work in Chojnice, Grudziądz, Posen, Lodz, Warsaw and in Lesser Poland (around the Cracow). The oldest of them was founded in Chojnice by king Frederic II.

Let us have a look inside the Lodge...

The Bienenkorb Lodge seats in 4-level building and its richly ornamented. There are three separate rooms for masonic ceremonials. All of them are very interesting in design.

Inside, there is almost total dark. Windows are closed and walls are furnitured with dark material. On the front wall, opposite to enterance there is a kind of throne, similar to the bishop's. The seat is a place for Honourable Master and is accompanied by two lesser chairs. Along the walls there are sculped stalls, resembling the church interior.

There are numerous mystic signs around the walls: chains, hammers, compasses, swords and so on. There is a master gong near the Master's seat, probably as a tool for issuing secret signs.

The investigation gave the interesting evidence to the Police and there is no doubt that the lodges can be linked to the Hakata movement and therefore they carry anti-Pole policy. Government of Poland should have all measures to end their evil plotting!