Engineer Adolf Gerschow (1807-1860), friend and comrade in arms of count Karol Brzostowski. According to his last will, Gerschow became the general administrator of the "Sztabin Agricultural and Industrial Institution". Brzostowski met him in the 1820s during the construction of the Augustów Canal. They fought together in the November Uprising. Unfortunately, the assumption of the administrator's function by A. Gerschow marked the beginning of the end of the Sztabin Republic. During the six years of Gerschow's rule, all achievements of Count Karol Brzostowski were wiped out. From the beginning of his reign, he systematically devastated and liquidated his friend's technical and economic achievements. After his death as a result of a long and serious illness, Gerschow's successors completed the "agony" of a community unprecedented on a European scale, called the Sztabin Republic.
Photos by Ryszard Korąkiewicz
