MARCH-JUNE 20 21 | VOL 1 | ISSUE 1 5 ISSN 2515-8503
travel.lovePoland
through the lens
Slavs Slavic culture used to come back and go away again from the field of interest of a wider audience.
The greatest creators of
Polish culture referred to it, sometimes in regards to aesthetics, sometimes
in
regards
to
customs,
and
sometimes
regards to the spiritual values derived from it.
text: Igor Górewicz photos: Marek Kalisiński
directly
in
LOVEPOLAND.ORG
media partner witkacy theatre in Zakopane www.witkacy.pl
RENTRAP AIDEM
"Life makes most sense at the height of nonsense" Witkacy theatre is one of the most cherished theatres in Poland. It was founded in 1984 in tribute to a Zakopane legend, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz.
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 14
from the editor
Dear Readers, And so the spring has come again. Disliked by some as in Poland it tends to be often cool till May while adored by the others. However, before we move on to more spring topics, we invite you to read the conversation with probably the most famous Slav and Slavic warrior in Poland, i.e. with Igor Górewicz. It is a fascinating journey into the past, and since Igor's knowledge is immense, his stories will be extremely interesting, not only for history lovers. As usual, the whole is illustrated by already well-known Marek Kalisiński. From more spring themes, this time we recommend trips to Roztocze and cycling adventures in southern Poland. We especially want to draw your attention to the photographs by Marcin Gądek in the article "Churches from heaven". As Marcin is also a priest, his stories and photographs have an additional, slightly deeper dimension. Also, get to know the city that we haven't presented yet – that is Opole. Perhaps slightly off the beaten track of the most frequent hikes, it will be an interesting proposition for music lovers. Opole is called the capital of Polish song. There will be, as usual at this time of the year, Easter accents, both culinary (with a recipe for Sękacz) and visual – we are presenting once again the photographs by Kamila Rosińska - as well as her two new stories for children.
artur tomasz tureczek Editor-in-Chief Travel.LovePoland
Contributors to this issue: Marcin Gądek, Igor Górewicz, Marek Kalisiński, Krystian Kłysewicz, Marcin Kłysewicz. Leszek Kłysewicz, Magdalena Piasecka, Konrad Rogozinski, Katarzyna Skóra, Kamila Rosińska, Magdalena Tomaszewska-Bolałek (kuchniokracja / hanami), Jarek Tarański, and Ania Parkitna from Promotion Department of the Opole City Hall. Additional photos of Opole: Paweł Uchorczak, Paweł Szpala, Jarosław Małkowski, Sławomir Mielnik and Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl As always: our special BIG thanks to Kasia Śpiewankiewicz – graphic editor @britanniaweb.co.uk and Amber Acosta for your patience and support. Thank You. If you would like to support or cooperate with our magazine please contact us via: info@lovepoland.org travel update: varoius travel restrictions. Please check befoure travel. Hotels may be closed.
TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND online magazine published by love Poland ltd Registered office address: 178 Mitcham Road, London, England, SW17 9NJ Company number 10956488 Company registered in England and Wales. British Library ISSN 2515-8503 Copyrights by love Poland ltd and/ or authors of photographs and texts as indicated. All photographs and texts are published under the exclusive permission granted to travel.lovePoland Magazine by their authors. Please do not copy or publish without authorisation. WWW. L O V E P O L A N D . O R G
the team
Amber, proof reading
Kasia, technical editor
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T R A V E L . L O V E P O L A N D
M A G A Z I N E
V OL 1 . I S S UE 1 4 DE CE MBE R - FE BR UA R Y 2 0 2 1
CONTENTS 1 0
3 8
5 2
7 4
8 8
Slaves Igor Górewicz and Marek Kalisiński
Eastern Roztocze Krystian Kłysewicz
Churches from heaven Marcin Gądek
Opole the city of music
Euro Velo 11 J. Tarański and K. Rogoziński
05 68 72 100 106 120 124 128 132 134 136
March & Spring by Magdalena Piasecka Historic Bridges in Stańczyki Low Beskid Easter customs K. Skóra Łódź. Poznański palace. Easter Stories Kamila Rosińska Easter eggs Art Leszek Kłysewicz Archives Kraków - Rękawka & Emaus Easter kitchen – Sękacz Lazy Dumplings by M. Tomaszewska-Bolalek Visual Guide: where to find wolfs and bisons Roztocze Book Promo
photo on the front cover: Marek Kalisiński
S P R I N G
I N
P O L A N D
by Magdalena Piasecka www.kidsinthecity.pl
photo: Abzee, Getty
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MARCH AND SPRING IN POLAND
photo: Kamchatka, Getty
Spring in Poland: rebirth of nature and brighter days It’s time to say goodbye to winter. Goodbye, short days and long nights! Goodbye, mostly grey weather! A long-awaited spring welcomes us with the green color and brighter days.
text by Magdalena Piasecka www.kidsinthecity.pl
Weather in Poland in March
Spring Weather in Poland
The astronomical first day of spring falls on March 20 – the vernal equinox (the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world). Meteorologically speaking, spring in Poland begins on March 21 and lasts until June 21, with summer starting on June 22. The old Polish folk tradition of the first day of spring is to drown Marzanna (a straw figure of a woman symbolizing winter) in the nearest river (nowadays mostly in rural areas and by children at schools). For children, the first day of spring is a Truant’s Day / Skip Day (Dzień Wagarowicza). Some students skip classes but usually, it’s just a special fun day at school – students dress up in a funny way, schools organize competitions and games, there are no tests on this day. 06 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Although March is technically the beginning of spring, it’s usually still cold in Poland and the weather changes often – one week you feel as if spring is just around the corner, and next week there is snow and frost. An average monthly temperature in March in Poland is 3,2°C / 37.8°F, average monthly rainfall level is 37,5 mm (the third lowest after February and April). You can have all kinds of weather in March in Poland. There is an old Polish proverb that says ‘W marcu jak w garncu‘, meaning ‘March is like a pot’ (we can have anything). What’s new in nature in March in Poland
Nature starts slowly to come back to life. You may notice first flowers blooming: white snowdrops (przebiśnieg) and yellow, white or purple crocuses (krokus). Another symbol of early spring in Poland – willow twigs with buds (bazie). You may notice them in almost every park in Poland or buy a willow twigs bunch at any florist or shopping market.
March/April
March 8th
March 20th
April 1st
April 2nd
April 4th
Woman's Day (Dzień Kobiet)
Spring (drowning of the “Winter Witch” called Marzanna. )
Prima Aprils (Fulls Day)
Good Friday (Wielki Piatek)
Easter Sunday (Wielkanoc)
In Poland, prima aprilis ("1 April" in Latin) as a day of pranks is a centuries-long tradition. It is a day when many pranks are played: hoaxes – sometimes very sophisticated – are prepared by people, media (which often cooperate to make the "information" more credible) and even public institutions. Serious activities are usually avoided, and generally every word said on April 1 can be untrue..
In churches a reconstructed tomb is placed in a special place with the faithful praying constantly and keeping watch. People visit those tombs and pray. Many Poles will fast, consuming neither food nor beverages. It is not an official public holiday in Poland, but some shops may have shorter opening hours. Some museums, theaters and tourist attractions may also be closed.
Holy Week lasts from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Palm Sunday, the week before Easter Sunday, is marked by church attendance with palm-leaf substitutes in the form of willow branches or handmade bouquets of dried flowers. On Easter Saturday, baskets of Easter food are taken to a church to be blessed; the food that is blessed is eaten as a part of the Easter Sunday meal.
International Women’s Day in Poland is a day of gift-giving and a day for promoting greater respect for women in general. When women meet men on this day, regardless of whether it is their boss, colleague, friend, or father, they can usually count on receiving a flower.
The first day of spring in Poland is actually another occasion popular among children. It is celebrated on March 20th and it is a day when children traditionally play truant. In Poland it is sometimes called a day of being truant. If it is a school day (not this year) Children don’t have lessons but games and competitions.
April / May
April 5th Easter Monday (Lany Poniedziełek)
Easter Monday is a family holiday in Poland and is called Smigus Dyngus, or Wet Monday, after the practice of men and boys pouring water on women and girls. his is accompanied by a number of other rituals, such as making verse declarations and holding door-to-door processions, in some regions involving boys dressed as bears or other creatures.
May 2nd Flag Day
Polish National Flag Day is a national holiday in Poland introduced by an act issued on 20 February 2004. Various types of patriotic actions and demonstrations are organized on this day. In recent years, it has become common to wear a national cockade on that day.
May 3rd
May 23rd
May 26th
Constitution Day
Zesłanie Ducha Świętego (Zielone Świątki)
Mother's Day
It is a Polish national and public holiday that takes place on 3 May. The holiday celebrates the declaration of the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Festivities date back to the Duchy of Warsaw early in the 19th century, but it became an official holiday only in 1919 in the Second Polish Republic. Delisted during the times of the Polish People's Republic, it was reestablished after the fall of communism in modern Poland.
Pentecost is a Christian festival that celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. Also called Green Week (Zielone Świątki). By some it is connected to Slavic rituals celebrating the full spring. Birch-tree is particularly important in these celebrations. Houses, pathways and shrines with green branches, herbs and flowers. The Pentecost or Green Week is a Church holiday, public holiday. All shops are closed.
Mother’s Day is celebrated on the 26th of May and it begun in 1923 in Kraków. Often children bring their mothers flowers and special handmade cards, called “laurki”(singuar: laurka). They are decorated with drawings and pictures. Mother’s Day isn’t a national public holiday, but children honor their mothers on this day countrywide.
spring time
May/ June
June 1st
June 3rd
June 21st
June 23rd
Children's Day The International Children's Day was introduced in Poland in 1952. Schools usually organize special activities for the pupils to celebrate the day, and during the first week of June, is a time of festivities organized in parks and entertainment centers for children.
Corpus Christi
1st day od Summer / St John’s Eve and Kupala Night The turn of 23-24 June, or St John’s Eve, is the shortest night during the year. To understand its special position in our culture one needs to go back to the custom of Kupala Night, a Slavic holiday of Sun and Moon which falls on 21 and 22 June, and relates to the summer solstice. In the tradition of Slavic peoples it was a celebration of water, fire, love and fertility.
Father's Day Many Polish people celebrate and honor their fathers or father figures on Father’s Day. Many fathers receive Happy Fathers’ Day comments like “Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji dnia ojca”. Some fathers are given cards and gifts. Mother’s Day, on May 26, is also an annual observance in Poland. Public Life Father’s Day is not a national public holiday in Poland.
(Boże Ciało)
This feast is celebrated in honour of the Holy Eucharist or Blessed Sacrament, the Body and Blood of Christ. The Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday, and Boże Ciało is observed on the following Thursday. It is a public holiday in Poland. Every parish holds its own its neighbourhood procession. Little girls strewing the way the Blessed Sacrament is due to pass with flower petals. They are followed by altar boys jangling bells and perfuming the air with incense.
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Weather in Poland in April
Weather in Poland in May
April in Poland has a similar saying as March (‘Kwiecień plecień, bo przeplata – trochę zimy trochę lata‘ – April interweaves a little bit of winter and a little bit of summer), however, with the climate change, April in Poland is relatively warm and considered (along with May) by many people as the most beautiful time of year in Poland. An average monthly temperature in April in Poland is 8,5°C / 47.3°F and average monthly rainfall level is 37,3 mm (the second lowest after February).
May in Poland is usually warm and reasonably dry. Sunny weather can event turn hot. The Tatry mountains are the only place in Poland you can still have snow at the beginning of May (in the higher parts of the mountains). An average monthly temperature in May in Poland is 13,7°C / 56,7°F, and average monthly rainfall level is 62,1 mm. The name of the month (maj) comes from the Latin name Maius. May and March are the only months whose Polish names derive from Latin. Polish names of the remaining months have Slavic roots.
What’s new in nature in April in Poland
The stork next to the eagle is the second symbol of Poland. It’s April when over 40,000 white storks (bocian) arrive from Africa to Poland (20% of their world population). Shortly after arrival they are improving their old nests or are starting to build new ones. The stork inhabits basically all of Poland, except for the mountain ranges. The northeastern part of the country is populated very densely. Storks spend around 5 months in Poland after which – about mid-August – they fly away to wintering grounds in Africa. The Polish name for April – kwiecień – leaves no doubt, and the explanation of its origin is very simple – it comes from the flowers that are blooming in Poland in April (kwiat means flower in Polish). Daffodils (żonkil) are the flowers that are associated in Poland with the arrival of spring and Easter. Forsythia (forsycja) is another flowering plant in Poland in April (it is frost-resistant), very popular in Polish gardens and parks. Other April flowers include crocuses, primroses, hyacinths, violets, daisies, pansies, tulips. The queen of April flowers in Poland is sweet violet (fiołek). In the second half of April, the first fruit trees begin to bloom.
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What’s new in nature in May in Poland
Lilac (bez) is a queen among spring flowers that bloom in May in Poland. In Poland, the most common are purple and white lilacs. It smells awesome but unfortunately, it is very fragile and withers quickly in the home vase. Lilac came to Poland from Turkey through the Balkan Peninsula. For years, an essential part of Polish rural gardens. Blooming usually lasts only up to two weeks so hurry to admire lilac! Poland in May turns into an orchard full of blooming fruit trees. It’s the time when fruit trees are in fool bloom. Wonderful sakura cherries receive special admiration in Japan, they are the symbol of Japan. In Poland, in the spring, pear, apple, cherry, plum trees bloom. Apple trees, however, dominate in Poland, with their white, slightly pinkish flowers. May also means the start of a busy season for bees! Weather in Poland in June
Technically, the spring season lasts until June 21 but June in Poland is considered as a summer month. After all, it’s the time when school summer break starts. An average monthly temperature in June in Poland is 16,7°C / 62°F, and average monthly rainfall level is 69,2 mm (the second highest after July). June in Poland is a strawberry season! Gardens are in full bloom with countless spring flowers.
Recommended Book: "The Polish Table" "The Polish Table" has two nominations in Gourmand World Cookbook Awards ( in categories: EMBASSIES (culinary diplomacy) and FOOD TOURISM BOOKS). The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in year 1995. Every year, they honour the best food and wine books and are often compared by journalists to the "Oscars".The book is co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the competition ‘Public Diplomacy 2020 – A New Dimension’ and the partners of the publication are the Polish Vodka Association, the Polish Vodka Museum, the Museum of Toruń Gingerbread, branch of the District Museum in Toruń and Hanami. Link: www.bunkatura.pl/the-polish-table photo: fotolupa
Get your free e-book: Free, beautiful and tasty download: The Polish Table by Magdalena Tomaszewska-Bolałek The Polish Table - www.bunkatura.pl/the-polish-table Mesa Polaca - www.bunkatura.pl/mesa-polaca photo: emicristea
photo: martin-dm
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S L A V S
by Igor Górewicz photos: Marek Kalisiński
photo: With "Bawarka" in the Galoper stable in Tanowo.
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photo: The last of a series of photos showing the fictional hero Niemir, whose fate was based on the scenario of an archaeological exhibition on military affairs at the beginning of the Polish State entitled "Piast Total War" at the Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno. His sons played the role of young Niemir. Igor was also one of the exhibition curators.
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ all photos: Marek Kalisiński translation: Libres, consultation Amber Acosta
Triglav Publishing House www.triglav.com.pl Personal website www.igorgorewicz.pl Youtube: triglav2002 photo: Kasia and Igor at the set of the music video "Zoriuszka" of the Sound of Triglav project.
I heard about Igor for the first time while working with Marek Kalisiński on an article about Wolin. It was then that Marek told me about Igor's squad. Later, we showed the latest book by Igor: About the Slavonic Arms: In War and in Culture. Just like that, the idea for a broader presentation of what Igor does on a daily basis was born, as it is a fascinating and still little known topic. We are going to talk about the Slavs (or actually about the beginnings of Poland), but also about the way Slavonic roots still shape Polish consciousness. I admit that although I try to get to know the cultural and spiritual heritage of Poland, in my interests I focused more on old sagas or folk traditions and I paid less attention to prehistoric roots (although these topics are probably intertwined and permeated). For this reason, I invite you to an interview with Igor D. Górewicz, during which I will try to open up my mind for a completely new field. I hope it will be interesting for you as well. Maybe you will even visit some of the places mentioned during your stay in Poland.
LP: Igor, while preparing for this conversation, I concluded that both the main subject and your person are an extremely extensive topic. You work in so many areas that I could hardly find a "starting point". However, what is common to most, if not all, of your activities are Slavs- their history, culture, and traditions. So, I decided that it would be a good common thread for further conversation.
He just used to stand and look at me and I used to stare at him. And so we looked at each other until this image left his imprint on me. On top of that, there were talks with drawings by Szymon Kobyliński about the armament and the traditions of the Polish army. That was brilliant and so appealing that I felt that all of this was, on the one hand, magnificent, while on the other very "homey" and "ours".
Igor Górewicz: Well, I think I should thank you as I take it as a compliment. The fact is, I often get itchy feet and I cannot stand idleness. Ideas are swarming and you have to write something, record something, and organise something. I dealt with the Polish Army in the East in 1945 and the Germanic peoples in the 1st-2nd centuries AD and I also love the archaic and classical period of ancient Greek culture. The beauty of melee weapons as such moves me greatly, and I especially love the sword, its forms and ideas. But, indeed, what defines me the most strongly in the sphere of culture, both for me and in the space of social activity, is the traditional culture of the Slavs and I am most widely associated with it.
Not only the Slavs, but mainly them, as my imagination was also occupied by the vision of the battle of Grunwald (also known as the First Battle of Tannenberg) and Winged Hussars. All of this, of course, in a childish, teenage form. It was not without significance that I listened to heavy metal since I was a child, and then in the 1980s, warriors, combat, swords, and axes were some of the most common themes of lyrics and covers. And above all, Conan!! In this role, Arni, the one and only, and Howard's books. We didn't have Conan's comic books back then. These elements of popular culture, on the other hand, shaped the image of a warrior and it would not be possible without a temporary fascination with the icon of pop culture, for example, Vikings.
LP: Before we get to the main thread, I would like to start with a short story about you. Your fascination with the culture of the Slavs began during your studies, and now your entire life is devoted to this subject. In fact, not only yours, but also your family's. Do you remember what influenced your choice of the way of life and the fact you decided to stick to it?
Exactly on my 18th birthday, I started collecting replicas of swords. Soon, one by one, they hit my wall. When I was at the very beginning of my studies, the Viking Festival in Wolin began being organized and I used to attend. I was fascinated by melee weapons, Vikings, and Slavs. The participants of the festivals were only foreign Vikings, mainly from England and Denmark as it must be explained that at that time in Poland we had no re-enactment groups of that era. One year, some guys in Slav costumes also appeared as guests, and when I looked at them and compared them with foreign reenactors, I thought that it could not be like that- that we need to recreate "ours", but at a level presented by our foreign colleagues. So in 1998, I started working on the design of a Slavic costume and I directed my first steps to the library of the National Museum in Szczecin. Then everything went rather quickly. The squad was formed, then participation in the festival in Wolin (which soon changed its name to the "Festival of Slavs and Vikings"), and later the trips to events in Torgelow in Germany, Moesgaard, and other places in Denmark and Fotevikien in Sweden.
Igor: The very same question allows me to tell a story because it has been a long process. My activity in the field of Slavic culture started during my studies, but the beginnings of the fascination itself lie somewhere deep in my childhood, although I have never managed to track down and indicate a single moment or an event that particularly sparked this interest. It has been rather a multi-threaded influence and development. The fact that there are fascinating things hidden in history was revealed to me by my father and grandfather, reading about the kings of Poland or the myths from Mythology by Parandowski. Perhaps surprisingly, from a chronological perspective, the ancient Greeks knocked on the door of my imagination before the Slavs did. On the other hand, however, I grew up in the Polish People's Republic, in which Slavonic threads (no matter how simplified or used) were present, especially in the iconosphere, perhaps even more than in a conscious way. However, I remember that my father brought a figurine of a Slavic warrior from a business trip, with an almond-shaped kite-shield, an axe, and a characteristic shoulder-length haircut and bangs (laughing). Although he was mine, it used to stand in the parents' room, on the shelf above the radio playing the third programme of Polish Radio, as the figurine was made of plaster and was not suitable for playing with. 12 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
In 2000, I graduated and was about to start a normal professional career, but it turned out that the team was growing and there was so much demand for shows, presentations, and other forms of popularising the history that I had to choose- either DGT becomes a small group and sometimes we do something together or I develop it and try to be a pro. It was a breakneck idea- but the world belongs to the brave and young! Everyone tapped their foreheadshow come? You have to earn your living! Get a normal job! However, these voices died quickly when it turned out that I got more work than I can do.
photos:
1. One hot day at the Ukranenland Slavic open-air museum in Trogelow, Germany. 2. As a Slavic priest during a performance produced and presented at the foot of the cathedral in Gniezno in the summer of 2016, to celebrate the 1050th anniversary of the baptism of Mieszko I. 3. For a change, reflection on the sense of the existence of a Germanic barbarian, in the Kamienne Kręgi archaeological reserve in Grzybnica, in the commune of Manowo. In his hand, a stylization of a skull from Oste 13 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
lovePoland: Igor, you actively organise and participate in historical re-enactments, write books, and you are involved in films. You also starred in An Ancient Tale directed by Jerzy Hoffman, took part in Hollywood films, and History Channel productions. You were the co-producer of the movie Viking Riders: The Raven and the Cross, filmed in Szczecin. You are also the originator, founder and voivode of Drużyna Grodu Trzygłowa (Triglav Strongold Warband). What do all these activities have in common? Could you tell us about the activities of the Warband? Why was it created and what is its purpose? What do you really do? It is probably not just a 'big boys' game, is it? Igor: Well, certainly not, as it is suitable for adult girls and our children as well! But seriously, I could not give it up after we organized, conducted or participated in about a thousand shows, festivals, history lessons, and all other forms for the audience. We were watched by several million live viewers. Besides, there is a relatively large presence in traditional media, newspapers, folders, guides, TV programs, and interviews about us or history. All this meant that we contributed a lot to the promotion of Slavic culture, military history and history as such. Today, the Warband has been operating for 23 years. After the first ten years of activity, we started to meet young people attending our shows who told us about others who got interested in history after one of our previous shows at their school or in the castle and decided to take up historical or archaeological university studies. Sometimes they talked about the fact that thanks to our shows and stories, they noticed the beauty of our culture and felt proud to be a Slav. This was a big change, since Slavic culture was considered unattractive and passé. Besides, the Warband is primarily a group of people celebrating a common passion, costumes, training, and craftsmanship. For men, warrior training is an obvious form of self-realization, although for many of us its role decreases with age. We are also aware that the weapons, replicas of which we use, carry a very deep symbolic content. This is what three of my books talk about: Swords of Europe, On warriors of the Slavs: Squads and Battles on Land and Sea, and On Weapons of Slavs: In War and in Culture. Those who do not fight and our ladies deal with various aspects of "civil" culture, such as crafts, singing, customs, herbalism, and cuisine. In fact, there is something interesting for everyone. As a team, of course, in various numbers, we go to festivals and shows all over Poland and many different countries, visiting places related to history. We spend time together at festivals, kids run and grow up. Just life, but colourful and full of meaning. 14 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
lovePoland: Let's move on to the main topic, Slavs, especially in Polish lands. Until recently, writing about the oldest Polish traditions was not common. It was probably only in the last two decades that books, organisations, and associations regarding this subject began to appear. Igor: Slavic culture used to come back and go away again from the field of interest of a wider audience. Of course, Romanticism brought an interest in this culture. The greatest creators of Polish culture referred to it, sometimes in regards to aesthetics, sometimes in regards to customs, and sometimes directly in regards to the spiritual values derived from it. In the Polish People's Republic, the subject of the Slavic culture was highly appreciated. This was for several reasons. Partly, it was a reaction to German racist ideas before and during World War II, and partly because of a sincere interest in the past and a search for roots. In part, for ideological reasons, as the Slavic thread could counterbalance Christianity, which, as we know, used to be programmatically rejected. Also, in connection with the Piast idea, it was supposed to strengthen the so-called "historical right" to the lands in the west and north, included into the territory of Poland in 1945. This purpose was realised through so-called "Millennium Research" or a long-term program of archaeological and historical research on the origins of the Polish State, preceding the celebration of the 1000th anniversary. After 1989, the pendulum rebounded and Slavicism was perceived as unleavened, primitive, uninteresting, or even dangerous. It was then that the Vikings came back in good graces and they were seen everywhere in the early medieval scene, every sword, axe, or an unusual grave meant a Viking. It reminds me of the sentence uttered by one of the dwarf-prisoners in the movie Kingsajz: “If you wear glasses, it means you’re a professor”. Unfortunately, some people are still convinced about that. But, at the end of the '90s, in the popular layer of the culture, an interest in the subject among young people began to rise: historical re-enactments, folk music inspired by Slavic folklore. Initially, these were small groups, but the niche swelled and expanded, and Slavic themes appeared in mass culture, music, games, and recently also in the film. lovePoland: Do we know much about the culture of the Slavs, their beliefs, and finally their wider influence on the shaping of contemporary Poland and Europe? Igor: We know a lot about their culture and beliefs, but of course it is never enough. It is a myth, however, that there is nothing left and nothing can be said about it. I was precisely motivated by such a sentence, which I have heard many times, so I started publishing and writing, bringing the findings of researchers closer to a wider circle of readers.
photos: 1. Assessing the strength of the enemy's army, leading his own troops, before the battle in Wolin. In the background, the characteristic gate tower of Slavs and Vikings' Centre. 2. A minor skirmish in Ukranenland. The lens doesn't lie about who was the first. 3. During the Jomsvikings Convention in March 2017. 15 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Let us take, for example, the matter of mythology or more broadly, beliefs. We know quite a lot about these elements in the Greeks or Scandinavians, but mainly thanks to the fact that they had their own mythographers. Greeks had their Homer and Hesiod, not to mention several playwrights who used mythological threads. In Scandinavia, the one who did a great job was Snorre Sturluson, writing his Edda. Thus, the mythographers preserved specific scenarios, stories, and sequences of events involving gods and other beings. With the Slavs, however, we do not have such scenarios, although we can reconstruct the most important ones, such as cosmogenesis, which is the myth about the beginning of the world. We mainly have information about statues, names, attributes, some pictures, like Veles on the golden throne. In addition to historical and archaeological sources, ethnographic ones like fairy tales or folk songs, are vital to us as they may store extremely archaic content. All this, however, makes it more difficult to present Slavic mythology in an attractive form of stories, and the books
photo: As a voivode from a series of photos for the "Piast Total War" exhibition.
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about it are full of scientific research, which makes them less attractive in the eyes of some recipients. For me, it is very interesting, it is often even a kind of an investigation that must be carried out to understand an element. Therefore, some time ago I concluded that while we have "movies" of the Scandinavian or Greek mythologies, there are only "photos" left in the case of Slavonic myths. The role of a researcher or populariser, in this case I play both roles, is to arrange these photos appropriately so that they create an interesting, beautiful album showing a whole. I wrote about it in my book for children, entitled Borek and Slavonic Gods, where using a boy figure, I presented the world of beliefs, gods, rituals and temples. All of it was in accordance with the professional literature on the subject. tried to create a similar canon of myths about the beginnings of Poland in Borek and the Legendary Beginnings of Poland.
The Italian author of historical books about the Slavic region, Aldo Marturano, treats the subject of his interests in a very appealing way. Let me quote the text from the back cover of his book, which we published in Polish in 2011. "Marturano sees something in Poland that tends to be forgotten by many- a part of the Slavic region, while the Slavic region he perceives as a very rich, extremely important, though once forgotten and today undiscovered part of the European heritage". It is interesting because it is seen from the perspective of an Italian, a man immersed in classical culture. Karol Modzelewski in his book Barbarian Europe writes that European culture was, of course, shaped by the heritage of classical Greek and Roman, Christian, and also Hellenistic culture, but also by the traditions of peoples who lived outside Limes, known as the Barbarians. The Slavic peoples, as well as the Germanic, Celtic, Finno-Ugric and other ones, left their mark on what we call European culture. As he wrote, "Europe also has extensive barbaric roots." Now let me go back to this list of sinusoidal ebbs and flows of interest in the Slavic culture among researchers. After a period of choking with Vikings, which, as I said, has not been over for everyone yet, a generation of middle-aged researchers (let's say 40-year-olds well versed in European archaeology) approached the subject of Slavic culture without complexes. In place of the thesis and antithesis, synthesis is slowly being forged, that is, a reasonable representation of the role of the Slavs in the early Middle Ages. Thanks to the development of field and office research, only for a few years we have been able to, in principle, unquestionably distinguish the completely Slavic style of beautiful elite objects. These are the bearded axes, beautifully decorated with copper alloys and silver, typical of the north-western Slavs. These are also ceremonial spurs or knife sheath fittings decorated with animal figurines, carrying an extensive symbolic program, reflecting the Slavic vision of the construction of the world and eschatological elements. Researchers from different countries are also delighted and surprised, as it is also a great novelty for them- something completely different from the artifacts found in Scandinavia or Western Europe. lovePoland: Is being a Slav only a cultural and national affiliation, or maybe something more? Igor: The ethnonym of the Slavs itself explains what works as a bonding agent here. It is language as the name of our people, Slavs, comes from the word słowo (which means word). So a Slav is someone who speaks using words, someone who might be understood. This may be related to the phenomenon of Slavic ethnogenesis, which is more complicated than it seems at the first glance.
The Slavs took over a third of the territory of Europe very quickly, and most probably they did it through their culture. There was something attractive about this culture, which made it acceptable by the peoples encountered to the extent they took over Slavonic habits. This is how the Avars, who had previously been an important military factor in the region for a long time, cooperating or dominating the Slavs, disappeared. Eventually they vanished. This was similar to the Proto-Bulgarians, nomads, after whom only the name of a south Slavic-language country remained. As for the question about being a Slav, on the one hand, thinking in the Slavic language is a necessary and sufficient condition, but on the other hand, it is only a gate to the Slavic spiritual world. This is probably a topic for a book as there is something elusive about it, something difficult to define. The entire perception of the world, man and culture results from it. Our love of freedom, perhaps a bit of a specific sensitivity. After listening to many songs of Slavonic folklore, people are deeply moved because they touch something vulnerable. lovePoland: What influence did the Slavic tribes have on what we define today as the nation, shaping the Polish state? The question about the influence of the Slavs on shaping Poland is somewhat surprising, because Poland in the 10th century was a country created by the Slavs, of course with the participation of ideas taken from the outside. I must admit that I am also fascinated by your private story- your family. You have a wife and three children and they are all involved in the “Slavonic way of life”, even the choice of their names does not seem accidental, for example, Czcibor. How does such an offbeat Slavonic family function? A family, based on "warrior leadership", in times when male elements are slowly disappearing and the so-called "life roles" become blurred. Igor: Well, the oldest is Czcibor (Borek) and he is almost 16 years old, the youngest is Racibor (Racik) is he is almost 5 years old, and in the middle (here is a surprise) is Oskar and he is almost 12 years old. We are such a typical-offbeat family. We have a Slavonic statue in the garden where we go on festive occasions, eating together and lighting a bonfire. During a normal day, we probably function like many other families- work, kindergarten, school, lunch, extracurricular activities, visits to grandparents, and holidays. Our ordinary morning was quite faithfully portrayed in the first pages of the book Borek and the Legendary Beginnings of Poland. The difference may be that our family trips are related to open-air museums or other historical places. Apart from riding a bicycle, this dad trains his sons in sword fighting, and the eldest son, despite his young age has already become a great warrior. 17 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Their parents, when they go to work, put on the costumes of princes from the 10th century, or the end of the 15th century, or uniforms from 1945. Moreover, our children regularly see our photos or media appearances, or they take part in the recording of programmes or music videos with us. The house is constantly full of people. Everyday they meet, prepare something, or sing old songs. It was for Borek, when he was still the only child, that I once wrote a story about his adventures in the world of gods. When Oskar appeared, he also wanted to appear in the book. He imagined that as there is a book, Borek and the Gods of the Slavs, the second part would be called Borek and Oscar and the Gods of the Slavs". We had to wait for Racik to come to us and then I wrote the second part about the legends of the beginnings of Poland. All three brothers appeared in it and our cat appeared there as well. Besides, I introduced their own words in it- various funny twisted words usually created by small children that I used to note down over the
years and then let their book heroes use. I think that someday when they grow up, it will be an important keepsake for them. This is how our sons are connected to the Slavic region, not only communing with its culture daily, not only spending holidays at Slavic or Viking festivals in different countries, but also becoming characters from books that tell their peers about this fascinating world. On the one hand, it is fun for them, on the other hand, it is normal to be on the covers of quite popular books. It is not that there is a warrior leadership in our family, we usually decide together- in some cases my opinion is more important, in others Kasia's opinion matters the most. In our community of reenactors, we also have the function of a couple of voivodes (a man and a woman), each of them managing some elements of the squad. In both of these spheres, private and social, the warrior-voivode compliments himself with a wonderful woman who realises her humanity and femininity on many levels.
photo: Illustrating the arrival of the Slavs to Polabia (East Germany) in the 6th-7th centuries, during the filming of the docudrama "Die Slawen - Unsere geheimnisvollen Vorfahren", 2017.
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The roles of the wife and mother are of course extremely important, but no less than that of a romantic lover or an artist who brings her projects to life. Whenever these are book illustrations, series of linocuts, or "motanki" (traditional, magic Slavonic dolls). She is able to combine modernity with tradition in an interesting way because by being interested in classical art as well as abstract, and especially conceptual one, she can use her tool to work on traditionally Slavonic themes. Illustrating our lives differently, I train in sword fighting and boxing, and Kasia trains yoga or the so-called Slavonic gymnastics. This is probably a good illustration of who we are together and each one individually. Kasia runs the household and says she regrets that she does not have so much time to be able to give it entirely to the children because she remembers how lucky she was to have her mother for herself when she was at home and took care of children. Besides, Kasia has a head full of ideas, pushing themselves to be implemented, but everything cannot be done at once. I know that today there is even a compulsion for self-realisation in the first place, but it is quite an immature attitude if you have kids. We remain ourselves, we create something, but we must also sacrifice something to be together and to create a wonderful home in which not only ourselves, but also our children would feel safe and develop. But, this is exactly what we want! Our choice is to be together and create something together, our world. I can assure you that nothing came easy and each of us was somehow disadvantaged. We want it to be good and we fight for it. People often forget about it, and then melt over internet memes with slogans that at the end of life it turns out that only family, loved ones, and time are important. So if you feel touched with such a picture, then apply it! You can have both, a happy marriage, a happy family and selffulfilment. But it costs a lot, a lot of work. We are also lucky that, apart from numerous trips, we work at home, partly on our own tasks, partly together, for example on a paper to be published or preparing shows. For example, I am writing a book or dealing with formal or technical matters, while Kasia is working on illustrations or promoting our books. We spend almost all the time together and yet we are not bored. When, for example, during my writing work, I leave my office and Kasia is between her activities, we catch each other for a moment and talk about something – not only about domestic matters (I do not even mention it) but about culture, music, art, people, or society. We are a married couple who can argue about the meaning of a picture or performance, haha, seriously! lovePoland: If someone visiting Poland is interested in the topic - where should he direct his steps?
To the most famous places like Biskupin or Wolin, or perhaps to another one? I don't think I know any more. Igor: Of course, Wolin, to be precise, the Wolin-JomsborgWineta Center of Slavs and Vikings. If someone likes mass events, of course, then at the beginning of August we have the world's largest early medieval festival, about which you wrote in your magazine a few issues ago. Before the festival, there are workshops, which means incomparably fewer people, also fewer performers, but much greater access to them, and there is live craftsmanship. Besides, the museum is open from April until October. Biskupin is, of course, an icon of Polish archaeology. The most famous are the long houses, the embankment and the gate of the reconstructed settlement from the Bronze Age, but probably not everyone remembers that there was also an early medieval settlement found in Biskupin and a few years ago. It was also reconstructed exactly on the site of the original one, preserving the original urban layout in its entirety. Where there was a house, there is a house now, in the places of workshops, there are workshops, and where there was once a hearth, there is a hearth now. On top of all this, there is also the reconstruction of Neolithic houses, from the Younger Stone Age. In individual segments, there are reenactors, reconstructing old activities- even the fields are ploughed with oxen. The archaeological festival takes place in September and lasts 9 days with a rich educational program. If someone is in southern Poland, there is a socalled "Karpacka Troja", a beautifully situated archaeological open-air museum in Trzcinica. These are probably the most important reconstructions, not to mention all the museums, as well as historical festivals, staging battles across Poland and regarding all historical periods, ranging from the Stone Age events, through antiquity, the long Middle Ages, Sarmatian Poland, until world wars, and beyond. You just need to look them up in a calendar to check where the seventeenth-century Swedes are besieging a castle and where the fifteenth-century Poles and Lithuanians are going to slaughter the Teutonic Knights. Cedynia, Grunwald, Malbork, in winter Pomerania from 1945- you may take your pick. lovePoland: Your books are published mainly in Polish, but I know that some of them are also available in English. Which ones? Are you planning to translate other of your titles? Igor: Yes, some of my books and others from Triglav Publishing House are available in English- for example the entire series Viking and Slavic Ornamental Design, Vol. 1, 2, and 3, and Vendel and Dark Age Ornamental Design. I have already talked about Borek and the Slavonic Gods.
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All of these are available on the Triglav Publishing House website if someone in Europe would like to buy them, in the United States on the Winged Hussar Publishing website, and large mail-order bookstores. On our website and in numerous online bookstores in different countries (England, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France) you can also buy these books and Viking Dress Code: Textile and Leather Clothing in Scandinavia by Kamil Rabiega, or Viking and Slavic Cuisine by Małgorzata KrasnaKorycińska. At the moment, work is underway on the translation of the album Meet the Slavs, which should be released this year in the USA and should be available in various bookstores. In the relatively near future, I would like to have an English-language edition of About Warriors of the Slavs: Squads and Battles on Land and Sea. Perhaps also something more serious about the beliefs of the Slavs.
Igor Górewicz, Szczecin, February 2021 Selected from the books by Igor.
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photo: Announcing one of Jomsborg victories in the battle of Wolin.
photo:: Kasia, in the attire of the highest social classes, presents the characteristic jewellery of Slavic women.
photo: Patryk Kosmider , Getty Images
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photos: 1. Among Jomsborg warriors after the victorious battle. 2. The characteristic cuts on the teeth may mean belonging to one of the Viking warriors groups. Igor is also a Jomsviking. Viking Ship Museum, Oslo 2016. 3. As a Piast squad warrior during the filming of "The Legend of the Piast Mother of Kings", 2019. 22 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
photo:
For a while, the family has been complete. Here, the first historic trip of 3-month-old Racibor, Oslo 2016.
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photos:
1. Top: Czcibor as young "Niemir" from the "Piast Total War" exhibition. 2. With Racibor in Neustadt-Glewe (Germany), June 2018. 3. Bottom left: In the role of a prince.
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photos:
1. Top: Oscar as the youngest incarnation of "Niemir" from the "Piast Total War" exhibition. 2. As Mieszko I, leading the armoured squad during the Great Independence Parade on August 15, 2018 in Warsaw, organized on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of regaining independence by Poland. In addition to military units, groups of reenactors paraded there, presenting the traditions of the Polish Arms of various eras. "Pancerni Triglava" project was the first group attempt to recreate the appearance of the cavalry from the First Piasts' period. 3. Bottom left: In casual clothes at one of the festivals.
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Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński Manoeuvres of Pancerni Triglava in the "PaTaTaj" stable in Kanie, near Warsaw, preparing us for the Independence Parade, June 2018.
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński During the filming for the Jomsvikings promotional video, 2017.
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński With Radosław Hubert and Grzegorz "Ulv" Kaczmarski, realizing the film combat scenes, Ukranenland 2017.
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński With this sword signal, Igor sends Jomsborg Army to attack and begins the Battle of Wolin.
Some of 500 Jomsborg Vikings from all over the world who came to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Founded by four people in 1988 in London, Jomsborg today has over 1,000 Vikings on several continents. The celebration took place at the Slavic Wallmuseum Starigard in Oldenburg in Holstein (Germany), April 2018.
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński
Slaves, Triglav Strongold Warband IGOR GÓREWICZ photos Marek Kalisiński Drużyna Grodu Trzygłowa in (almost) all its glory, during the celebration of the 20th anniversary, Szczecin, September 1,2018.
LUBACZÓW COUNTY AND EASTERN ROZTOCZE GREEN FIELDS AND HISTORY WORDS & PHOTOS Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures www.facebook.com/RoztoczeHD/ Preparing for a conversation with Krystian about the Eastern Roztocze and the Lubaczów region, I concluded that this area of Poland can be described in three main words: the beauty of nature, active tourism and historical monuments. Probably, like any classification or comparison, it will have its weaknesses, but if look for generalisations, this will probably be one of the most correct...
TLP: Krystian, why have you become interested in photographing and filming this region of Poland? Perhaps because of family ties, your origin, but I do not suspect it to be the only reason? KK: My family is not related to the region. My father comes from Słupsk, my mother is from the neighbourhood of Leżajsk and I am the fruit of their removal to HoryniecZdrój. As a result, I did not have the opportunity to listen to stories about the history of the region at home, I got to know it literally like a tourist who came here, only for a little longer stay. My main interest has always been associated with mountains, I love trekking, but with my camera, I decided to walk around my local sites.
Fruit trees in the middle of the field, typical of Roztocze. Photo: Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures
To break out of the pattern that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Living in such a picturesque land, I just don't have to travel far to have an interesting location for my photographic work. Moreover, there is also the history of the region. Complicated, inconvenient but very interesting. With my films and photos, I present the beauty of the Eastern Roztocze not only to curious people from all over Poland but even to residents, as many places here are hardly visited due to the difficult access. I treat the surrounding area as my home, literally, such a big one. I feel good there and I do not want to leave it.
TLP: In the Magazine, we not only present photos, but also show newcomers around sites, tell them about the history and discover interesting places. The Eastern Roztocze, its Subcarpathian part, is probably not the most frequently visited by tourists? Lubaczów region does not appear in various publications as often as famous, although very small, Zwierzyniec. Generally speaking - is it justified in your opinion? What interesting has eastern Roztocze to offer? KK: In my opinion, the low popularity of the Eastern Roztocze comes from the post-war turmoil. These areas have become historically uncomfortable and thus forgotten. Besides, there were administrative borders that separated east Roztocze from its western part, so we have become here a small, almost uninhabited island on the map of Roztocze. Everything is changing, however, and the initiatives to "unite" the whole of Roztocze make us more noticeable. However, you can still see the border between the provinces - literally, it is enough to go to Susiec and then to Narol -the same area, but two different worlds. Do we lose our attractiveness because of this? Not at all! We are the undiscovered gem of the whole Roztocze. We are not yet a typical commercial area like above-mentioned Zwierzyniec, Susiec or Krasnobród. I can boldly say that we are an exclusive product, for connoisseurs. Different parts of Roztocze are neither equal nor the same. What do we have that they don't have in Western or Central Roztocze? We have magic, literally, hidden from the tourists. We are more demanding for visitors. There is nothing handed on a platter. You have to discover many attractions by yourself in the forests. The routes are not trampled, they are even empty. If someone is tired of the Bieszczady Mountains or the Western Roztocze and the crowds of people, he or she can come to us. You have to feel and understand this area, learn about its history. In the forests, we have remains of villages, beautiful cemeteries, churches, wooden architecture, roadside witnesses of history carved in Bruśno stone, palaces. All this is surrounded by pristine nature. TLP: I would like you to take us to some of the places shown in your photos. At the beginning, let's go outdoors. What is characteristic of the landscape of this area? These are not mountains, hills or vast lakes. Can a landscape without these values still seem appealing? On one of the websites devoted to Roztocze, I saw a slogan - "catch a second breath" or maybe "space and vast fields allow for a respite from the daily rush"... What kind of active attractions does the East Roztocze offer to tourists?
The combination of fields, meadows, hills, ravines, swamps, rivers and forests creates a very interesting landscape. It is the sunniest area in the whole Poland. The summer days wake up in beautiful mists in the valleys, the colourful sunsets delight and the night sky is very starry. When photographing, I try to take advantage of these qualities, and I especially like the sunrises. After all, we are in the Eastern Roztocze and I feel obliged by the name itself. Thanks to the rather low tourist traffic, we still have the opportunity to commune with pristine nature. The rivers are dominated by beavers, wild boars sleep in the swamps during the day, in the forests you can meet deer, elk, lynx and even a wolf. The sky is dominated by predators, with the white-tailed eagle at the forefront. The idyllic countryside of the villages makes time pass really slower here. The quintessence of the "catch a second breath" slogan will surely be a summer sunrise on Dahany - a mid-forest clearing, the site of a prewar village. Virtually, every morning you can see it flooded with fog on which the sun draws the shadows of trees. This view itself forces you to take a deep breath. And this is not the only place that impresses in this way. A visit to the cemetery in Stare Bruśno or Stara Huta is an equally mystical experience. The best way to explore these areas is by using a bicycle - we have a lot of trails or forest roads that are perfect for cycling trips.
Dome - Werchrata pearl of Roztocze - dome of the church, former Orthodox church of St. George from 1910. Photo: Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures 39 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
TLP: Now, the places. Some of your photos that we are showing in the Magazine present the monuments of the Eastern Roztocze. One of them is the Count Łosia's Palace in Narol. I admit that I don't know much about this place. What's its story, is it worth visiting? KK: The Palace in Narol is the most beautiful palace in the whole Roztocze. Some consider it an undiscovered architectural gem of Poland. It was built in the mid-18th century on the initiative of Antoni Feliks, on the plan of a horseshoe - the Łosias' coat of arms. The building is situated on a hill. It consists of a main rectangular building connected by semi-circular facades with two smaller side pavilions. Antoni was an art lover and he managed to gather a large collection. There was also a drama and music school educating artistically gifted youth. Unfortunately, the palace had also some tragic episodes – it was burned down, plundered and its life ended for many years by the Soviets. It has been trying to recover from the ruins since the war, and it has been doing very well in recent years. Currently, you can enter its site, but the works are still ongoing. In the past, there was a beautiful garden behind the palace - now, only some monumental old trees remained there. The road to Podlesina, planted with chestnuts so willingly photographed during flowering and autumn, is an extension of the palace axis. Despite the lack of interior decoration, the palace attracts tourists from all over Poland as it is one of the most famous attractions of the Eastern Roztocze. TLP: Sacred buildings seem to be an indispensable part of the Roztocze landscape. Although we do not show many of them, on this occasion, they are definitely worth mentioning. One of these objects is the dome of St. Joseph the Worker Church (formerly the Orthodox Church of St. George) from 1910, another an Orthodox Church in Radruż entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Do you think sacred buildings constitute an important cultural element of this region? Are they an important tourist attraction? KK: Orthodox and Catholic churches dominate the landscape of Roztocze and their domes, visible from a distance, are an interesting landscape element, worth photographing. The above-mentioned dome of the church located in Werchrata emerging from the fields blooming with rapeseed - is an unusual frame - a unique view, influencing the definition of Werchrata as the pearl of Roztocze. The main attraction of the region is certainly the Orthodox church complex in Radruż with the Orthodox church of St. Paraskeva. This Orthodox church is considered to be the oldest wooden temple of the Eastern rite in Poland. It is surrounded by a wall that used to be defensive and there is a high bell tower next to the church. The Subcarpathian Wooden Architecture Trail with its Lubaczów - Roztocze section might be an interesting journey into the past. A visit to a dark Orthodox church, smelling of old wood, with 40 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
beautiful iconostases and unusual acoustics is an extraordinary experience. For me, churches are an element that in some way, apart from stonework and roadside crosses, defines the Eastern Roztocze and its specific atmosphere. TLP: Staying with the sacred and at the same time historical themes - such presence of various types of sacred objects may prove the affection of the inhabitants of this land to tradition, and at the same time it is a kind of historical monument. Nowadays, there are not as many dissenters in this area as there used to be before the second world war. There are almost no Jews anymore, not many Orthodox. KK: Before the war, the area of Eastern Roztocze was a mix of numerous cultures. Poles, Ukrainians, Jews and even German settlers lived here in harmony - each of the nations with their own separate culture and, above all, religion. Hence, there are lots of both Catholic and Orthodox churches as well as synagogues from which those in Cieszanów, Wielkie Oczy and Stary Dzików remained. This mix can now be touched by visiting old cemeteries such as those in Stare Bruśno or Stara Huta, where tombstones written in Cyrillic and Polish are mixed together. In Lubaczów, there is the only still existing Jewish cemetery with beautiful matzevahs. What all these religions had in common, is the stone from the quarry under Mount Bruśno, from which it was mined. Self-taught artists who wrote the history of the region in their products lived in Stare Bruśno the largest stone centre in Roztocze. They delight not only in cemeteries as stone crosses fit into the landscape at the roadsides and in forests. TLP: What's the story of the Eastern Roztocze? It is probably not an 'easy' story, devoid of often dramatic events? KK: The history is downright dramatic and certainly influenced by the fact that the region, from the tourist perspective, is being discovered only now. During the war, the occupiers brutally dealt with the large Jewish population living in these areas. There used to be ghettos, deportations to extermination camps. Already during the war, the Polish-Ukrainian conflict intensified. The neighbours became enemies, families turned on each other. The times were tragic when UON-UPA bands used to prowl the area. The buildings of most towns and villages were burnt. Villages and their inhabitants literally perished. The solution was the Operation Vistula and resettlement. After them, dozens of villages and hamlets disappeared from the map and landscape, numerous Orthodox churches got deserted and fell into ruin, and this history became a taboo subject. However, many years have passed since those dramatic events and now the generation that I represent treats those times as a sad episode that cannot be forgotten but which also cannot block our development.
A roadside shrine in Wola Wielka. Photo: Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures 41 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
History and culture created the landscape we have today. Picturesque, mysterious, maybe sad, but attracting like a magnet. It is a bit sentimental here, but at least we still have our own unique atmosphere, real, tangible, undamaged by commerce, stalls and trash that we meet in the largest tourist centres in Poland. TLP: I know that you and some of your friends have recently released an album about Roztocze. I hope that the readers will like it and at the same time it will be a kind of inspiration for visiting the area. As a socialite of the Eastern Roztocze - where would you recommend tourists to go? Is it a part of Poland with a well-developed tourist base? What are your favourite places? KK: Our album is a story about these areas. In my, Tomek Mielnik and Tomek Michalski's photos, we can find the essence of the Eastern Roztocze, through beautiful landscape elements to history, architecture and culture. It is the work of many years of photographic expeditions, a one-of-a-kind and fully complete study of the topic. It will surely become a bible and guide for those wishing to visit these areas, not only for photography enthusiasts.
Landscape of Roztocze. Photo: Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures 42 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Among the places worth seeing, one should mention Horyniec Zdrój, the best-developed tourist destination with numerous accommodation places, a beautiful Spa Park and many attractions in the area, such as the Orthodox church in Radruż or the picturesque chapel on the water in Nowiny Horynieckie. One cannot forget about the cemetery in Stare Bruśno. The next point on the route is Narol, the palace located there, bunkers of the Molotov line hidden in the forests, and the extraordinary Bukowy Las (Beech Forest) nature reserve. Cieszanów is an example of multiculturalism, there is a Catholic church, an Orthodox church and a synagogue in sight, the CieszFanów Rock Festival takes place here, and in the small village of Gorajec - the Borderland Culture Festival Folkowisko. Lubaczów is a royal city with a co-cathedral, an Orthodox church and, above all, a great Museum of Borderlands. To taste the local cuisine, it is worth visiting Dębowy Dwór and Cztery Stawy in Ruda Różaniecka, Kresowa Osada in Basznia Dolna or Cafe Sanacja in Horyniec-Zdrój. The last place that needs to be mentioned and which is the quintessence of these areas is Dahany, a mid-forest clearing between Werchrata and Wola Wielka which I mentioned earlier. I cordially invite you to my home - the Eastern Roztocze.
Count Łoś palace in Narol. Photo: Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures 43 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Eastern Roztocze
Top photo: A white stork in the first rays of the rising sun. Middle left: St. Nepomuk Shrine in Nowiny Horynieckie. Middle right: A roadside cross in Werchrat. Bottom left: Devil's stone (Diabelski Kamień) near Manasterz - the largest "outlander' in the Eastern Roztocze. Bottom middle: Storks and the brightest super full moon of 2020. Bottom right: A lonely tree in the fields near Werchrata - in the background "Wielki Dział", one of the highest hill of the Eastern Roztocze
China Moses fot. Sylvain Norget
Top photo: The church in Radruż, entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Middle left: Werechata shrouded in fog after sunset. Middle right: A misty sunset in the forests of Roztocze - Dahany and Wielki Dział in the distance Bottom left: Picturesque rape fields in Huta Złomy Bottom middle: The fox met at sunrise at the ponds in New Siola Bottom right: ndulating fields near Łówcza
The quintessence of Eastern Roztocze - picturesque rape fields in Huta Złomy
Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures www.facebook.com/RoztoczeHD
Chestnut avenue in Narol
Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures www.facebook.com/RoztoczeHD
Krystian Kłysewicz | Imagine Pictures www.facebook.com/RoztoczeHD
You can feel the faith of the people who built these churches here, these people carried bricks on their backs to the church tower, they laboriously rebuilt them after the war, they defended them in communism against destruction and they look after them to this day, although in human terms they do not get anything in return.
Marcin Gądek on photo: originally Orthodox church St. Michael the Archangel in Dubno, currently used as a filian church parish in Leluchów
CHURCHES FROM HEAVEN THE PEARL OF THE POLISH ARCHITECTURE WORDS & PHOTOS MARCIN GĄDEK
www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba "Churches are the manifestation of the faith and piety of our ancestors, as well as their sense of beauty and harmony. Their soaring towers point to heaven" I found the photographs of priest Marcin Gądek, posted on the "Churches of Heaven" profile, nearly a year ago. At the beginning, I did not pay attention to their author, but I was simply interested in beautiful shots of churches or, more broadly, Polish religious architecture in his lens. Only much later did I notice their author as well; finding out that he is a priest in the parish of Our Lady of the Scapular in Szerzyny, located on the border of the picturesque Pogórze Ciężkowickie and Beskid Niski.
lovePoland: Marcin, I wanted to ask about the origin of your passion for photography. It is quite unusual for a priest, but while writing this text I realised that there is no contradiction. Your "motto" already expresses a certain inner logic between what you do every day as a priest and your photographic passion. Photography, like other types of art, is traditionally associated with faith, responding to the need for communing with beauty, and for many, with the Absolute. Do you see your adventure with photography partly in this way? Marcin Gądek: For me, photography is an attempt to look at the world in a better light, because everyday life is not always like that. It can be even overwhelming, especially now, in a pandemic.
We live in a kind of shadow and such a life without noticing the beauty can become unbearable. We need to move away from it, experience the beauty of the landscape, see the world in a different light. For me, it is fascinating that to experience this beauty you do not have to go to tourist paradises. It is enough to go to the neighbouring hill to see the church emerging from the mists at sunrise. This search for beauty in photography is also a search for God. Because it was God who created it, He composed it in such a harmonious way. Beauty is not chaos, anarchy. Beauty is a harmonious composition that expresses the Creator of this beauty. When we photograph, we try to show the world in a beautiful light, arrange the composition so that it is interesting, and that it enchants and carries the human spirit upwards, towards God.
on photo: War cemetery No. 34 in Ołpiny. This war cemetery contains 577 war graves from the First World War: 366 Russian, 127 AustroHungarian and 84 German.
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lovePoland: A bit more as an introduction. I've heard that your photographic passion started quite unusually, didn't it? What were its beginnings? How do you share your time between pastoral service and the necessity of, sometimes quite tedious, preparations for photo sessions in the field, and then the work on the picture itself? When visiting a given place, do you try to learn its history, do you talk to people who look after the photographed object? Marcin: My passion for photography began with macro photography, which also requires a lot of patience. Soon after that I became fascinated with the mountain landscape. It was also a form of rehabilitation and health recovery after 3 knee surgeries (it turns out that stillness is the worst thing for health). A few orthopaedists advised against it. They told me to find myself another passion, but I was stubborn. This stubbornness, I can say now, as well as the fact that I have met some great doctors and physiotherapists, saved my health as mountains are a great way to maintain my physical condition. Later, I became interested in flying and sacred architecture. I am lucky to live in a region that is very interesting in terms of geography and culture, so you don't have to travel far (I have my favourite cross or chapel in each of the neighbouring towns). In summer, sunrise is very early and sunset is late. You can take a short trip before the Holy Mass, and when there are beautiful clouds, then also during the day. In winter, the sun sets in the afternoon and in the evening you can photograph beautifully lit churches. A little later, the Milky Way. Each season and time of the day has its charms and possibilities- God does not let us get bored, creating such an interesting and beautiful world. Each trip is an extraordinary adventure and a person is young as long as he is attracted to adventure (a new peak, a different season, a different light, a sacred object, fog, people encountered, sometimes disappointment because the light did not flash). It teaches patience and accepting everything as a gift because you often come back without photos, but it also allows you to experience something beautiful and unique. I always try to prepare for the outdoor pictures, I look for information in various lexicons and guides, and I check from which side I will have the sun. It is always worth talking to the parish priest or other people who look after the church. You can feel the faith of the people who built these churches here. These people carried bricks on their backs to the church tower, they laboriously rebuilt them after the war, they defended them in communism against destruction, and they look after them to this day (although in human terms they do not get anything in return). But, they have much more than that as God blesses them. You can see that churches unite small communities and extract a lot of nobility from them. lovePoland: You come from Lesser Poland. You have probably spent most of your life here, haven't you? The region is one of 54 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
the richest in terms of landscape values, and probably one of the most abundant in monuments of sacred architecture. Many of them were entered on the UNESCO list. Does communing with these types of "objects" (you photograph not only churches but also roadside crosses or chapels, quite common in this area) have a deeper, sometimes hidden meaning? Marcin: Lesser Poland is a very beautiful and diverse land. Lots of people who come here focus on the Tatra Mountains and Krakow. It turns out that most of the UNESCO sites are small wooden churches or Orthodox churches built by simple people, with a great sense of proportion and deep sacred symbolism. The purpose of the church is to point to heaven. That is why, especially in Gothic, we have the soaring towers. The spatial orientation of the church has an eschatological meaning- the person who stands inside, turns to the east, from where Christ is to come as the rising sun. That is why the church is a sign of hope and resurrection. The paintings constituting the pauperum Bible, for example, in the church in Binarowa, speak strongly. Nothing is accidental in Orthodox churches either. The number of domes, the division of the object, the structure of the iconostasis, all of this has a theological meaning that was very significant to the faithful in the past, and unfortunately is less and less understandable to contemporaries. Recently, I have been photographing a lot from a bird's eye view, using a drone, as it also allows me to see the surroundings of a church or orthodox church. They are often very charmingly situated, a bit off the beaten track, on the hills. By going higher you can show more planes, and it is very interesting. You can see how human works fit in with God's creation. Crosses and chapels are such special places for me. It can be said they result from the faith of people. They were built because the children recovered or someone came back, safe and sound, from the First World War. It is beautiful that there are always fresh flowers, someone mows the grass, May services are sung, and then people often gather there to have some snacks together. All this for the glory of God, the glory of Saint Mary, and all saints. Beskid Niski and Pogórze Ciężkowickie may not be crowded with tourists, but from Liwocz, Grzywacka Mountain, Rotunda, through the Range of Brzanka to Tuchów, there are many charming places. lovePoland: The next question, somewhat related to the previous one: the part of Lesser Poland that you show in your photos is probably not the most famous or frequently visited region of Poland, especially by foreign tourists. Being recently in this area, I heard that "you don't care about some big tourist visits". First of all, do you think that this part of Poland has a lot to offer to visitors? What kind of attractions or experiences are these? Do you think that the opinion I quoted above is common? If so, where does it come from?
"When visiting Beskid Niski, or Pogórze Cieżkowickie, you look for more peace and quiet. Many beautiful untrampled trails, the Lemko cultural heritage, the art of wooden architecture and stonework, abandoned churches, cemeteries, crosses among hills and forests."
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photos: this photo: Collegiate Church Corpus Christi in Biecz Bottom left: Church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rzepiennik Biskupi. Bottom centre: Chapel of Christ's Cross and Our Lady, Queen of Peace on Mount Liwocz Bottom right: Church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rzepiennik Biskupi.
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Marcin: People live very simply here. There is no such commercialism as in other regions, nor mass tourism. I think these are not places for someone who wants to come and party for a few days, forgetting about everything. Many, also foreign tourists, come to visit the Wooden Architecture Trail and I have experienced a lot of openness and kindness of church caretakers. When visiting Beskid Niski, or Pogórze Cieżkowickie, you look for more peace and quiet. Many beautiful untrampled trails, the Lemko cultural heritage, the art of wooden architecture and stonework, abandoned churches, cemeteries, crosses among hills, and forests. A simple stone cross or a chapel with an unusual history, situated by a picturesque road, when the sun is rising on the horizon and fog is rolling, and there is silence all around, you almost feel God's presence in these places created by the faith of the ancestors. It is also an extraordinary experience to get to know the war cemeteries of World War I. After the bloody Battle of Gorlice, the emperor promised every soldier a worthy burial. That's why they are located in the most beautiful places, on the hills above the villages. They were built by the best architects, including Dusan Jurkovic, who used elements of local culture. In these cemeteries, everyone, no matter whether a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian or Russian armies, were buried with equal respect. This respect, even for the enemy, is very meaningful. Death unites and reconciles the opponents. It is worth visiting Rotunda, Wzgórze Pustki, Staszkówka, Lichwin, Ołpiny, Grab, Beskidek, and Sękowa- those are only some of the beautifully situated war cemeteries. lovePoland: If these are your "homelands", where would you invite tourists who want to get to know this somewhat sleepy part of our country? In a short conversation, before this text was written, you mentioned Biecz (I hope we will come back to this topic again), where else? Marcin: If you want to experience the atmosphere of a Galician town, you must visit Biecz. It is probably the most photogenic town I know, situated on a hill above the Ropa River, with preserved medieval towers and walls, a beautiful collegiate church, market square, and executioner's tower. The history of the city is also fascinating, especially in its heyday, with the great merits of Bishop Marcin Kromer. Nearby, in the vicinity of my parish of Szerzyny, I recommend four beautiful wooden churches: St. Martin's in Czermna, St. Anna's in Święcany, St. Michael the Archangel's in Binarowa, and St.John the Baptist's in Rzepiennik Biskupi. Not far away, on the top of Liwocz, there is a chapel of Our Lady Queen of Peace with a viewing platform. There are also many historic chapels and crosses in the area, many of which are posted on my Facebook page Kościoły z nieba (Churches from Heaven). lovePoland: Coming back to your photos – what are they for you? Browsing through them on your profile, I noticed that they often
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have an additional comment, sometimes a fragment from the Holy Bible. It is definitely not accidental – what is crucial about them? You talk about light a lot and I don't think you mean just the right sunlight, do you? Marcin: It's like in life- we can show someone in an ugly light and a bad perspective and then it is better not to show at all. But we can also show it in a beautiful light. As a priest, I try not only to show the world in nice light in the photographs, but also to lead to this Light that gives meaning to everything that surrounds us. This is also the meaning of sacred architecture, to lead to God. That’s why I describe my photos, writing about what I experienced while taking them, using the Holy Bible or holy texts. lovePoland: I also know that you are quite actively involved in the promotion of the region. You participated in photo exhibitions and you have organised a photo competition for young people. In which direction do you want to develop your photographic passion? Marcin: I also teach at school and I can see how important it is for children and teenagers to have some hobbies and passions, especially now when people isolate themselves from one another. Photographing both the beauty of nature and sacred art helps to develop both physically (because you have to go to the top of a mountain, for example), mentally (self-esteem, gaining skills, and knowledge), and spiritually through communing with the sacred prayers. Hence, the photo contests. I am also happy to share my knowledge about the technique or places I visit. I would like to do it as a passion that gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction, opens me up to the people I meet, and at the same time attracts young people to do something that may not give them any material benefit at once, but will strengthen them physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Marcin Gadek
photo: Church of Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Domosławice
photo: church of st. Marcin Biskupa and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation in Czermna
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Orthodox church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Klimkówka.
photo: Orthodox church of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Klimkówka, currently a branch church of the parish in Łosie. The church was erected in 1810 and reconstructed in 1876 or 1928 when, for example, the navewas widened and two vestries at the presbytery were added and so it became a structureresembling one on a Greek-cross plan. It is a northwestern Lemko church featuring shingled walls while the roof is irregular, with a ridge, covered with sheet metal and topped with small sheet-metal bulbs. The interior is covered with flat ceilings. The walls inside feature polychrome decoration of 1935. The most precious item inside is a neo-baroque iconostasis from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries and baroque side altarpieces.
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Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba additional source of information: www.drewniana.malopolska.pl
Church of Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Gładyszów.
Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba additional source of information: www.drewniana.malopolska.pl
photo: Church of Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Gładyszów. The Orthodox Parish Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist was erected in 1857 as a Greek Catholic Chapel. In 1914 it was extended when it took on the function of the parish church, after the other church burnt down. The walls of the oldest part are log, covered with shingles, while the antechamber was built using post-frame construction. The interior of the church is divided by the wall of the iconostasis into a nave and a chancel, closed on three sides. In the chancel there is folk polychrome with a large depiction of the Holy Trinity. The iconostasis belonging to the church dates from the C20th.
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St. Anna and Michael the Archangel in Żegiestów
Church of St. Anna and Michael the Archangel in Żegiestów - built in the years 1917-1925 on the plan of the Greek cross, in the tradition of church construction. The building is made of stone and brick, onenave with two sacristy annexes. The roof is multi-hipped, covered with sheet metal, topped with three octagonal extension towers with bulbous domes. Symmetrical domes are visible above the chancel and women's gallery. The interior has a barrel vault, with eight sections in the central part. The interior, partly neo-Romanesque, comes from the period 1959-1960. Its author is J. Kania. Feretrons with the folk icons of "Annunciation" and "Crucifixion of Christ Pantocrator" from 1784, a Baroque chalice of the 18th century, a carved paschal candlestick from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, and a picture of "Christ in the tomb", painted on a tin, have remained from the old church furnishings. The belfry is free-standing with three bells cast in 1956-1972. The church was renamed the Roman Catholic church of st. Anna and St. Michael in the years 1946-1947. The spring of St. Anna. According to the legend, it gushed out on the day the church was consecrated. Therefore, in the interwar period, it became a place of pilgrimage for local residents suffering especially from eye diseases
Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba additional source of information: www.drewniana.malopolska.pl
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Church of st. Bishop Marcin and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation in Czermna St. Martin’s church in Czermna was built in 1520 where its devastated predecessor hadstood once. In the 1700s the church was considerably reconstructed, e.g. a chapel covered with an octahedral dome was added. This larch-wood church features a pillarframework tower and log construction of the walls, timbered on both sides with vertical boards. The nave and presbytery are topped with a single-ridge roof while the tower with a pavilion roof. The interior is adorned with polychrome decoration (1877). The rich original fittings (18th/19th centuries) include five altarpieces, a pulpit and an organ. The main altarpiece features a copy of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Consolation (1500s) and the original is to be found in the new church. Sanctuary: The oldest information about the existence of a church in this town comes from 1312. It was allegedly built by a Maltese knight - Petrasjusz Frykacz. It is one of the most valuable historic sacral architecture with a carcass construction. The interior is decorated with figural and ornamental polychrome from 1877. In the main altar until 2000 - next to the holly image - one could admire the picture of the Holy Trinity painted in 1870. On its sides stood the figures of the Evangelists - Saint Luke with an ox, Saint John with an eagle, Saint Mark with a lion and Saint Matthew with a man. There was a tabernacle below the Madonna.
Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba additional source of information: www.drewniana.malopolska.pl
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Gorlice Golgotha In the past, there was a cross on Zamkowa Hill (Góra Zamkowa) on which in the 1980s there was a small plate with the inscription "Pope John Paul II". The father of Pope John Paul II – Karol Wojtyła senior, probably stationed in the uniform of an Austrian sergeant during World War I in trenches located in the vicinity of the hill and participated in the fights from November 1914 to 2 May 1915. The first Stations of the Cross were celebrated here in 1994 by the initiator of the construction of the Calvary – the priest of the parish church of St. Andrzej Bobola. The inhabitants of Gorlice have their Golgotha, to which they make pilgrimages, where they take their friends, which they proudly show to tourists. It is situated on a hill more than a kilometre away from the church of St. Andrzej Bobola. Walking thoughtfully along the paths of Gorlice's Golgotha, we admire the figure of Christ in Ogrójec, the tower with Pensive Christ, a Pieta, individual stations of the cross and finally the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre. The four-meter-tall Statue of the Risen Christ, located on a twelve-meter pedestal, makes an amazing impression not only over the hill, but over the entire town. It is visible from a very long distance – it welcomes and blesses Gorlice inhabitants, visitors and tourists returning to their homeland.
Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba
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Greek-catholic Church of the Protection of the Mother of God, currently a subsidiary Roman Catholic church of the parish in Łabowa Formed Greek-Catholic Church of the Protection of the Mother of God in Łabowa was build in 1784. The church was entered on the list of monuments in 1964. The church funded by the Lubomirski family was built of stone in 1784. After the displacement of the Lemko people in 1945 and 1947, it stood unused and fell into disrepair. Renovated in 1992 and since that year it serves as the Roman Catholic branch church of the parish in Łabowa. The building represents a type of a brick church with a massive tower in the west elevation. It is characterized by great architectural diversity in terms of proportions and sizes, baroque towers in the form of helmets on the roof of the temple, or the tower's semicircular cornice on the clock face. It became a model of solutions adopted in later wooden churches. A sacristy was added to the short chancel with a semicircular ending from the north. The large nave has a pair of semicircular transept chapels. The tower is topped with a spherical cupola with a lantern, the saddle roof and turrets are covered with sheet metal. Inside, there is a figural and ornamental polychrome in the tradition of Ruthenian painting by W. Kryczewski, made in 1944. The Classicist brick main altar, iconostasis and a music choir with a baluster railing come from the mid-nineteenth century.The church is surrounded by a stone wall with a 19th century gate.
Photo: Marcin Gądek www.facebook.com/Kosciolyznieba
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DISCOVER HISTORIC BRIDGES IN STANCZYKI
Stańczyki
text source: poland.pl and zabytek.pl Bibliography Karta ewidencyjna zabytków architektury i budownictwa, Wiadukty w Stańczykach, oprac. Mackiewicz J., 1978, archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Olsztynie Delegatura w Ełku. Rams B., Opowieść o niepotrzebnych mostach w Stańczykach, „Borussia” 2008, nr 42, s. 177-184.
The viaducts built in the early 20th century are an example of exceptional architecture. Stańczyki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dubeninki, within Gołdap County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approximately 7 kilometres east of Dubeninki, 23 km east of Gołdap, and 152 km east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is notable for two large railway viaducts of the (now defunct) Gołdap-Żytkiejmy railway. Roughly 200 metres long and 36 metres high, both are among the largest such constructions in Poland. Built of reinforced concrete, each of the bridges has five arches of 15 metres of length each. The northern viaduct was constructed between 1912 and 1914, the southern one was added between 1923 and 1926. Before 1945, the area was part of Germany (East Prussia).
Bridges are reinforced concrete structure having five arches with identical curves and just 15m apart. The architecture is characterised by the size of their proportions and the pillars are decorated with reliefs modelled on the Roman aqueducts at Pont du Gard. The rail track was dismantled in 1945 by the Red Army. Since then no train has passed this way. Until recently the viaducts were used by bungee jumpers but an introduced ban has stopped the daredevils. On the valley floor is a site for campers. 68 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Limited access to the historic building. The structure may be seen from outside. The bridges are presently private property, they are fenced; access and parking area are ticketed. Address: 19-504 Wiadukty, Poland Total length: 180 m
On the northern reaches of Masuria, near the city of Goldap are two viaducts on the now unused railway line. Tourists to the Romincka Forest are drawn by their unusual shape and height in this landscape. The two viaducts were built between 1912 and 1918 and were part of the already unused section of railway line between Goldap and Zytkiejmy, a length of 31km. They can be found beyond the village of Stanczyki where the railway line crosses a huge valley, disproportionate in size to the small and very picturesque River Biedzianka. The bridges are of a massive size and are considered the highest in Poland. They are about 200m long and 36m high.
photos: M. Ciszewski, polska.pl
History The erection of the bridges was connected with the construction of the railway line on the Gołdap-Żytkiejmy route. Not only the economic reasons impacted the decision on launching the connection, but mainly the military reasons. The line ran along the border with Russia, giving it the rocade character (parallel route with respect to the potential front line), facilitating the troops redeployment in case of war with Russia. On the route of presently closed railway line Gołdap-Botkuny-Żytkiejmy, apart from bridges in Stańczyki, there are also structurally-alike - also historic - bridges and railway flyovers in Kiepojcie (by the Bludzia river) and Galwiecie (by the Jarka river). The bridges were erected in stages: the works commenced in 1912, finished in 1918 (southern bridge: 19121914; northern bridge: 1918). The construction of bridges was the biggest challenge for the route constructors. At the stage of design works various structural options for the new bridges were analysed. The cheapest one was selected, consisting in the construction of five-span bridges of reinforced concrete. Investments were preceded by the land survey. Railway line was put into use in 1927. In the 1930s it was mainly used as a cargo line for the transport of aggregate. In 1938 on the Gołdap-Żytkiejmy route three pairs of passenger trains were running per day. Exploitation of the line was finished in 1945. On the southern bridge no tracks were ever laid. After the end of World War II - in 1945 the tracks were dismantled by the Red Army; in 1949, the railway line was never put back into use
For some period of time the owner was PKP [Polish State Railways], which in 1993 handed over the land with bridges that was not used by the company to the Agricultural Property of the State Treasury Agency. In the 1990s the protection of the safety barriers of the bridge was made, by supplementing the defects in reinforced concrete barriers with fragments of steel profiles. In 2003 the bridges were sold to a private person. The bridges are located ca. 800 m to the North from the Stańczyki village. They connect the shores of the valley, in which a small Błędzianka river flows. The bridges were built in stages: first the pillars, then the arches, then the padding of vaults. These are the five-span, four-pillar (pillars with quadrangular cross-sections) structures, made of reinforced concrete, with spans in the form of round arches with similar dimensions. Three central spans have the clear span length of 28 m, side ones - 24 m. The total length of the bridges equals 178 m, the height from the level of pavement of the bridge to the water surface in the river equals 36 m, the width of the roadway between the pavements - 3.4 m. The pavements are located higher than the roadway; the width of the pavement equals approx. 80 cm. The facades of the bridges are decorative (pilasters, supports with capitals). On the external sides of each of the bridge there are concrete pavements with a roadway in the middle; the balustrades are made of reinforced concrete and are supplemented with fragments of steel profiles. 69 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
PLACES AND CUSTOMS
by Katarzyna Skóra
Katarzyna lived almost all her life in the Low Beskids. She is particularly interested in everyday life in the former Lemko region. The imagination plays an important role in her life, helping to feel the atmosphere of the visited places. She is into handicrafts, and specifically crocheting. Working on various projects allows you to relax, in a sense it has become a way of life. She is also passionate about photography. She tries to capture in her frames inanimate nature, landscapes and the transience, in the broad sense of the word. Weekly photo trips have already become a tradition.
Old Lemko traditions Easter customs www.magurskiewyprawy.pl
Easter is the most important and joyful holiday of all Christians. The feast of Easter is movable both in the Western Church, i.e. Roman Catholics, and in the Eastern Church. Every few years it happens that the followers of all rites celebrate this great feast together. Such a situation takes place also this year. Another such event will not happen until 2025! In Lemko language, Easter is called “Wełykdeń”. Similarly to the Roman Catholic church, the celebrations began on Palm Sunday, known as "Kwitna Nedila" In the past, the Lemkos used to tie twigs of catkins with a freshly twisted linen cord (a whip). They were later taken to be blessed in the Orthodox church. The catkin twigs played an important role, as they were stored and used to incense the sick, were given to cows with their feed and placed on the corners of newly built houses. During the storm, the sticks of the catkins burned in the furnace were supposed to "smoke out" the devil, after all, he was the one who caused lightning. All these measures were supposed to bring happiness and ward off disease. Just ordinary twigs, but they served various purposes all year round. In the poviat of Gorlice, there is a custom of "blessing the fields". On Palm Sunday, a blessed cross made of sticks, decorated like a palm tree, is stuck in the corner of each patch. It is supposed to protect against natural disasters and hail. Holy Thursday is the day when Judas betrayed Jesus. There was a service called "strast" in the Orthodox church, during which priests would read 12 times extracts of the Gospel. The herdsmen came to the service with whips spun for “Kwitna Nedila”, which they used for making catkins' bunches. After reading each Gospel, they tied one knot on it. If the shepherd happened to lose his cattle during his work in the summer, it was enough to untie one knot and the lost animal would immediately return. In some villages of the Lemko region, bonfires were lit in the fields on Thursday evening. As far as I know, this tradition is still cultivated in many villages in Lesser Poland, not necessarily in the Lemko lands. Making bonfires is a symbol of Judas' punishment for the heinous act of treason.
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Until today, in the south of Poland, at dusk on Holy Thursday, you can see larger or smaller burning stakes. It was not without reason that it was believed that on Thursday you can see the wildfires flashing across the mountains to indicate hidden treasures. It was believed that on that day the souls of the dead wandered around the world. Holy Thursday began a strict fasting that lasted until Sunday. The women started decorating Easter eggs. Good Friday is the time of vigil. Fires were lit at the Orthodox churches and the boys kept a constant watch there until Sunday. On Holy Saturday evening or Sunday morning, baskets of food were brought to be blessed. The basket contained cold cuts, bread, eggs, salt and horseradish. The most important place was occupied by "Paska" i.e. a circleshaped wheat loaf, brought by men, which, after the blessing, obviously acquired magical, healing and protective properties. After blessing the food, everyone had to hurry home because whoever reached it first, would be the first to finish the harvest. Those who wanted to be lucky when picking mushrooms, should collect any crackles or sticks on the way home and put them into the Easter basket. The blessed loaves were carried around the house, and then stored until Pentecost, i.e. “Rusala” and then they were eaten to ensure an abundance of bread in the following year. Eggs are certainly an indispensable element of Easter. Colourful Easter eggs made by Lemkos, the so-called "malowanky", were made using the batik technique. To make them, you need hot wax, which is used to decorate eggs by drawing lines - tears, dots, etc. Later, when the eggs were dyed with natural dyes, such as onion peel, it was possible to wipe off the wax layer by holding the egg over the candle flame. Thanks to natural dyes, it is possible to obtain such colours like: - green - obtained thanks to a decoction of nettle, periwinkle, and, above all, from young winter rye;
- yellow - its different shades can be obtained thanks to the onion peelings; - red - given by a decoction of a mixture of onion and oak bark, crocus, as well as a decoction of dried elderberries or blueberries. Here you can also use onion peelings, but the colour will not be bloody red, rather a mahogany shade of red; - purple - you can get it thanks to the dark mallow decoction.
Kasia and Kamil
photo: Kasia Skora
church in Kotan, wiktor Bubniak Getty
Author: Teodor Kuziak Pascha www.magurskiewyprawy.pl
Experienced Lemko women can make wonderful, multi-coloured Easter eggs, and this is a very difficult art, consisting in painting and dyeing in new colour layers several times. It is a very tedious job. In my family home, the decorating instrument was a pin stuck in a stick. Young shoots of wild lilac, or the one growing in the garden, were great, because their twigs inside are filled with a white, spongy core, in which it is very easy to stick a pin :) The water in which the eggs were cooked could not just be poured out. It was used to wash cow's udders so that the witch could not deprive them of milk. In some villages, girls used it to wash their feet. On the first day of Easter, the Lemkos would go to the river or a stream in the morning to look for fish in the water. The lucky one who saw a fish was supposed to be as fit as a fiddle (or as we say here "as healthy as a fish") all year round.
After the Sunday service, young people used to spend their time playing and singing as Easter is a time of joy. Speaking of that, Easter Monday usually started especially cheerfully, when, after night-time jokes, often quite crazy, the hosts searched the entire village to get their buried farm equipment back. Sometimes they found them on someone's roof. All the windows were painted over so that the hosts would not know if it was night or day. This custom has also been preserved in the poviat of Gorlice. Unfortunately, the jokes are not always funny and sometimes they end with the police visit. Tradition can and should be cultivated but in moderation and decency to prevent hijinks from turning into ordinary acts of vandalism. Of course, this day is also associated with the tradition of throwing water. Each girl had to be drenched in water. It was easier and just as often used to throw women directly into a pond or a river. On the second day of Easter, the Lemkos used to visit the graves of their relatives. And to all our readers ... Happy Easter May this day bring you blessings of love, joy, peace and hope. May it linger in your heart forever.
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Opole Tourist Information Rynek 23, phone: 0048 77 45 11 987 www.opole.pl mit@mosir.opole.pl
Piast Tower. photo: Paweł Uchorczak
OPOLE THE CITY OF MUSIC PREPARED IN COOPERATION WITH : PROMOTION DEPARTMENT OF THE OPOLE CITY HALL www. facebook.com/MiastoOpole www.facebook.com/OpoleOdkryj www.opole.pl/en
Wrocław
Opole Katowice
PHOTOS AND TEXT Wydział Promocji UM Opola
Opole is one of the oldest cities in Poland, continuously inhabited since the 8th century and quickly becoming an important centre of power, defense and trade. It is considered the historical capital of Upper Silesia, being much older than cities like Katowice, which grew rapidly only during the industrial revolution of the 19th century. Opole is the capital city of Opole Voivodeship, in south west Poland. The historical capital of Upper Silesia was badly damaged during the USSR invasion of Silesia at the end of WW II, but many fine houses in the old town have been rebuilt. The city is known for the one of the most popular song festivals in Poland, which takes place each year in June.
Opole, owing to a music festival that has been held since the 1960s, and which has promoted hundreds of famous and much-loved songs, is best-known as the capital of Polish song. While the city is famed for its festival traditions, it has far much more to offer. Opole, in fact, is one of the oldest cities in Poland. Here, the wealth of 800 years of history is hidden behind every corner of its historic tenement houses and in the narrow streets of the old town. In Opole, you can also take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and listen to the whispers and song of the surrounding primeval natural world. “The green lungs” of the city are the islands of Bolko and Pasieka situated on the Oder River. Whatever the season, the city entrances with its unique atmosphere, architecture and hospitality of its inhabitants. LET'S GO FOR A WALK
STEP 1 Millennium Amphitheatre – National Centre of Polish Song
Every tourist should at least once stand on the stage of the legendary Opole Amphitheatre. One of the oldest European festivals and the most recognized popular music events in Poland – the National Festival of Polish Song – takes place here. This unique stage has provided the start for the career paths of dozens of artists and has created hundreds of hits. This is where, to the rhythm of the most famous Polish songs, summer begins with a stomp and has been doing so every year for over half a century. The administrator of the musical showpiece of Opole is the National Centre of Polish Song (NCPP) – a spot where concerts are held throughout the year. In the Chamber Room, equipped with state-of-the-art technical means that would do the largest concert halls and music clubs in the world proud, concerts of the most important Polish bands and performers are organised. Thus, in the autumn-winter-spring period, the National Centre of Polish Song turns into one of the most important concert clubs in Poland.
STEP 2 Polish Song Museum
A museum with the greatest passion for singing in Poland! It is modern and fully interactive, with its seat located in the Amphitheatre. The museum exhibition presents an outline of Polish song history from the 1920s to the present day. Fans of the famous Opole festivals will find here detailed information about each edition of this event, as well as many real props and costumes of celebrities that can be tried on virtually. The song recording booths, where everyone can record their favourite song and send it by e-mail as a souvenir, are also a hit - and for the more advanced visitors, a professional recording studio has been opened. The Polish Song Museum is also a cultural centre where meetings with artists, concerts, museum lessons and educational activities for children are held. STEP 3 Opole Market Square
Intimate, surrounded by stylish, beautifully renovated tenement houses, Opole Market Square is one of the most charming places in the city. Despite the devastating winds of history, it has retained its medieval shape. The ambience is created by the pastel shades of the façades and the subtle decorations of the soaring gables of historic buildings, which, among others, include numerous boutiques, restaurants and cafés. The heart of this place is the Italian-style Town Hall – almost a copy, albeit slightly smaller, of the Florentine town hall – the Vecchio Palace. The most characteristic element of the Town Hall is the 65-metre tower, with the Opole anthem played atop it every day at noon. Presently, it is the seat of the city authorities.
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STEP 4 Polish Song Walk of Fame
At pre-set hours, the guests can also watch many species being fed by their keepers. There are also many playgrounds, picnic areas and food outlets amidst the lush greenery, The ZOO in the Capital of Polish Song is a place where you can spend many hours, without being bored for a single minute!
Located opposite the entrance to the Town Hall, it is one of the biggest tourist attractions of the Capital of Polish Song and one of the vivid musical accents in the city. From year to year, more and more bronze stars with the names and autographs of performers, composers and songwriters are added to it. Today there are over sixty of them. Unveiling of the stars is one of the most popular festival-related events among the media, as well as the city residents. They gather enormous crowds and give the opportunity to see and even chat with one’s musical idols.
STEP 8 Piast Tower
Once used as a lookout to spot approaching enemies, today it is one of the best viewpoints in Opole and its most famous historic building. It is also among the oldest defensive structures in Poland. Being 35 m high, and approximately 42 m if we include the spire, its silhouette can be seen above the Opole Amphitheatre during live TV coverages of the National Festival of Polish Song. It is situated in the Opole district of Ostrówek, where a stronghold in the state ruled by Mieszko I was already located around the year of 990. The tower was likely built at the end of the 13th or, as indicated by recent studies, the mid-14th century. The insides of the tower used to house a dungeon, kitchen, chamber and a guardhouse in Medieval times. In recent years, the Piast Tower has been thoroughly renovated and equipped with, for example, interactive exhibitions on the history of Opole and the Castle, among others.
STEP 5 Opole Venice on the Młynówka
Stretching along the beautiful Młynówka Canal separating the city centre from the quiet, residential Pasieki Island, it is one of the most charming and romantic places in Opole. The old tenement houses reflecting in the water surface look best at night. The boulevards spanning along the canal are over a kilometre long. They are made of stone paved paths, decorative walls and rock gardens. Here, access to the water is easy and comfortable. There are also numerous benches and a wooden viewing platform. It is a dream route for cycling, jogging and Nordic walking enthusiasts.
STEP 9 Castle pond and music fountain
The charming pond is all that remains of the former moat that once surrounded the Piast Castle and the castle park. During the summer, the pond was, in former times, a place for boat trips, and in the winter, it was transformed into a skating rink – quite a professional one too, with artificial lighting, a changing room and a water supply system. In recent times, the city authorities of Opole have decided to bring back these traditions and has been organising an ice rink on the pond every winter - and skating here is truly amazing – amidst the greenery, right next to the astonishing Ice House from 1909.
STEP 6 Grosz Bridge – “Little green bridge”
One of the most beautiful pedestrian bridges in Poland! It bears the name ‘Grosz Bridge’ - dubbed so after the one-grosz toll collected here ages ago. The residents of Opole call it the ‘Green Bridge’ or the ‘Lovers’ Bridge’. This is undoubtedly one of the most characteristic, well-known and favoured– both by locals and tourists – points on the Opole city map. Grosz Bridge is a two-span, metal, Art Nouveau pedestrian bridge suspended over the picturesque, greenery-surrounded Młynówka canal – and is an ideal spot for a romantic stroll.
One can set off on an exciting journey through all of the world’s continents by visiting the ZOO in Opole! On the way you will encounter dignified giraffes, cute red pandas, agile cougars, elegant zebras, likeable anteaters and numerous species of monkeys and prosimians, such as lemurs and gorillas. The Zoo also houses a water pen for Californian Sea lions and an enclosure for exotic gorillas! The Opole ZOO is home to a total of more than 1.5 thousand animals. One can really feel what it is like to be in a tropical jungle or a wild forest. Visitors, the youngest ones in particular, can also drop in to a mini zoo and pet the animals. 76 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Opole Market Square, Photo. Paweł Szpala
STEP 7 Zoological Garden
above: Panorama of the city at night, photo: Jarosław Małkowski below: Krakowska Street, photo: Paweł Szpala
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This wooden building suffered almost no damage during World War II, and once housed a youth hostel, a cafe and a restaurant. Currently, the main summer-season attraction is a musicplaying fountain, where one can hear the greatest of Poland’s hit songs, first sung and launched into stardom right here in Opole. The fountain nozzles spout colourful and illuminated water columns to the rhythm of the music. STEP 10 Tenement house
Groszowy Bridge, photo: Paweł Uchorczak
The tenement house in Opole, which constitutes a part of the Museum of Opole Silesia, is a unique spot on the tourist map of Poland. Initially, it was a tenement house for the Opole bourgeoisie. Today, after its renovation, one can admire the solutions introduced by its architect, who designed a two-story tenement house with an attic and six small, two-room apartments with an area of approx. 35 m2 each (two flats per each floor) on a narrow plot. Besides the furniture, kitchen utensils and knick-knacks, visitors can see various methods of heating rooms in times gone by - using masonry heaters and cast-iron heaters - as well as the sanitary equipment commonly
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used at the time. The attic of the tenement house has been changed to a small exhibition place with laundering as the main theme. The space exhibits the entire process of laundering, drying and mangling, and recalls the accessories widely used by housewives from the end of the 19th century up until the 1970s. STEP 11 Opole Rural Museum
The open-air museum in Bierkowice tells the history of the 18th-20th century Opole village. The vast, wooded and green area stocks completely renovated corrals with conventionally arranged wooden huts that everyone can enter. In addition to the houses, the museum exhibits historic, wooden public buildings and structures, among others, a church, several chapels, a village school, a tavern, as well as a forge and two beautiful windmills. The Opole open-air museum is a place where you can take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, almost all year round. It is particularly picturesque in the spring, when the wooden structures are surrounded with lush greenery.
Top photo: Opole Venice on the Młynówka Canal, photo: Paweł Szpala Middle left: High Castle, photo: Przemysław Supernak | Middle right: Groszowy Bridge, phot: Jarosław Małkowski Bottom left: Museum of the Opole Countryside, photo: Paweł Szpala | Bottom right: Giraffes at the Opole Zoo, photo: Jarosaław Małkowski 79 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
Tysiąclecia Amphitheater National Center of Polish Song photo: Sławomir Mielnik
Opole Market Square with a view of the Opole Cathedral photo: Paweł Uchorczak
Opole Venice on the Młynówka Canal photo: Paweł Szpala
Polish Song Museum Muzeum Polskiej Piosenki ul. Piastowska 14A, 45-082 Opole muzeum@muzeumpiosneki wwww.muzeumpiosenki.pl
POLISH SONG MUSEUM ul. Piastowska 14A A 15 minute walk from the Railway Station (Go along ul. Krakowska right to the Market Square, then turn towards the Open Air Theatre) A 5 minute walk from the Market Square (Ask for directions to the Open Air Theatre) OPENING HOURS Monday: CLOSED Tuesday–Sunday: 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
A tour begins every hour, on the hour. Last admission: 5:00 PM
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
photo: Paweł Szpala
The loudest museum in Poland! The legendary Millennium Amphitheatre houses state-ofthe-art equipment and multimedia. Its exhibitions paint a picture of Polish music from the 1920s onward. Fans of the famous Opole festivals can find information there on every edition of the event, as well as many original props and costumes used by performers, with an option to try them on in the virtual dressing room as well. Song recording booths are also very popular with visitors, enabling them to record favourite songs and receive the recordings by email as a souvenir. More knowledgable visitors can also try out the recording studio. The Polish Song Museum is also a cultural centre hosting meet-the-artist sessions, concerts, museum lessons and classes for children.
PERMANENT EXHIBITION Multimedia. Modern. Surprising. An attractive and friendly way to see the history of Polish song since the 1920s until now. It is intended for visitors at any age and with various knowledge of history of Polish song. You will find there: – 580 video clips – 1,500 musical publications – 2,000 photos – 2,000 audios – two music walls with touch screens – isles of tablets – recording booths – a closet with costumes worn by stars – virtual mirrors for dressing-ups – kids’ room – musical exhibits Opole onfrom themuseums Młynówka Canal – drawing full ofVenice collection – multimedia library. source:www.muzeumpiosenki.pl
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www.odkryjbeskid.pl www.facebook.com/odkryjbeskid
Cycling routes in Małopolska Beskid Sądecki
Euro Velo 11. part 1 text compilation: Jarek Tarański www.facebook.com/velomalopolska/ photos: Konrad Rogoziński cyclists Patryca Furca and Łukasz Świętach
In recent years, many kilometers of new bicycle infrastructure has been built in the picturesque Poprad Valley in Beskid Sądecki. Below, you will find a recipe for how to combine it into a one-day, pleasant trip along the rivers that, cutting through this valley, have shaped the landscape. This journey is sure to enchant you from behind the handlebars of your bikes. We classify this trip somewhere in the middle of the easy to medium scale, mainly due to two fairly short bike climbs and one more, up the stairs at the PL/SK border in Muszyna. One-third of the course of this 60-kilometer trip runs along a separate bicycle path and the remaining part along quiet roads in general traffic. It is suggested to ride on the GPX trail, as a few fragments of the path have not been marked yet. What will await us in the Poprad valley, apart from the brilliant views of the Beskids? Mostly new or in a very good condition asphalt roads led with a slight slope just over the river, several new pedestrian and bicycle footbridges, numerous springs with free mineral water, and lots of tourist attractions located on the Polish-Slovak border. Just add to that the network of new or revitalized hiking and mountain bike trails- it makes quite a nice destination for at least a weekend on two wheels. But, let's start with the simplest one-day trip.
Warszawa
Krakow
Rzeszów
Beskid Sądecki
www.bit.ly/velomaps www.odkryjbeskid.pl www.facebook.com/odkryjbeskid
Since it is not a loop but a linear route, the easiest option will be to take the bike on the train from Stary Sącz to Krynica. This way you will not only make an uphill ride "up the river", but for approx. 1.5 hours you will enjoy the journey along one of the most picturesque railway lines in Poland. From Krynica, you will be riding slightly downhill most of the way, along the course of the river, although, as you can see on the graph with the elevations (and what you will feel in your legs), you will have to pedal a little uphill anyway.
photo: Konrad Rogoziński, A new bicycle bridge over the Poprad River in Milik, connecting two countries - Poland and Slovakia.
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After leaving the train, go to the end of the platform, which leads to the recently created VeloKrynica/AquaVelo route, meandering along the Kryniczanka stream as far as to Muszyna. However, before you turn and start your trip, stop for a moment at the famous promenade of Krynica with mineral water pump rooms and cafes. The bicycle route between Krynica and Muszyna creates practically a model connection of these spa towns, guaranteeing a quiet ride along the river, without almost any car traffic. Therefore, this section is suitable even for a ride with small children. I will not list all the attractions that you can visit in this section or its close vicinity, but the minimum
the so-called Zapopradzie - full of attractions and gardens along the entire Zdrojowa Avenue. You can either soak in here for a few hours or ride slowly with a short rest in the new part with recreational ponds and birds' aviaries. A slight climb will be waiting just behind the gardens, since this part of the EV11 goes along a concrete slope through forests that grow on the banks of the river valley. It will take us to the Polish-Slovak border where we urge you to respect the signs placed there and get off your bike (in both directions). This short 20-30 meters temporary section is to be made smoother soon. Get ready for a short walk along the wooden steps. After carefully completing this section, we can ride a new gravel road to
on photo: Patryca Furca
plan is to stop in Muszyna at the regional cyclists' rest area (MOR). There, in addition to a repair station with the possibility of wireless mobile charging, there is also a healing water intake "Anna", where you can refill your water bottles for free. Some good advice: be sure to use water bottles or bidons, as filling a Camelback with highly mineralized water may result in the inability to wash it later. It is not the only spring that you will meet on the trail of the trip, after all, the Poprad Valley stands out (or maybe flows?) with mineral waters. It will be possible to refill water later in Milek. You need to veer off the route slightly, to the next regional MOR or right next to the route, in Sulina or Legnava. The water has a specific taste, but I really recommend giving it a try. In Muszyna, after crossing two bridges, the route enters 90 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
photo: Konrad Rogoziński
the edge of the forest (approximately 0.5 km). If someone wants to make this trip using a roadster, this is the only place that we recommend a detour, choosing a ride among cars on the DW971 road between Muszyna and Milek. I honestly warn those who travel with children or beginners, as here you will probably have a 1.5 km walk due to the elevation gain and surface. However, to all the others, I recommend cycling this way. After leaving the forest, we will have the freshly laid asphalt rustling under the wheels on a completely new section of the trail, leading as far as the buildings of Legnava. A one time, the ride here was only on dirt roads and plowed fields, now it has become elegant, according to the standards of the international EuroVelo trail. This way, we will get to one of the new pedestrian and bicycle bridges built this year.
We cross the river and national borders along the LegnavaMilik footbridge and discover new bicycle paths on the Polish side. They lead to Andrzejówka, from where we can return to Mały Lipnik using another footbridge. A small note hereremember about the basic regulations for cyclists in Slovakia (including a mandatory helmet outside built-up areas), because in another approximately 15 km we will cycle around this country. The EV11/VeloNatura route uses quiet public roads in this section, with really minimal traffic, as this is the "end of the world" for Slovaks and only residents and cyclists use these roads. Some of the picturesque sections charted right
There is also another pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the Poprad, which connects this area with the EuroVelo11 route.From here, we will ride along quiet roads to Rytro. Currently, we recommend riding through Rytro using the sidewalks along the national road DK87, but soon the work on the construction of a bicycle route on the section running through the forests surrounding the Rytro's outer bailey will be completed (it is expected to be put into use in spring 2021). In Życzanów, we return to the right bank and the picturesque local roads along the Poprad itself. Caution! From this point, it is possible to take a detour on one of the most
A new bicycle bridge over the Poprad River in Milik, connecting two countries - Poland and Slovakia.
on the river banks have recently received fresh asphalt (Zavodie-Medzibrodie), but some of them, unfortunately, fall into the last freshness category (Mały Lipnik- vicinity of the footbridge in Żegiestów, approximately 2.5 km). For this reason, we recommend roadster riders with super-thin tires to be careful there. If you do not like mineral water from these roadside springs, I recommend hydrating yourself with Kofola in a nice cafe in Mały Lipnik or the one in Mniszek on the Poprad, right on the border of Slovakia and Poland. This is where we return to the Polish side and follow the old border road to the center of Piwniczna. In Piwniczna, in addition to visiting the market square, we also recommend a tour around the so-called recreational center on Nakło, which includes bicycle paths, pump track paths, and a bicycle center.
photo: Konrad Rogoziński demanding climbs in the vicinity of Wola Krogulecka, from the top of which there is a brilliant panorama from the observation deck. We recommend it, but be warned that it is a really steep ascent. Longer, but milder if that's what you need is the one from the side of Barcice. From this town to the footbridge in Stary Sącz, the route returns mostly to bicycle paths. What do we have besides this riverside route? The abovementioned trail is the easiest option to cross the entire Poprad Valley. However, I definitely recommend coming for a longer bicycle reconnaissance since the construction of the main riverside route (which in the future will be certified as part of the EuroVelo11 international route), also jumpstarted the development of a whole range of additional routes
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in the Beskid Sądecki. Just remember that we are in the mountains and each side-jump from the river will result in a return climb, rewarded later with beautiful views from the peaks and the pass of Beskid Sądecki. For gravelers and those whose tourist bikes have slightly wider tires, I recommend the Mineral Water Trail, which connects probably the most mineral water springs per kilometre in Poland as well as numerous monuments of wooden architecture. It connects with the proposed route in Podjastrzębik, Muszyna, Milik, and Żegiestów. In the latter, I recommend visiting the renovated spa and jumping to the Slovak side using the bicycle footbridge that was built here a few years ago. For those who prefer wider tires and challenges, I recommend the renewed network of mountain biking trails in Krynica-Zdrój and the first of several announced flow/single-track routes in Słotwiny-Arena center, where in addition to the lift for bikes, you will also find a magnificent lookout tower to visit during the break between the rides. For enthusiasts of fast downhill riding, I also recommend a new bicycle park on the sledge-slope in Muszyna. If one gets bored with this constant downhill ride, I recommend MTB classics in this area, such as a trip to Bacówka, Wierchomla, and Kotylniczy Wierch loop, which can also be extended by a ride through Runek to Krynica or through Hala Łabowska towards Piwniczna, which you can reach cycling down the Aquavelo trail.
Speaking of AquaVelo, its easiest sections were used in the trip, so you will come across its characteristic green markings. The remaining parts of this trail in Poland are much more demanding in terms of general condition and required equipment. For example, the road from Piwniczna to Obidza is ranked 10th place in the category of Polish climbs, and the descent to Jaworki itself is still very off-road. The same applies to its sections near Piwniczna and Rytro, which are dedicated to mountain bikers. In addition, there is also a part of this trail on the Slovak side, along with a whole range of other bicycle trails and a temporary route (currently marked only along public roads) of the EuroVelo11 route to Prešov. As you can see, there is a lot to choose from.
photo: Konrad Rogoziński
A newly concreted section of EuroVelo 11 near Życzanów The EuroVelo 11 route in the Beskid Sądecki runs along the Polish and Slovak side with very attractive scenic areas along the Poprad River.
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Encouraged? I can also reveal to you that the Poprad Valley is the most beautiful in autumn colours. I also invite you to the FB profile VeloMałopolska, where the latest reports from the Małopolska routes are published, so you will find out which of the "under construction" sections mentioned in this text have already changed their status to "ready". You can find a map with the progress of work on this and other cycling routes in Małopolska at www.bit.ly/velomaps. In additional layers, you will also find there recommended cycling routes and trips, as well as the location of rest areas and parking lots.
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photo: Konrad Rogoziński
On the route, several bicycle service places have been opened for the use of bicycle tourists, which allow for rest and minor bicycle repairs.
photo: Konrad Rogoziński www.odkryjbeskid.pl www.facebook.com/odkryjbeskid
The EuroVelo route near the town of Andrzejówka
photo: Konrad Rogoziński www.odkryjbeskid.pl www.facebook.com/odkryjbeskid
EuroVelo 11 route on the Slovak side near the town of Zavodie.
photo: Konrad Rogoziński www.odkryjbeskid.pl www.facebook.com/odkryjbeskid
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
Palaces of Poland
ŁÓDŹ.POZNAŃSKI PALACE.
source: www.muzeum-lodz.pl/en/
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History of the Palace text source: www.muzeum-lodz.pl/en/
The Palace – the culmination of the 19th-century empire of Izrael Poznański, called ‘the cotton king’, was built as part of an enormous factory and residential compound, typical of the industrial architecture of the 19th century. Factory, lavish residence, houses for workers, school, hospital, and even a church – in times of glory it all resembled a true ‘state within state’. In less than half a century, Izrael Kalmanowicz Poznański changed from a lowly merchant, who contributed a manufactory worth merely 500 roubles into his marriage with Leonia Hertz, into a powerful factory owner with 11 million in his account. In 1877, Poznański bought a multi-storey, brick-built house together with detached buildings: a ground-floor dyeing mill, wooden outbuildings, a square and a garden at the intersection of Ogrodowa and Stodolniana (today Zachodnia) Streets. The compound was then extended and the palace itself was modernised during three main renovations. Despite the common opinion, it did not originate as a residential building: its main intended use was its representative and commercial function with a residential part, designed by the contemporary city architect, Hilary Majewski, based on models of the French Neo-Renaissance. The residence was surrounded by a huge garden, with the total surface area of 4,255 m², which expanded from Ogrodowa Street to Drewnowska Street, all the way up to the bed of the Łódka River. The part situated in the closest vicinity of the palace was a strolling garden, the farther one was functional: a vegetable garden with greenhouses, conservatory, shooting range and pond. Interestingly enough, until today we can admire in that garden the greenery that remembers the family strolls of the Poznańskis. The enormous diversity of the plants that grow here – nearly 60 species of trees, shrubs and vines that appear here – is a characteristic feature of the palace garden. Among them, there is the yellow-leafed ‘Worley’ sycamore and an absolute rarity in the form of two unique strains of maple. Their peculiarity is testified by the fact that they do not have Polish names and they cannot be found in Polish dendrology companions. According to Professor Romuald Olaczek, they are true botanical phenomena, freaks of nature of a kind, differentiated from the typical representatives of their species by the shape of their leaves. The current form of the garden diverges considerably from the original design, however, the following elements have remained here up to the present day: part of the old tree stand, architecture of the current drive, rotunda, and stairs leading into alleys. Also the gas lanterns in the form of statues of guardians holding torches have survived up till today.
The palace earned its current form as a result of a few modifications introduced along with the changing financial status of the Poznański family. The first redevelopment took place in 1898, according to the design of Juliusz Jung and Dawid Rosenthal. The decision about the next redevelopment was taken in 1901, already after Izrael Poznański’s death (he died in 1900, at the age of 67). The enterprise of extending and decorating the interiors of the palace fell to his sons: Ignacy, Maurycy, Karol and Herman. On their recommendation, the project of extension that imparted its Neo-Baroque form to the palace, was designed by Adolf Zelingson, Maurycy Poznański’s schoolmate. The architectural supervision over the works was exercised by Franciszek Chełmiński. The works were completed in 1903. It was when the residence earned an architectural form similar to the present one. The residence was supposed to highlight the status and the financial possibilities of the Poznański family. The building is dominated by domes, which hide a representative Neo-Baroque dining room and a ball room. The sculptures that crown the frieze of the facade are inspired by the iconology of the Italian renaissance humanist Cesare Ripa, who described the most important symbols of the era in his book. The designers drew inspiration also from similar residences of the financial bourgeoisie of western Europe. 101 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
In September 1939, the Palace was requisitioned by the German Civil Administration: on 10 April 1940, the supreme authorities and the main departments of the District of Łódź (Regierungsbezirk Litzmannstadt) were transferred to the building. After the war, the Palace became the seat of the Voivodeship Office once again, and in 1950 – the seat of the Praesidium of the Voivodeship National Council. After the war, in late 1940s, the side wing of the palace was expanded. At the end of the 1950s, a transversal wing, where today the Tax Office has its seat, was built on. The newly erected part caused the original surface area of the strolling garden to shrink. Since 1975, part of the residence of the Poznański Family has been the seat of the Museum of the City of Łódź (up to 2009 known as the Museum of the History of the City of Łódź). Since the very beginning of its existence the institution has been rebuilding, renovating, renewing and preserving the residence, out of concern to re-establish the building to its former glory. As a result of preservation works and taking over subsequent historic rooms of the Palace, the rooms largely regained their original appearance. Since 2017, Izrael Poznański’s Palace has been undergoing a thorough preservation renovation.
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
The thirty-six two-metre figures on the roof of the palace symbolise the power of the contemporary industry, trade, wisdom, and success; in their hands, they are holding attributes of hard work: cogwheels, bales of fabric, chains, hammers, etc. Among them, we can find workers, spinners, Hermes – the god of trade, protector of merchants, and Athena – the goddess of wisdom and art, adept at weaving. In the main body, which performed a representative function, on the first floor, apart from the Large Dining Room and the room on the first floor, there are numerous lounges, and on the ground floor, in a pavilion directly connected with the palace, there were office and stock-exchange rooms. Downstairs the side wing, there were warehouses where ready products were stored and on the first floor, residential apartments, guest rooms as well as a winter garden covered with glass domes. World War I and its economic consequences, especially the closure of commercial outlets, as well as the wrong policy of the company’s management and the authorities of the reborn Polish State interrupted the period of successes of the Poznański Family. Although it formally still remained the property of Cotton Products Joint-Stock Society of I. K. Poznański, the palace had new users and the family was no longer interested in maintaining it.
Since the times of the World War I, the residence was rebuilt multiple times and it often changed owners. In January 1927, the Voivode of Łódź, Władysław Jaszczołt, obtained ministerial approval for transferring the Voivodeship Office from its previous seat in the former ‘Bristol’ Hotel at 11 Zawadzka Street (currently, Próchnika Street). In the 1930s, the winter garden was eliminated and some of the interiors were rebuilt.
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Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
art & collection
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
The basic aim of the activity of the Museum of the City of Łódź, which stems both from the Act on Museums and the Museum bylaw, is to collect, protect, make available and present goods that form part of our natural and cultural heritage, both material and immaterial in character, especially those connected with different stages of development and history of the City of Łódź. Since its establishment on 30 October 1975 as the Museum of the History of Łódź, the institution has been working towards that aim with consistency and with enormous enthusiasm. In case of the Museum of the City of Łódź, the collection has been built from scratch, the Museum did not take over (as it has happened in case of other local museums) collections of other institutions. Since the time of its establishment, the Museum has been gathering objects, which both present and document the city life and constitute products of the cultural and artistic milieu of Łódź.
Currently, the collection of the Museum of the City of Łódź includes over 62 thousand exhibits and the number is growing successively. The collected objects, inscribed in the museum inventory, are classified in a number of categories: iconographic, numismatic, ethnographic, and archeologic collections as well as collections of art industry, painting, sculpture, architecture and urban planning, music, literature, and separate collections related to the history of the City, both the oldest as well as the current one. The Museum of Sports and Tourism – Branch of the Museum of the City of Łódź has been gathering a rich collection connected to the history of sport in Łódź. In case of the Museum of the City of Łódź, an important criterion that influences the acceptance of objects to the museum collection is the relation of a given object to our City, its history, people who lived in Łódź, both the ‘ordinary’ citizens of Łódź, who did not stand out among thousands of other citizens with their everyday life and work, as well as the distinguished ones, who contributed to rendering Łódź famous, also on the international arena, with their life, work and creative output. A very important part of the Museum’s collection is formed by works and mementos of creators that either came from Łódź or were active here, both those that lived in late 19th century and the contemporary ones.
Photo: Mariusz Cieszewski / www.polska.pl
In the Museum’s repertory there are also furniture sets, lamps and chandeliers, objects that constituted elements of interior furnishings, including numerous charming products of the art industry. The Museum owns interesting collections of paintings, posters and engravings as well as sculptures. The Museum’s inventory includes multiple photographs that present Łódź: the city’s architecture and its citizens, important events: cultural, social and political ones. The Museum owns an interesting collection of 19th-century portrait photographs, numerous tableaux, a collection of postcards and advertising vignettes. The historical collection that documents the history of Łódź is very extensive and it includes documents, ephemera, correspondence, posters, bills of exchange and old coins, numerous decorations and medals. An important place in the collection of the Museum of the City of Łódź, depicting the life of the citizens of old, is taken also by objects connected with the religious life. Łódź at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a multicultural and multidenominational city and that is why in the repertory of the Museum there are Judaica as well as objects connected with the catholic, evangelical and Orthodox traditions. The Museum of the City of Łódź has its seat in the most stately palace among all the palaces that formerly belonged to the factory owners of Łódź: the Palace of Izrael Poznański. This representative dwelling, which was extended in several stages, is one of the most precious monuments of the historical heritage of Łódź; together with the surrounding factory and housing compound it is an example of the industrial Łódź of late 19th and early 20th century. Over the years, the Museum has put a lot of effort into restoring the former glamour and splendour to the Palace and its interiors.
The carefully renovated palace interiors, equipped with furniture, works of art and objects of everyday use from the Museum’s collection, constitute a testimony of the times of glory of the industrial empire of the Poznański Family and bring us closer to the times and way of life of typical Lodzermenschen. In the vast spaces of the palace, exhibitions that form part of the Pantheon of Great Citizens of Łódź were also arranged. Among them there are studies of: Marek Edelman, Alexandre Tansman, Julian Tuwim, Jan Karski and Karl Dedecius. In the Museum there functions Arthur Rubinstein’s Music Gallery, which is an exposition where important and interesting objects connected with Arthur Rubinstein, donated to the Museum after the outstanding pianist’s death, were made available to the public. In the studies of the Great Citizens of Łódź we present objects of everyday use, but also the ones related to the work they performed, which formerly belonged to famous citizens of Łódź, as well as numerous awards and valuable decorations. In the collection of the Museum of the City of Łódź connected with the Great Citizens of Łódź there are, among other things, interesting iconographic objects, posters, very first editions of famous works, and letters. It is in the Museum of the City of Łódź, in the Pantheon of Great Citizens of Łódź, where you can admire, among other things, the only Oscar statue in Łódź, which was awarded to Arthur Rubinstein by the American Motion Picture Academy, Julian Tuwim’s pen or the desk at which Karl Dedecius worked.The Museum of Sports and Tourism, Branch of the Museum of the City of Łódź, owns rich collections as well, which comprise over 26 thousand objects: awards and statues, old coins, archival materials, iconographies and sports equipment connected with the sport of Łódź, especially with sportspeople who over the years have put a lot of effort into its development. The collection includes valuable relics of Maria Kwaśniewska, a citizen of Łódź and the bronze medallist in javelin throw from the Olympics in Berlin in 1936, mostly connected with Łódź Sports Club, or of Jadwiga Wajs, an athlete born in Pabianice near Łódź, the winner of the bronze medal in discus throw from the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1932 and the silver medal from the Olympics in Berlin in 1936. For many years, the sport of Łódź has been also associated with excellent track cyclists, including the multigenerational Bek family, who for almost half a century created the tradition of track cycling in the city of textile workers. The Museum of Sports owns a collection of awards and diplomas as well as a precious bike intended precisely for the aforementioned discipline of sport. The Poznański Family Palace is a priceless monument and an important spot on the cultural map of the city, in which a rich programme of diverse educational and artistic events is implemented. The Museum also invites you to visit cyclically organised temporary exhibitions. 105 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
VISIT: photo: Gregor Laubsch
Sielskie Inscenizacje Kamila Rosińska www.facebook.com/ArtRosinska www.instagram.com/sielskie_inscenizacje
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Kamila Rosińska EASTER STORIES *published for the first time
Kamila Rosińska - mother, wife, photographer / set designer, visual artist, educator, master of arts, graduate of The Leon Schiller National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź at the Cinematography Department with a specialisation in photography. She is an exhibition curator of a Czech art gallery. “I have had lots of awards and exhibitions, both in Poland and abroad. I am a fulfilled woman". As she claims, today's art of photography often no longer serves the mimesis function, that is, imitating reality. Instead, it is rather a mirror transforming this reality into contemporary language. The world of children's photography is a beautiful and at the same time demanding artistic space. A great responsibility rests on the creator, his or her sense of aesthetics and sensitivity. As a creator, you should always be aware of that. You should not completely subordinate the child, facing the other side of the lens, to your creative visions. Probably a very difficult postulate since in the context of children's photography, the line between subjectivity and objectification is extremely thin. “In addition to idyllic and fairy-tale children's creations, I also create more abstract, surreal pictures that are exhibited and sold in art galleries. Visual communication is very important to me”.
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PHOTO GALLERY
EASTER STORIES
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- EASTER STORIES BY KAMILA ROSIŃSKA TRANSLATION: LIBRES, CONSULTATION: AMBER ACOSTA
"FOUNDLING" All of this happened in a tiny village, right on the edge of a large oak forest. The snow melted a long time ago and the area was wrapped in the first warm sun rays. That day, a spring breeze chased the clouds happily across the sky.
“Now who on earth is that?”, exclaimed the surprised host and checked if there was anyone at the door of the cottage. There was no one there but they could hear the knocking again. Knock, knock, knock, knock “Who is making fun of us?” the host said in a loud, irritated voice, rising to the door again. But this time, still, there was no one behind the door. It was a special night- so much so that it might have seemed to be magic. The moon lined the sky with stars above Helenka's hut. One of them shone so brightly that the light got through the window in the corner of
Little Hela jumped merrily out of her tiny crib. It will be a good day, the girl
the room straight, onto the egg which was lying under the quilt. The egg
thought. Hela looked forward to spring because she knew it was the time of
began to move, twitching and swinging until it hit the wooden floor and
the birth of all Mother Nature's gifts.
broke.
Work in the girl's household was not the easiest one. The family was poor,
Frightened, Helenka jumped out of her bed and, tiptoeing, she
but together they made ends meet. Helenka's father, Paweł, was often away
approached the eggshells so as not to wake anyone up. To her greatest
from home and Hela and her five siblings were looked after by their ailing
surprise, she saw a long brown beak, wrapped in unevenly spaced grey
mother, Józefa . She was a good woman, caring, protective, and loved her
feathers, emerging from the center of the egg. The beaded, sparkling
children very much.
eyes watched Helenka.
Easter holidays were coming. That day, Józefa sent little Hela to the
“Who are you?” the amazed girl asked, but received no answer.
henhouse for eggs.
“Are you a hen?” She repeated the question, but also this time, the
“Helenka, bring the most beautiful eggs you can find from the henhouse! It's
creature only glanced at Helen in surprise.
time to paint the eggs for the Easter basket,” she said to her daughter. Hela eagerly put on her shoes, threw on her red coat, and ran to the
The dawn was already creeping outside the window and the first
henhouse. In the henhouse there was a great commotion, tumult, and a huge
nightingales began to give concerts when mother entered the room.
fuss. The old Rooster ruffled his plume and suddenly squeaked with all his
When she saw Helenka sleeping on the floor, huddled in the feathered
might so that the feather from his tail fell out.
guest, she quickly guessed that it was not an ordinary egg. It was the egg
“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Quiet in this henhouse!” he crowed to his flock.
that must have fallen out of its nest on an old willow tree growing right
The hens fell silent, sat on their roosts, and stared with interest at the
behind the henhouse which belonged to a stork family.
rooster.
“Wake up, Helenka! It's time to get up and escort our guest to his family.
“I found an egg in our henhouse that is not ours! We have to get rid of it, as
They are definitely looking for him and miss him very much.”
the egg brings shame to the whole coop,” the Rooster said, “It is large and
Helenka was sad that she would have to give up her new friend, but she
misshapen. It is blue and it cannot stay here any longer! It must immediately
knew she had to. She placed the nestling in a wicker basket and they
be rolled out from the henhouse into the yard. Let the Falcon deal with it,”
went together with her mother to the old willow tree to check whether
the Rooster continued.
mom was right.
When Hela heard this, she ran into the henhouse, saying, “Rooster, leave that egg, I'll take care of it! No one deserves to be given as a dish to the Falcon!”
Storks flew nervously over the nest and you could see them looking for
The rooster thought for a moment and together with the hens, decided to
something on the ground. What joy they had when they saw that their
give the egg to little Hela. The girl returned happily home with the egg.
little fluffy son was sitting in little Helenka's basket! The embarrassed
“What have you brought us here, Helenka ?! Where are the rest of the eggs?
Rooster watched everything from the henhouse. He understood that
And why is this egg so big?” Mother asked in surprise.
being different is not always something wrong and that it is always
“I found this egg in the henhouse and I could not let the hens throw it out of
worth giving others a chance and a helping hand.
their perches. None of them wanted to sit the egg out and it will not be able to do it on its own. Please mother, let's help it warm up, without us it will
Hela cuddled up in the arms of her smiling mother and, although the tear
die!” Hela pleaded in a sad voice.
from her eye slowly fell down her cheek, she was happy. She felt that
The mother had a soft spot for the girl, who was her youngest child and she
just as the sun melts the ice, compassion and kindness reward the
agreed and let Hela hide the egg under the covers. It was already an evening
sadness of parting. The girl understood that when you help, it doesn't
and the whole family gathered to sit down to dinner when suddenly they
matter how much you possess, but how much you give to others and how
heard some knocking.
you share it. The Easter eggs? Well, probably next time mother will go to
Knock, knock, knock, knock
collect the eggs in the henhouse herself.
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EASTER STORIES
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- EASTER STORIES BY KAMILA ROSIŃSKA TRANSLATION: LIBRES, CONSULTATION: AMBER ACOSTA
"THE BRAVE BUNNY" Easter was coming. Like every year, the old wicker basket was getting ready to be decorated. Green blueberries neatly bent their twigs, entwining its wicker handle.
The colourful Easter eggs were looking forward to being placed
The proud bunny hugged the scared sugar lamb and promised to join
comfortably, side by side, on a beautifully embroidered tray
his friends in a moment. Then, the bunny made a slide from willow
cloth. Horseradish was cleaning its fair coat, while salt and
branches that led straight to an old wicker basket.
pepper were practicing flips by rolling in the salt shaker. The
He grabbed the frightened lamb by the sides and a moment later
stiff heel of bread wondered whether to sit on the right or left
they both found themselves in an old wicker basket, landing softly on
of the sugar lamb this year. The chick was skating on a piece of smoked bacon, squeaking so joyfully that the willow catkins grew angry with envy.
the heel of the bread. “What an adventure!” the sugar lamb said, flushed, “Thank you, guys! You are true friends.”
“Are you all ready?”, the big iced Easter pound cake asked.
On that day, the lamb realized that the greatest happiness is to have
“Yes, we are,” the painted Easter egg replied.
true friends because a real friend will help you, even if you do not ask
“And where is the sugar lamb?” the horseradish asked.
for it.
“I'm here,” the lamb moaned softly. “Lamb, it's time for us, soon our hostess will come to take us to the food blessing. Don't dawdle, come down immediately!” the shortcrust tart Mazurek said. “I can't jump down! It is so high and my old hooves refuse to obey,” the lamb answered sadly. The poor fellow was standing on the dresser right next to the table, his tiny sugar hooves weren't as fit as they used to be and there were a few missing icing decorations on them, which certainly made it difficult for him to jump. “We have to help him, he can't do it without us! Who is volunteering?!” the Horseradish said firmly. “We, we, we are!” the inhabitants of the Easter basket shouted eagerly. “Make room!”the chocolate bunny instructed everyone, grabbing the two longest willow twigs in its front paws. “Lamb, stand back, I'll get to you right away,” the bunny announced, preparing to jump. The eggs reddened with sensation, the chick with horseradish clutched its hands tightly, and the salt and pepper hid at the bottom of the salt shaker, terrified. Suddenly, everyone could hear,“Hopscotch!” “This is it! He did it!” the Easter eggs squealed, overjoyed.
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- EASTER STORIES BY KAMILA ROSIŃSKA -
- Polish Version -
"ZNAJDA" Działo się to w maleńkiej wiosce tuż na skraju wielkiego dębowego lasu. Śnieg już dawno stopniał i pierwsze ciepłe promienie słońca otuliły okolicę. Tego dnia wiosenny wietrzyk radośnie gonił chmurki po niebie.
Mała Hela wyskoczyła wesoło ze swojego maleńkiego łóżeczka. –To będzie udany dzień – pomyślała dziewczynka. Hela z wytęsknieniem wyczekiwała wiosny, ponieważ wiedziała, że jest to czas narodzenia wszystkich darów matki natury. W gospodarstwie dziewczynki praca, nie należała do najłatwiejszych. Rodzina była biedna, ale wspólnymi siłami wiązali koniec z końcem. Ojciec Helenki – Paweł, często przebywał poza domem, a Helą i jej pięciorgiem rodzeństwa zajmowała się schorowana matka. Dobra z niej była kobieta, troskliwa i opiekuńcza, bardzo kochała swoje dzieci. Zbliżały się święta Wielkiej nocy. Tego dnia Józefa wysłała małą Helę po jaja do kurnika. – Helenko, przynieś z kurnika najładniejsze jajka, jakie zdołasz wybrać, czas malować jaja do święconki – powiedziała do córki. Hela ochoczo założyła trzewiczki, ubrała czerwony płaszczyk i pobiegła do kurnika. W kurniku wielkie poruszenie, rwetes i wrzawa. Stary Kogut nastroszył pióropusz i jak nie piśnie z całych sił, aż mu pióro z ogona wypadło. – Kukuryku, spokój w tym kurniku – zapiał do swojej gromady. Kury przycichły, usiadły na grzędach i z zainteresowaniem wpatrywały się w Koguta. – W naszym kurniku, znalazłem nie nasze jajo i musimy się go pozbyć, jajo przynosi wstyd całemu kurnikowi – powiedział Kogut. – Jest wielkie i niekształtne, sine i nie może dłużej tu zostać, natychmiast trzeba je wyturlać z kurnika na podwórze, niech Sokół się z nim rozprawi – kontynuował Kogut. Usłyszawszy to Hela, wbiegła do kurnika mówiąc. – Kogucie, zostaw to jajo, ja się nim zaopiekuję, nikt nie zasłużył by go Sokołowi na pożarcie dawać. Kogut pomyślał chwilę i wraz z kurami wydał jajo małej Heli. Uradowana dziewczynka wróciła z jajem do domu. – A cóż tam przyniosłaś Helenko?! Gdzie reszta jajek i dlaczego to Jajo jest takie duże? –zapytała zdziwiona mama. – Znalazłam to jajo w kurniku i nie mogłam pozwolić by kury wyrzuciły je ze swoich grzędę, żadna z nich nie chciała jaja wysiedzieć a przecież samo sobie nie poradzi, proszę mamo pomóżmy mu się ogrzać, bez nas ono zginie – smutnym głosikiem prosiła Hela, a że matka miała słabość do dziecka, bo najmłodsza z dzieci była dziewczynką, zgodziła się i pozwoliła Heli jajo pod kołdrę schować. Nastał wieczór i cała rodzina zasiadała już do kolacji kiedy nagle rozległo sie stukanie: Stuk, stuk, stuk, puk…
– A kogo tam diabli niosą? – zdziwił się gospodarz i sprawdził czy kogo przed drzwiami chaty nie ma. Ale nikogo nie było, lecz znów zdało się słyszeć: Stuk, stuk, puk,puk… – Któż to żartować sobie z nas raczy – głośnym, podenerwowanym głosem powiedział gospodarz ponownie wstając do drzwi. Ale za drzwiami i tym razem nikogo nie było. Noc to była wyjątkowa, zdawać by się mogło, że magiczna. Księżyc wyścielił gwiazdami niebo, nad chatą Helenki, jedna z nich tak jasno świeciła, że przez okienko w rogu pokoiku światło wpadła prosto na znajdujące się pod puchową pierzynką jajo. Ale co to? Jajo zaczęło się ruszać, wiercić się i bujać aż spadło na drewnianą podłogę i pękło. Wystraszona Helenka wyskoczyła ze swojego łóżeczka i cichutko na paluszka by nie zbudzić nikogo zbliżyła się do skorupek. Jakież ogromne było jej zdziwienie, gdy z środka jaja wyłonił się długi brunatny dziób otulony szarymi nierówno rozmieszczonymi piórkami. Błyszczące jak paciorki oczka przyglądały się Helence. – Ktoś TY? – Zapytała zdziwiona dziewczynka, ale nie otrzymała odpowiedzi. – Czy jesteś kurą? – Ponowiła pytanie, ale i tym razem zdziwiony ktoś tylko przyglądał się Helence. Świt już skradał się za oknem i pierwsze słowiki zaczynały koncertować, gdy do izby weszła mama, gdy zobaczyła śpiącą na podłodze wtuloną w pierzastego gościa Hele, szybko się domyśliła, że to nie było zwyczajne jajo, a jajo które musiało wypaść z gniazda na starej wierzbie rosnącej tuz za kurnikiem i należało do bocianej rodziny. – Obudź się Helenko, czas wstawać i odprowadzić naszego gościa do swojej rodziny, na pewno już go szukają i bardzo za nim tęsknią. Helenka była smutna, że będzie musiała oddać swojego nowego przyjaciela ale wiedziała, że tak trzeba. W wiklinowy koszu usadowiła ptaszynę i wspólnie z mamą udały się pod starą wierzbę, sprawdzić czy mama miała rację. Bociany nerwowo latały nad gniazdem i można było zauważyć jak wypatrują czegoś na ziemi. Jakaż była ich radość, gdy zobaczyły, że w koszu małej Helenki siedzi ich malutki puchaty synek. Wszystko z kurnika obserwował zawstydzony Kogut, który zrozumiał, że nie zawsze inność jest czymś złym i że warto dać komuś szanse i pomagać. Hela wtuliła się w ramiona uśmiechniętej mamy i mimo, że łezka w jej oku powolutku spływała na policzek, to była szczęśliwa, bo tak jak słońce topi lód, tak dobro i pomoc drugiemu wynagrodzi smutek rozstania. Dziewczynka zrozumiała, że gdy pomagasz, nie liczy się to ile posiadasz, ale ile dajesz i jak się tym dzielisz. A pisanki… no cóż chyba tym razem mama już sama pójdzie pozbierać jajka w kurniku.
- EASTER STORIES BY KAMILA ROSIŃSKA -
- Polish Version -
"DZIELNY ZAJĄC" Zbliżały się Święta Wielkanocy. Wiklinowy, stary koszyk jak co roku, szykował się do strojenia. Zielone borówki, zgrabnie wyginały swoje gałązki, oplatając jego wiklinową rączkę.
Kolorowe pisanki już nie mogły się doczekać, kiedy wygodnie usadowią się, jedna przy drugiej, na pięknej haftowanej serwecie. Chrzan radośnie czyścił swój jasny kubraczek, a sól z pieprzem ćwiczyli koziołki, turlając się w solniczce. Sztywna piętka od chleba zastanawiała się, czy w tym roku usiąść z prawej, czy lewej strony baranka cukrowego?! Kurczątko ślizgało się jak na łyżwach po kawałku wędzonego boczku, przy tym, tak radośnie popiskiwało, że wierzbowe bazie nastroszyły się z zazdrości.
– Zróbcie miejsce - powiedział czekoladowy zając, chwytając w przednie łapki, dwie najdłuższe wierzbowe gałązki. – Baranku, odsuń się, zaraz u Ciebie będę – zawołał zając, przygotowując się do skoku.
– Czy wszyscy gotowi? Zapytała wielka lukrowa baba wielkanocna. – Jesteśmy wszyscy – odpowiedziała malowana pisanka. – A gdzie jest baranek cukrowy – zapytał chrzan. – Jestem tutaj – zabeczał cichutko baranek. – Baranku, czas na nas, niebawem przyjdzie po nas gospodyni i zabierze nas do święcenia. Szkoda czasu, schodź natychmiast! – powiedział mazurek. – Kiedy ja nie mogę zeskoczyć. Jest tak wysoko, a moje stare kopytka odmawiają posłuszeństwa – powiedział smutnym głosem baranek. Biedaczysko stał na komodzie tuż obok stołu, jego malutkie cukrowe kopytka nie były już tak sprawne jak kiedyś, widać było przy nich kilka brakujących lukrowych zdobień, co z całą pewnością utrudniało mu podskoki.
Nagle zdało się słyszeć: – Hooooop, siuuuup! – Udało się! – piszczały rozradowane Pisanki.
– Musimy mu pomóc, bez nas sobie nie poradzi. Kto na ochotnika?! – stwierdził stanowczo chrzan. – My, my, my – przekrzykiwali się mieszkańcy wielkanocnego koszyczka.
Tego dnia baranek zrozumiał, że największym szczęściem, jakie może nas spotkać to posiadanie prawdziwych przyjaciół, bo przyjaciel pomoże Ci, nawet jeśli o tę pomoc nie prosisz.
Pisanki, aż poczerwieniały z wrażenia, kurczątko z chrzanem trzymali się kurczowo za rączki, a sól z pieprzem schowały się ze strachu na samo dno solniczki.
Dumny zając, przytulił wystraszonego cukrowego baranka i obiecał, że już za chwilkę dołączy do przyjaciół. Z gałązek wierzbowych zajączek zrobił zjeżdżalnię, która prowadziła prosto do wiklinowego starego koszyka. Chwycił zlęknionego baranka pod boczki i chwilkę później znaleźli się obaj w starym wiklinowym koszu, lądując miękko na piętce od chleba. – Ależ to była przygoda – powiedział zarumieniony baranek cukrowy. Dziękuję Wam. Jesteście prawdziwymi przyjaciółmi.
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PHOTO GALLERY
EASTER STORIES
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PHOTO GALLERY
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KAMILA ROSIŃSKA
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photo: Marcin Kłysewicz
VISIT: Drapacz Jaj - Leszek Kłysewicz rękodzieło www.facebook.com/drapaczajaj
Leszek Kłysewicz EASTER EGGS ART *published for the first time
photos: Krystian Kłysewicz & Marcin Kłysewicz
Easter time in Poland is rich in symbolism. It is a symbolism that engages the whole person; it affects not only the soul, but also the body and human senses. The symbolism of time, light, water and singing is combined with the mysterious language of the world that wakes up from winter sleep to a new spring of life. On Holy Saturday, many Poles go with baskets in their hands to have their food blessed and the smell of shortcrust mazurek and the taste of eggs are pervasive. The obligatory presence of eggs at Easter is an undisputed issue. Easter without them is like Christmas without a Christmas tree, they are an unquestionable symbol that first comes to mind. The egg is a symbol of man's eternity, immortality and imperishability. It is also the beginning of a new life. According to a custom, an egg put into a cradle of a new-born baby was a symbol of the beginning of something new, the emergence of a new man. The egg is also a symbol of spring awakening of the nature. Because eggs are so crucial, we invite you to get to know one of the traditions associated with them, which in Poland has its own beautiful and long history. Leszek Kłysewicz from Horyniec-Zdrój - a small town located in the picturesque Eastern Roztocze - will tell us more about the egg traditions. Coincidence might actually play an important role in life. Without the conversation about Roztocze with your son Krystian, I would not have come across your works and your rather unusual activity. There is probably nothing better for the publisher of the Magazine than to find the right person at the right time - someone who creates the Easter masterpieces, mentioned in the title.
www.instagram.com/sielskie_inscenizacje
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LK: The origins date back to my childhood when I scratched a painted egg with a needle for the first time. I have been making Easter eggs every year since then. At first, the patterns were not impressive, lopsided, a lot of eggs cracked. With time, however, I developed a technique that for decades has allowed me to create very intricate patterns. Since I scratched the eggs with a broken needle from the sewing machine, the process of decorating them took a very long time. Sometimes I spent a few days on one Easter egg, depending on my free time. Hence, the production was only for my family and friends. Some time ago, with access to various tools, I started scratching and cutting patterns using a mini grinder or even a dental machine. Then, the process of their creation greatly accelerated so I started to share my works with a wider audience at fairs or on the Internet. It is still a seasonal passion that begins a few months before Easter. TLP: Your works are not typical for the subject, are they? The most common form of decorating eggs in Poland is painting them - while you "scratch the patterns on them". It is probably not the easiest art material? I have seen somewhere the statement that "the eggshell is as delicate as human life"... What is the 'base' of your works? Are there only chicken eggs or also exotic specimens? LK: I started with boiled chicken eggs painted with onion peelings or other "home" dyes. The shell of a hen's egg is delicate and at the very end of the work, after a few hours of scratching, it sometimes happened that I accidentally damaged the egg. Of course, you could always eat I regretted the time spent and the created patterns. In the 90s I tried an ostrich egg due to the establishment of an ostrich farm in a neighbouring town. Unfortunately, the egg is terribly difficult to scratch but I figured out it could be "sculpted" with a grinder and dental burs. Currently, I do not only scratch painted eggs, but I also create openwork beauties from quail, goose and ostrich eggs - less often using hens' due to their "fragility". An interesting fact is the durability of chicken eggs. I have eggs at home that are over 20 years old; inside you can hear the dried yolk bumping against the walls, but the egg does not smell bad. TLP: Can you say that some decorative themes dominate your works? What does the process of choosing a pattern look like? Are there any traditional elements, including cultural ones, or is it a more or less random decorative element? Do you have any inspirations that you like to use the most?
"On scratching eggs", i.e. one of the arts of creating Easter masterpieces - an interview with Leszek Kłysewicz.
LK: In all these years of scratching, I haven't scratched two identical eggs. The patterns are the product of my imagination, telling me what to create when I take an egg in my hands. It is a bit different with an ostrich egg, which due to its size requires a pencil sketch or at least some outline of symmetrical division of an egg. Sometimes I use the inspiration of other artists, but these are never complete copies, but only an inspiration with some design elements. I can say with full responsibility that the designs I create are somehow my trademark and are unique. TLP: Is this technique of creating Easter eggs typical of the Eastern Roztocze region, or is it one of the elements of egg decoration more widely present in Poland and maybe in the world? LK: I cannot say here about any regionalization of my patterns or even the technique. I was born and grew up in Słupsk, I moved to the Eastern Roztocze, to HoryniecZdrój, only at the beginning of the 1980s, when my craftsman's skills were already well developed. My patterns are rather universal or even unique. I remember the patterns scratched on coloured eggs from my youth, partly taken from folk patterns that I transferred to Easter eggs. Openwork products are more universal and do not always refer to folk roots. I also often make basreliefs on thick ostrich eggs.
photos: Krystian Kłysewicz
TLP: To begin with, I would like to ask about a few more general points: When did your adventure with creating scratched Easter eggs start? I guess it is not your profession, but rather a passion that developed gradually? Or maybe it has already become your real profession?
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I also use eggs to create caskets or even bedside lamps. All thanks to the use of more advanced "drilling" techniques. I return with sentiment to classic eggs scratched with a needle. Unfortunately, due to my age, nowadays I choose simpler methods of making Easter eggs. TLP: Horyniec-Zdrój, where you live, and more broadly, the Eastern Roztocze was once a multicultural area. I am thinking mainly of the coexistence of the spirituality of the Eastern Church and the so-called Western (Catholic). Do various customs that interact and interpenetrate continue to exist in these areas? I am asking, of course, mainly in the context of Easter, including the context of decorative traditions? LK: Unfortunately, history treated the Eastern Roztocze quite brutally. From a place where multiculturalism was a specific asset of the area, during the war turmoil and the post-war times, difficult for the region, it changed to a place where this multiculturalism disappeared, became a taboo subject, was forcibly forgotten, and returns only in the form of historical studies, as even most of its witnesses have already died. Have mixed cultures influenced the way Easter is celebrated in this region? Certainly, my childhood memories of Easter from Słupsk are entirely different. It was here that I first met, for example, a sour rye soup. Unfortunately, only specialists in cultural studies can comment on this subject precisely because the mix of elements makes it difficult to indicate which culture they come from. Generally, globalization makes the regional differences in Poland less and less visible. Certainly, some traditions have been forgotten, and some have become assimilated as generally Polish by erasing the memory of difficult periods and the uncomfortable history of the region. LTP: Is it possible to see or buy your works anywhere?
photos: Krystian Kłysewicz & Marcin Kłysewicz
LK: I present my works on my Facebook profile: "Drapacz Jaj Leszek Kłysewicz", where you can see the products and contact me regarding the purchase of a ready pattern or ordering something specific. People visiting Horyniec-Zdrój can also visit me and watch my products live.
art &
photos: Krystian Kłysewicz & Marcin Kłysewicz
designs
VISIT Drapacz Jaj - Leszek Kłysewicz rękodzieło www.facebook.com/drapaczajaj 123 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
ARCHIVES KRAKÓW - RĘKAWKA & EMAUS
Title: Rękawka - church of st. Benedict, Lasota Hill Author/Supplier: Henryk Hermanowicz Creation Time: 50/60'S. XX c. Creation Place: Kraków Material: Photographic film, Black and white photography, Dimensions: 3,6 x 2,4 cm Note/Description: Rękawka - Indulgence celebrated in Krzemionki on Tuesday after Easter
WWW.CT.MHK.PL
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Rekawka is a folk festival celebrated on the first Tuesday after Easter Sunday in Krakow, on the Krak Mound (also known as Krakus Mound). It is an ancient tumulus, not far from one of the oldest churches in Krakow – St. Benedict’s church.
Rekawka’'s beginnings go back to the ancient Slavic springtime celebrations, called Dziady. For ancient Slavs, spring was a time of burning sacred fires to celebrate the dead, and of planting sacred groves. They also had the custom of leaving food for the dead. The Krak Mound might have been one of such places where they held their celebrations. These ancient Slavic traditions evolved over time, and customs changed. In the 19th century, it was customary for rich citizens of Krakow to throw coins, apples, sweets and boiled eggs down the grassy slope of the Krak Mound to be picked up by poor local people. Some historians see it as a continuation of the Slavic traditions of leaving food for the dead. Nowadays, Rekawka has a popular, folk character. If the weather is warm and sunny, it can be an occasion for a pleasant family outing. There are stalls selling sweets and toys, merry-go-rounds, and street musicians. More recently, the festival has been featuring medieval knights fighting each other in mock duels and medieval craftsmen at work. There is also an opportunity to taste traditional dishes such as kołacze.
PHOTOS: Emaus - stalls, Author/Supplier: Henryk Hermanowicz, Creation Time: 70's XX c
the past About Rękawka Photos & Digitalisation: www.ct.mhk.pl, public domain
Rękawka is a Polish Easter custom celebrated in Krakow on the Tuesday after Easter, originally referring to the Slavic tradition of the spring version of Dziady. The tradition of Rękawka included, among others, throwing and rolling eggs, a symbol of new life. The name of the custom comes from the name of the mound, which, on an engraving by Matthäus Merian and Vischer de Jonge, from around 1600, was called Tumulus dictus Rękawka (the Mound called Rękawka). In the register containing the list of expenses related to the coronation of Henry III of France, there is an entry regarding the illumination of the mound on that occasion: Peasants who burned a fire on Rękawka on Te Deum laud. after the coronation and who carried wood there 21 groschen each. It is related to the legend of Krakus Mound, built by the people after the king's death. According to tradition, the soil for the mound was carried in sleeves (in Polish: “rękawy”) and hence the name "Rękawka". One of the epigrams by Jan Kochanowski indicates a similar origin of the word "rękawka" as in it means a tomb strewn with hands (in Polish: "rękami"). Rękawka with its roots undoubtedly refers to the pagan rituals associated with the Spring Forefathers (Dziady) which fall on the spring solstice. The very etymology of the word, contrary to the folk tradition, has nothing to do with carrying the soil, although it alludes to the cult of the dead. In 1592, a case concerning the borders of Wola took place before the Land Court of Kraków. It was about the violent scattering of seventeen mounds that separated the area of the village of Wola Świętoduska from the area of the town of Kazimierz, the village of Janowa Wola, and the sudden settlement of the grove and area of the village of Wola ... that is six leagues, at the fields below Lasotyna mountain and besides the route, running from Kazimierz to Wieliczka. The document contains a detailed description of the boundaries of Wola, adjacent to the meadows of the city of Kazimierz, with one of them lying at the Wieliczka main route (now Wielicka street. At the time of the separateness of Kazimierz, Krakowska street was also called Wielicka as it led to Wieliczka, then more or less along the course delineated along the present Limanowskiego street to today's Wielicka), on the west side, it was called Raczka. Primary reverence for the deceased included throwing food and coins down the hill It is possible that it was based on the possibly still pre-Slavic mound and a combination of threads from the legend of Krakus with Slavic beliefs. The rite may also echo the ancient Celtic traditions associated with the cult of the god of death, Smertius. 126 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND
On the slope of the mound, the mighty of the city rolled eggs, cobbler pancakes, bagels, rolls, apples and gingerbread directly into the hands of boys and crowds. Back in 1939, the biggest attraction was throwing bread, apples, Easter eggs, toys and balloons from the hill. It is assumed that the foundation of the church of St. Benedict and the establishment of the patron day on March 21 (the first day of spring), was the reaction of the Catholic Church to the vivid Slavic religious practices in Krzemionki. Historically, at least from the 17th century, as evidenced by sources, during the indulgence (on Tuesday, which was also a public holiday), wealthy Cracovians dropped fruit, sweets and money from the top of the mound (coins from various historical periods were found in the surface layer), while the poor, students and children collected them at the foothill. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Rękawka was held at Krakus Mound itself, but after digging the hill for the construction of a railway line, it moved to St. Benedict Mount in the northern part of Lasota Hill and was combined with an indulgence and folk party near the church of St. Benedict in Krzemionki. During the Austrian partition, in 1897, the celebrations were banned. Even the access to the mound was closed. The authorities planned to build an artillery fort in this area and also wanted to eliminate the tumult and signs of aggression among those gathered at the mound.
PHOTOS: Previous page: Emaus - stalls, Author/Supplier: Henryk Hermanowicz, Creation Time: 70's XX c. Top left: Rękawka - church of st. Benedict, Lasota Hill Top right: Emaus - stalls, Author/Supplier: Henryk Hermanowicz, Creation Time: 70's XX c Bottom right: Rękawka - indulgence celebrated in Krzemionki on Tuesday after Easter, Author/Supplier: Henryk Hermanowicz, Creation Time: 50/60 s XX c.
Easter kitchen Sękacz
Sękacz Sękacz – a multi-egg cake with 'icicles' (or branches, as it is sometimes called a "tree-cake") - is known mainly in the Easter tradition in the Suwałki region, but also in many other regions of Poland. However, most of this cake is served at the tables of almost every home on the Polish-Lithuanian border at Easter.
Legends say that the sękacz was first mentioned in the 15th century. It was supposed to be eaten by Lithuanian warriors, going to the Battle of Grunwald. According to other stories, the career of Polish sękacz began in the Suwałki region, in Berżniki, where it was baked for the first time in honour of Queen Bona. The Queen, delighted with the amber and golden cake, decided that sękacz would be the decoration of the reception table at the wedding of her son Zygmunt August. The wedding gathered in Krakow many crowned heads and, according to the legends, they all fell in love with the woodland specialty. Another story says that the Poles learned about sękacz and the method of its production from the Yotvingian people, who lived in the northern regions of today's Poland in the Middle Ages. The truth is that there is no consensus on the origin of this baking, and no wonder everyone wants to attribute it to themselves. It seems that the cake was created in the Polish Eastern Borderlands and from there it went to Germany (Germans say that Sękacz comes from Berlin), to Hungary or Romania, where the tree cake is still baked.
Ingredients (version for a home-baked cake) I250 grams of butter a cup (220 g) of sugar 3/4 cup (150 g) of coarse ground flour 1/2 cup (110 g) of potato starch 6 eggs 5 grams of ground almonds 1 spoon of rum 1/2 vanilla pod grease for the baking pan
You need 30 to 50 eggs to bake the cake. It is baked on a special cylinder above the hearth. During baking, the dough cylinder rotates and in this way characteristic knags - icicles appear on it. The average sękacz is approx. 50-60 cm high. A lot of tree cakes is made during Easter in the vicinity of Sejny and Puńsk, a town inhabited by Polish Lithuanians. Many orders are received by housewives in villages, who still make them, but Suwałki bakeries bake the most of them. Sękacz, also known as "dziad", "spit baba" or a "round pie", looks like a cake that is not so easy to prepare. However, this is not the case both the dough and the method of baking are simple however, as mentioned above, they require the use of a special oven that imitates the traditional method of baking cakes over a fire. Anyway, you will need a lot of patience. The whole process of baking the sękacz can take up to three hours! For a large size sękacz you need to use a kilogram of butter, sugar and flour, and 40 eggs (or - according to the traditional recipe - 50 yolks). Sometimes cream is also added. The dough can also be enriched with additives such as ground cardamom, vanilla, orange peel or rum. he ingredients create a fairly dense batter, which is poured over a wooden shaft filled with a spit, and this is placed over the fire or in a special oven. The roller is constantly turning, thanks to which the dough covers it evenly, and its excess flows down, creating characteristic projections similar to knots in a tree. Subsequent seared layers of sękacz, after cutting the dough, look like rings in a tree trunk.
How to make it The tree cake does not contain any complicated ingredients. The most important ingredients are eggs, wheat flour, cream, butter and sugar, which are mixed to make a sponge and butter dough. It is worth using the addition of low-gluten flour, e.g. potato starch - then the dough has a more delicate structure. In the past, quince juice was added to it as well, giving it a characteristic flavour. Today, lemon is often used instead of it, and sometimes even vanilla sugar. Cream the butter and sugar until it is light and smooth. While constantly mixing, gradually add one yolk at a time, pour in rum, almonds, ground vanilla and both types of flour. Beat the stiff foam from the cooled egg whites and gently mix with the egg mass. Grease the cake tin. Spread 2 tablespoons of dough on the bottom, bake for 5 minutes at 200°C. When the dough is lightly browned, remove from the oven, spread another two tablespoons of the dough on the baked dough and put the form back in the oven for another 5 minutes. Repeat the steps until the dough is used up. (It is important to create as many thin layers as possible). After baking, let the dough cool, remove it from the baking pan and sprinkle generously with powdered sugar or pour over with the frosting.
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Sękacz, as the pride of the Suwałki Region, has its festival here. It takes place on August 15 each year in Żytkiejmy, on the border of Mazury Garbate and Suwałki Region.
SĘKACZ IS A BAKED PRODUCT CHARACTERISED BY EXCEPTIONAL DURABILITY. EVEN AFTER 10 WEEKS IT IS STILL EDIBLE AND, WHAT'S MORE, IT STILL TASTES GREAT!
At home, without a special oven, it is also possible to prepare your own version of Sękacz. Of course, the proportions change. The ready batter is poured in a thin layer at the bottom of the baking tray, baked for a few minutes in the oven, then covered with another portion of the dough and baked again. Repeat the action until you run out of dough.
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Easter kitchen Sękacz
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Magdalena Tomaszewska-Bolałek
—
orientalist,
culinary
culture
scholar, head of Food Studies at the SWPS University, author of the following
books:
Culinary
Traditions
of
Japan,
Japanese
Sweets,
Culinary Traditions of Korea, Polish Culinary Paths, Culinary Traditions of Finland, Deserownik and The Polish Table. Recipient of many Gourmand World
Cookbook
Awards,
Prix
de
la
Littérature
Gastronomique,
the
Chinese Diamond Cuisine Award and Magellan Award. She researches the history of cuisines, anthropology of food, culinary diplomacy and tourism. She conducts meetings gives lectures, cooking classes and writes the blog Kuchniokracja. She promoted Polish culinary culture in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Moldova and on Jersey Island.
CONTACT: m.tomaszewska@hanami.pl The table is not only a piece of furniture. It is also often the centre of a culinary universe around which people sit to talk, laugh and enjoy food. It’s a magical place where tradition meets the present day. We often don’t
realise
how
many
fascinating
stories
are
connected
to
our
photo: Marta Pańczyk
favourite dishes and ingredients, yet flavours, smells and stories have a long-lasting
place
in
our
memory.
Discovering
the
world
through
culinary culture is a wonderful adventure. I invite you to sit at the table – the Polish table.
www.bunkatura.pl/the-polish-table www.bunkatura.pl/mesa-polaca
The Polish Table – Mesa Polaca –
POLISH TABLE by Magdalena Tomaszewska-Bolałek
Lazy Dumplings / Pierogi leniwe
Everyone has a favourite childhood dish which is usually a reminder of our family home, the food our mother made, or holidays spent at grandma’s house. Polish cuisine has many flour-based dishes on offer. They are often treated as comfort food. Such dishes include apple pancakes sprinkled with icing sugar, strawberries and cream, a buttery plum cake and pierogi leniwe – lazy dumplings – made with boiled potatoes and, in some parts of Poland, with cottage cheese. Pierogi leniwe are served with breadcrumbs and fried in butter or sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. 150 g / 5 oz. boiled potatoes 200 g / 7 oz. cottage cheese 200 g / 7 oz. flour 1 egg butter cinnamon sugar
Put the boiled potatoes, cottage cheese, egg, salt and flour into a bowl. Mix well until you get a smooth batter. If it's too sticky, add a little flour. Roll the dough into strips, about 2 cm / 0.8 in. in diameter. Flatten them and cut into 3-4 cm / 1.2-1.5 in. long pieces. Drop the dumplings into boiling salted water. Take them out 4-5 minutes after they start floating. Serve with melted butter, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Lazy dumplings also taste great when reheated in the pan.
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photo: Magdalena Tomaszewska-Bolałek
visual guide where to find wolfs and bisons in a natural habitat
guide by: lovePoland
source: www.gios.gov.pl www.lasy.gov.pl
Wolves Centuries ago, groups of wolves, or packs, roamed Poland in great numbers. Over the years, they were held in disrepute and exterminated as a threat to humans and livestock. The wolf population in Poland got so depleted that they were on the verge of extinction. Today, they are under strict protection and a number of measures are taken to improve their image. The species that occurs in Poland and Europe is the grey wolf. It inhabits forest and mountain areas, vast plains and wetlands. Wolves live in packs of up to 20 individuals, although they are usually smaller (in Poland their families often consist of approx. 6-8 animals). The pack is a bit like a human family - there are parents, their children, until a certain age, and sometimes other wolves from the previous litters. There is a strictly defined hierarchy in the pack, with the alpha pair at the top, which is the only one that can reproduce. They need a lot of space, one or two packs occupy an area of 100 to 300 km2. In 2019, official data provided by the Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection already mentioned the number of around 2,000 individuals (according to less official data, the population of wolves in Poland has reached approximately 3.5 thousand animals). Despite the significant increase, the number is low while compared to the size of the population of other wild animals. Before the wolf was put under protection, its compact habitats were limited to the Carpathians and vast forests in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country. Wolves rarely appeared in the forests of western and central Poland. The situation started to change gradually after 1998. Thanks to their incredible ability to long-distance, several hundred- kilometre roams, wolves gradually returned to their former refuges in central and western Poland, where they successfully re-colonized all larger forest complexes on their own. Single animals, especially wolf cubs leaving their family groups in search of partners and new territories, may also periodically appear outside vast forests, also in the areas of farmland and woodland mosaics. Assigning wolves to administrative units, a common practice in acquiring statistical data, contributes to misconceptions about their territorial range.
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It also results from the fact that wolves often inhabit forest complexes divided between two or even three provinces. The largest wolf refuges are located in the following voivodeships: Subcarpathian, Lublin, Podlaskie, Warmian-Masurian, and Lesser Poland. Few wolves live in the Silesia and West-Pomeranian Voivodeship, around Piła and in the Noteć Forest in Greater Poland as well as in Opole Voivodship, in the Kędzierzyn Forest Inspectorate. In the Lubuskie Voivodeship, they visit the Karwin Forest Inspectorate and its vicinity, in the Masovian Voivodeship, they are seen in the Myszyniec Forest Inspectorate in the Kurpiowska Forest, and in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, they occasionally visit the western part of the region and quite sporadically drop in the Kwidzyn Forest Inspectorate. The wolves, seen in the north of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, may theoretically migrate to the west. They are not present in the Lower Silesian, Łódzkie and Świętokrzyskie voivodships.
Olsztyn
Warszawa 9. Biały Jar – Karpacz
6. Szklarska Poręba Wrocław
Kraków
created by lovePoland *source:: www.pzlow.pl, 2009-2019 and PAN, www.lasy.gov.pl
4. Kasprowy Wierch
European bisons One hundred years ago, the last free-living bison in the Białowieża Forest was killed by a poacher. The ideas to save the species were born in many countries. For the first time, the appeal to establish an international organization for the protection of the European bison was presented at the International Congress for Nature Conservation in Paris in 1923, by a Polish naturalist Jan Sztolzman. His speech contributed to the establishment of the International Society for the Protection of Bison, gathering representatives of 16 countries. The representatives of Poland and Germany were the most active members of the organisation. In 1923, only 54 purebred European bisons remained in the world, and 12 of them were used to restore the species. The effort paid off and the first two bisons appeared in the fall of 1929 in the pens built by State Forests in the Białowieża Primeval Forest. In 1939, there were already 16 animals in the Forest that fortunately survived World War II Currently, there are approx. 2,000 bison in Poland - this is a number that fills us with pride and optimism, although the bison is still not completely safe..
There are 5 free populations in Poland (Białowieża Primeval Forest, Knyszyńska Primeval Forest, Borecka Primeval Forest, West Pomeranian Herd and Bieszczady). At the end of 2014, 1434 bisons lived in Poland, including 222 in closed breeding and 1212 in free populations. At the end of 2019, after the inventory, 2048 animals were recorded in free herds and 221 in closed farms. Our country is inhabited by a total of 2,269 bisons. This is almost 400 animals more than two years earlier when in Poland there were 1873 of them. These animals are most numerous in the free population of Białowieża (770 animals) and in the Bieszczady Mountains (668 animals). Then, successively, in the West Pomeranian herd (305) and in the Knyszyńska Primeval Forest (173) as well as in the Borecka Forest (112 animals). The smallest, but also the youngest, free herd of European bison, which was established in 2018, is located in Augustów Primeval Forest and had 9 individuals at the beginning of the year. When it comes to captive bred bisons, the definitely largest herd is the "Żubrowisko" Reserve in Pszczyna (56), then the Breeding Centre in Białowieża (27) and the European Bison Breeding Centre in Niepołomice (22).
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R O Z T O C Z E
BY: KRYSTIAN KŁYSEWICZ TOMASZ MICHALSKI TOMASZ MIELNIK ABOUT
The album has 424 pages, hardcover, spine 3.6cm, weight over 3kg, format 24x30cm, published by Libra, available on their website www.libra.pl
Roztocze. East Roztocze. A place where the mysticism of the East meets the pragmatism of the West. A place that crosses the boundaries of time and space. It reaches far into the adjacent lands and pulls them into its orbit. Rooted in the languages and cultures of the people of the borderland, creating its own culture, language and landscapes from their tissues. And it is in the landscapes of Roztocze that the traces of all the elements that have built the identity of Roztocze are most strongly imprinted. Their signature can be found on Bruśno roadside figures, on tomb crosses, on holy paintings, on icons and iconostases, on matzevahs in town squares, in village fences, in fields, on palace walls and house windows, on epitaphs, in forests and cemeteries scattered around the area. The Latin antiquity is mixed with the Cyrillic alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet with the Schwabacher. Under the domes and vaults of churches, tserkvas, synagogues and chapels, the sounds of their syllables float. Melodic lines interpenetrate and intertwine in Roztocze counterpoint. And not only the languages and their melodies merge into one, but also the time that flows upstream in Roztocze, towards the springs.
At one point, the present, the past, and the future are gathered and spread widely. And all those who exist in between are never quite sure in which time they exist. They only know the place of Roztocze. And they see it's good. Krystian Kłysewicz, Tomasz Michalski and Tomasz Mielnik not only see Roztocze and photograph it day after day and year after year. They are part of Roztocze. They are as deeply rooted in its landscapes as it is itself. In their photos, they tell its story as if they were telling their own. Each of them has found its own language and its place in the Roztocze universe. Each of them found their own very personal point of view. The album, which was created from photos brought from many years of peregrinations along the roads and wilderness of the world, is a Roztocze counterpoint, where each frame stands opposite another frame. Where their different, separate and very personal visions, like melodic lines, intertwine and complement each other, creating an extraordinary and unprecedented polyphony of images. From wide imaginations reaching beyond the horizon with a bird's flight, through an extremely precise, geometric, even inventory description of space, to detail, element, brought to the light from a deep shadow, touching the essence of the world, its meaning and soul. Separately, these photographers are extremely compelling and inspiring. Together, they created a story that will permanently enter the canon of Roztocze works. All those who reach for ROZTOCZE will not let it get dusty on the shelf. It is a book that goes beyond the pages of paper, beyond time and space, and returns with us to the sources of its existence - to Roztocze. Robert Gmiterek Poet, photographer, associated with Roztocze since his birth
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