Travel Love Poland Magazine - December 2019 by travel.lovePoland

DECEMBER – FEBRUARY 2020 | VOL 1 | ISSUE 10 ISSN 2515-8503

travel.lovePoland

through the lens

Winter charm When there are clouds in Orawsko-Nowotarska Valley between Babia Góra and the Tatra Mountains, standing above the clouds, we feel as if the Tatra Mountains were an island on the sea. At dawn, it looks very beautiful. Ł ukasz Sowi ń ski

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VOLUME 1 ISSUE 10

from the editor

Dear Readers, Winter is probably the most beautiful in the Polish mountains. Hence, on this occasion, we invite you for several expeditions to the mountainous corners of Poland. First, we will visit the Bieszczady Mountains and talk to probably the most famous forester in Poland – Kazimierz Nóżka. Our journeys would not be complete without the Tatra Mountains – this time in a slightly extreme version – namely climbing. Stanislaw Magiera will tell about it. As you probably know, we do not want to focus only on the best-known corners of Poland, therefore we also invite you to the slightly mysterious Low Beskids and Gorce where we will be guided around by Krystian Kiwacz. And if you want to learn a bit more about our beautiful cover – read the story of Łukasz Sowiński, already familiar to you, about Babia Góra. We also invite you to the mysterious and beautiful Sowie Mountains, courtesy of Telewizja Sudecka and to get to know Krynica-Zdrój as part of our cooperation with the Meet the Beskid Sadecki Project. The pictures were prepared for us by Konrad Rogoziński. The whole of the Mountain expeditions will be summed up in a slightly less typical way by Katarzyna Skóra, taking you into the world of folk beliefs from the Low Beskids region. It will be a chilling tale – not just because of the winter temperature. I recommend it. As usual, the magazine cannot miss at least short visits to beautiful Polish cities. This time we will come over to Gdańsk for a moment to visit Artus Court and knock around to Wrocław again – this time Anna Adamska will talk about the famous lighthouse keeper and preparations for the Christmas Market. One of our biggest passions is Polish tradition. So, let's get to know in detail the work on the preparation of the traditional Kraków nativity scene. Jakub Zawadziński will tell us about it. And then, feel free to visit the Żywiec Beskids to experience and learn the Christmas and New Year traditions of Żywiec Forefathers' Eve. This phenomenon is unique, even on a national scale. Because December is the Christmas period, let's carol with us and get to know the traditions connected with the Carolers. Our Christmas section complements the gallery of works by Kamila Rosińska, showing the magic of Christmas in beautiful staging. There will also be something for children, you can read with them the legend of Sir Twardowski. I still remember it from my childhood. Beautiful. Big thanks to the authors of the photos for their cooperation. artur tomasz tureczek Happy Christmas to all of You. Editor-in-Chief Travel.LovePoland

Contributors to this issue: Anna Adamska, Ania Olesińska, Kamila Rosińska, Katarzyna Skóra, Bernadett Urbanovics, Max Danilevsky, Daniel Franek, Bartłomiej Jurecki, Krystian Kiwacz, Stanisław Magiera, Kazimierz Nóżka, Adam Pachura (Telewizja Sudecka), Przemysław Sękowski, Łukasz Sowiński, Konrad Rogoziński, Jakub Zawadziński. Tatra Mountains photos thanks to: Rafał Raczyński, Leszek Kłyś, Paweł Pośpiech, Tomasz Wróblewski, Grzegorz Zielski. Happy Christmas to all of you. As always a big thanks to Kasia Śpiewankiewicz graphic editor @britanniaweb.co.uk for the support. Thank You. If you would like to support or cooperate with our magazine please contact us via: info@lovepoland.org

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.LOVEPOLAND.ORG

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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

VOL 1. ISSUE 10 DECEMBER – FEBRUARY 2020

CONTENTS Bieszczady: Kazimierz Nóżka 0 5

Making Christmas Crib: Jakub Zawadziński 1 2

Beskid Niski and Gorce: Krystian Kiwacz 3 0

Babia Góra: Łukasz Sowiński 7 2

Żywiec Forefathers' Eve: Daniel Franek 9 4

20 26 50 52 58 66 84 107 111 113 123 125

Artus Court: Gdańsk Midnight lantern Wrocław: Anna Adamska Vampyres of Beskid Niski: Katarzyna Skóra To the top of the Tatra: Stanisław Magiera Tokarnia: Przemysław Sękowski Krynica-Zdrój: Konrad Rogoziński The Owl Mountains: Telewizja Sudecka Carol Singers A. Olesińska, Ł. Sowiński Saint Nicholas and Christmas gifts Art Gallery for Christmas: Kamila Rosińska The legend of Sir Twardowski (for kids) Sing with us

photo on the front cover: Babia Góra: Łukasz Sowiński

narrated by Kazimierz Nóżka

Brown bear / Ursus arctos. Bieszczady Mountains. By Szymon Bartosz, adobe.com

B I E S Z C Z A D Y

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DOES THE FOREST HAVE A SOUL? Interview with Kazimierz Nóżka, a forester from the Bieszczady Mountains.

Are you sure you want to leave everything and head out to the Bieszczady? – such a question can be found on the cover of the book by Kazimierz Nóżka, Marcin Scelina and Maciej Kozłowski entitled 'Bieszczady'. For someone who may not know the history of Bieszczady very well, and especially for those who come to this corner of Poland from far away, this question may seem a bit surprising. Not everyone is aware that this part of Poland, somewhat wild and sometimes even forgotten, was a place of "escape" for many of those who wanted to change their lives, run away from civilization and everyday hustle. It was also a place not always associated with romantic escapes. Bieszczady might provide a shelter not only for those who wanted to commune with nature but also those who would prefer the world forget about them, as their lives were not always a reason to be proud of. On the occasion of the promotion of 'Bieszczady' book, we invite you, together with Kazimierz Nóżka, a forester in the forestry district of Polanki in the Bieszczady Mountains, for a small trip to the Bieszczady forests, nooks and crannies.

TLP: I would like to start our conversation with a fairly general question, which I hope will be a good introduction to further conversation – namely: Does the forest have a soul? What is this soul like? What does your contact with it look like?

Kazimierz Nóżka, a forester from Polanki in Podkarpackie voivodeship.

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KN: The forest is a powerful, dynamic organism full of various interesting elements. From microscopic creatures to dignified bison or dangerous bears... from plants invisible to the naked eye, to magnificent firs, beech trees and pines... the forest consists of cliffs, ravines and streams, the forest includes also rocks and mossy trunks of old trees. The forest means also people working in it and using it in different ways. A forest without a soul does not exist as, after all, everything that has the germ of life has a soul. The soul with the gifts we have from the forest permeates our lives... everything that comes from wood, everything that has forest flavours and aromas, everything nice that we associate with the forest has such a kind of soul. If you have such a constant contact with the forest as I have had for decades, then this soul of the forest nay be found in the heart of a man, it is always at the fingertips. You just have to move slower while walking in the forest and allow yourself for a moment of delight with everything that surrounds you there and you will hear the quiet sighs of the forest soul. (smile)

TLP: You have been connected with Bieszczady for many years (probably 40?) Do you remember how you got there? I don't think it was that difficult, as you come from the this region. What was your way to stay in the solitude of the Bieszczady? And what did your path to forestry look like? KN: I didn't get to Bieszczady... I was born in Bieszczady. Here, in the land of I took my first awkward steps. Here I spent my happy childhood under the watchful eye of a caring mother and older siblings. Dad was more often in the woods than at home... it was on the shoulders of my mother and older brothers to run a fairly large farm in these difficult mountain conditions. My future was shaped in such conditions. Without any remarkable walks through the woods with Dad the forester, without great delight the wild nature that surrounded us from everywhere. Work on the farm and learning marked my everyday routine of the primary school period. And then my father wanted me to become a forester. His wish came true and it is something for what I am grateful. For 40 years I have been a forester in the most wonderful region of the world... here, where the paths of bears and bison, deer and wolves, roes and lynx cross. Here, in those forests, where you can smell bear's garlic in spring, where you can taste the fruits of wild cherries in summer, where you may lack proper words

in autumn to describe the colours of the surrounding hills, where dignified firs dress up in snow hats in the winter... here I work, here other people work hard, earning money to support their families, the firewood and the wood for many other necessary purposes come from here. Here is my place... here is my little homeland. TLP: What is 'Bieszczady' book like? The title itself (as well as the subtitle: "before you go to the Bieszczady Mountains") may somewhat suggest that this is an introduction, a guide to the things to do and how to prepare for the Bieszczady expedition. However, it is probably not a travel guide, is it? You write: We are taking you to the real Bieszczady. Both to those that are the object of our dreams of a green enclave and to a place that we had no idea about." So what is this book, both for you and for the potential reader? KN: The book "Before you go to the Bieszczady Mountains" is not another tourist guide around the Bieszczady land. It is rather the story of two ordinary foresters, inscribed in the space-time of Bieszczady, from the 1960s to the present. TLP: You are a forester and I would like you to tell about Bieszczady from this perspective. What is the meaning of nature, the existence of nature reserves, the significance of human care in this respect. Does the forest need a man to exist? What special things do the Bieszczady forests, vast pastures, 'sluggish domes of mountain peaks' have to offer to those seeking contact with nature? KN: Of course, the forest does not need a man to exist and last forever. It is a man who needs the forest to be able to use a renewable raw material – wood. It is important to take advantage of this good which is the forest with the greatest prudence; the foresters who are called to do so should act responsibly and in accordance with the state of forestry art! We can and we have to protect forests. There are various forms of this protection: national parks, nature reserves are the most important forms... but every forester in the forestry district he administers has the ability to affect the protection of interesting areas by, for example, selecting xylobiont refuges or protecting zones for valuable species. The Bieszczady forests like no other provide exceptional experiences to those who are looking for close contact with nature... just enter the space of beech forests in spring, when beeches get dressed in delicate green... it is enough to go crazy with happiness (smile). TLP: We talk about the Bieszczady Mountains during the quite specific season of the year, which is winter. It may seem that for the life of the forest and its inhabitants it is a dormant period and nothing special can be observed then.

Bears are actually sleeping. However, the winter forest is probably not completely "empty" and "dormant?" Where in your district shall we go to in winter to encounter traces of nature's life in its most interesting instances, also for the tourist? KN: Winter... in nature it is time of latency. Deciduous trees without leaves, larches devoid of their delicate needles... everything is grey until the snow falls. The white of the snow changes the face of the forest... the dark crowns of firs contrast strongly with the white of the beech slopes... in the interior of over 100 year old firs and beeches one may encounter bears' lairs... the packs of wolves track deer swarms to hunt effectively at the right moment... the lynx follows the roe deer steps, hoping to surprise them this time. Bison in winter herds eat evergreen blackberry leaves, you may hear foraging woodpeckers and black soot crows roaming the skies in search of leftovers from wolf feasts... on white cracks of frozen rivers and streams we will meet otters. And duckers during their morning meal... we can also meet, although nowadays it is pretty rare, a smoking retort which transforms wood into charcoal. TLP: Kazimierz, 'Bieszczady' is not your first book. Your first book entitled "The bear from Baligród and other stories of Kazimierz Nóżka" has brought you some recognizability. You've probably seen all the Bieszczady bears, what's more, you've photographed them all. I only had the opportunity to meet them twice. Both occasions were in the Tatras, and on the second one, in the Roztoka Valley, I had to evacuate by escaping to the shelter. What are your encounters with bears? Is it a different experience for someone who knows them well enough? KN: As a matter of fact, I had to work in forestry, where there are quite a lot of these bears. So I could do nothing but learn to live with them. We all know very well that they are very dangerous animals. You ought to have knowledge of how to behave in such an area where you are likely to meet a bear, eyeball to eyeball. I think that all these several years of sharing this forest, we understand each other perfectly. I know how to get out of their way, where they feed most often, where they rest, etc. Of course, this is my confidential information; it is not publicly available to all the people visiting the area. We warn people not to venture into intimate forest refuges, to stay close to trails and roads for their safety. A lot of situations and different experiences with bears in the background were described in the book "The Bear from Baligród and other stories of Kazimierz Nóżka" which I recommend (smile again). 07 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

on photo: Lynx cub

TLP: Finally, I would like to ask for auto advertisement of your Facebook page: “Nadleśnictwo Baligród”[Baligród Forest District]. You and Mr. Marcin Scelina have probably become the most recognizable foresters in Poland thanks to, among others, the Baligród Forest District website. From the book 'Bieszczady' I know that you have never taken this project very seriously (maybe I should add: from a 'marketing' point of view), but the fact is that you devote much of your time to posting information, photos and videos on this profile. What does this form of communication mean for you? What message do you want to send to the recipients? KN: The Baligród Forest District page on Facebook is already several years old. This is the original idea of Marcin Scelina, an outstanding botanist. He once asked me to cooperate with him, and that's how we've been running it for six years. A lot of fans, now it is about 150 thousand followers – observe us constantly. We must admit that for us this is a large audience. We try to be authentic in conveying our content, we bypass the political threads and show what we have every day – our work, we try to smuggle a lot of knowledge about natural topics... this site has a human face... or rather faces and I think it gives it the popularity because the fans see that they deal, in fact, with real people, not with something hidden behind a nice picture.

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on photo: Red deer (Cervus elaphus). Red stags attacked by wisents. Bieszczady Mountains. ByÂ Szymon Bartosz

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info

Bieszczady National Park info: Bieszczady National Park visit: www.bdpn.pl

THE PARK'S R IC HES I NC LU DE THE LARGE PRE DAT ORS T HAT INHABI T IT, INCL UDI NG WOLVE S A ND LYNXE S.

In accordance with Polish legislation, the highest form of nature conservation is that of a natural park. This protects nature’'s resources and the processes of large areas representing outstanding features of nature where it is relatively intact. Among the Polish mountain national parks, the Bieszczady National Park is the only one which protects the nature of the Eastern Carpathians. In the rating of the Polish national parks (Denisiuk et al. 1991), the Bieszczady National Park has an extremely high score and ranks third only to the Tatra National Park and the Pieniny National Park. It is the outstanding natural attractions which placed the Bieszczady National Park in a group of several Polish parks well-known outside Poland and is listed the world over as among the most interesting national parks in Europe. This status of international tourist attraction stems most of all from the presence of natural ecosystems of the Carpathian primeval forest with sizeable populations of large herbivorous and carnivorous mammals as well as birds-of-prey. Another unique feature is the subalpine meadow zone with interesting East-Carpathian plants and sites of occurrence of rare alpine invertebrate species. These valuable attractions of the Bieszczady park and the two landscape parks surrounding it decided that the International Reserve of Biosphere “Eastern Carpathians” should be established in the Bieszczady mountains. 10 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Bieszczady National Park is one of the country's largest national parks. It encompasses an area of nearly 300 square kilometres in the south-eastern region of Podkarpackie Voivodeship. In 1992, the BNP (Bieszczady National Park) became a part of the "East Carpathian" International Biosphere Reserve, the first UNESCO reserve to be located in three countries. The Polish portion of this reserve is complemented by sections in Ukraine and Slovakia. The park contains the highest sections of the Polish fragment of the East Carpathians, together with their largest attraction: unique mountain pastures located above the tree line. The highest peak in the Polish part of the Bieszczady range is Tarnica, located at 1346 m.a.s.l. The park's riches include the large predators that inhabit it, including wolves and lynxes. Bears can also be spotted here, and according to WWF statistics around 80 of them live in the Bieszczady range. Another of the park's attractions is its growing herd of bison, at present numbering around 280 members. This is the second-largest collection of wild bison in Poland and thus in the world. A large population of deer and stags live here as well, as do over 140 species of birds. The park also hosts a Hucul horse farm. A unique feature of the BNP (Bieszczady National Park) national park are the numerous traces of settlements from before the Second World War.

Some rules for visiting the Bieszczady National Park for educational and touristic purposes:

“The expansive, gentle and still wild mountains provide shelter to bears, wolves and bison. The beautiful landscapes and deep forest" mor e details at : www.bdpn.pl

Grey wolf (Canis lupus) in the river. Bieszczady Mountains. PolandBy Szymon Bartosz

In the area of the Bieszczady National Park, there is a network of marked hiking trails, natural and historical-nature paths and walking paths that are open to the public. Due to the safety of visitors and nature protection, walking along the trails in the area of the National Park is allowed only from dawn till dusk. Admission to tourist trails and to the area of nature paths, between April 13 and November 17, is payable and tickets can be purchased in information and cash points. The amount of fees is specified in the price list. The ticket is valid for the whole day. It is forbidden to take dogs to tourist trails and nature trails, with the exception of sections running along public roads. People with disabilities have the right to move along the trails and paths along with a specially marked assistance dog. Horseback tourism is permitted on specially marked trails for horse riding.

Cycling in the park is allowed on public roads and (after purchasing the admission fee on the trail) on properly marked routes in the valley of the upper San. Skiing is allowed on marked sections of hiking trails and on: walking routes around Wetlina; walking routes in Wołosate (after their launch), walking routes in the Tarnawa protection area (after their launch). Camping is allowed in the following designated places: Campsite in Bereżki, Camping Górna Wetlinka. For the use of the campsite, fees are charged, the amount of which is determined in the price list. Campfires are only allowed in places designated and adequately prepared by the BNP. Organizing tourist events, including rallies, in the area of the park is allowed only with the consent of the park director and on the terms agreed prior to the organization of the event. Due to the safety of the tourists, in the winter season, it is recommended to report the planned route at the GOPR rescue stations (Mountain Rescue Team). In the period from January 1 to April 13 and from November 17 to December 31, no admission fees for mountain trails and nature trails are charged. The employees of the Park Service and Park Guard officers are entitled to control persons in terms of following the regulations in force in the Park, including the control of admission fees and to impose fines. In the area of the Bieszczady National Park it is prohibited to: make loud noise; capturing or killing wild animals, collecting or destroying eggs, juveniles and animal developmental forms, disturbing vertebrate animals, collecting antlers, destroying burrows, nests, lairs and other animal shelters and their breeding places; catching fish and other aquatic organisms; destroying or deliberately damaging plants and fungi as well as harvesting wild plants and fungi or their parts; use, destruction, deliberate damage, pollution and alteration of natural objects, areas and resources, creations and elements of nature. 11 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Photo by: Jakub Zawadziński

MAKING CHRISTMAS CRIB by: Jakub Zawadziński Photos by: Jakub Zawadziński and Max Danilevsky Facebook: Max Danilevsky Photography & Movies www.facebook.com/internalclarity Instagram: Max Danilevsky, www.instagram.com/maxdanilevsky

The theme of the Krakow Crib (nativity scenes) was already present in our magazine. However, we didn't have the opportunity to talk to someone who actually makes, or rather creates them. We invite you to read the interview with Jakub Zawadziński. A creator and enthusiast of Kraków nativity scenes.

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Jakub, you are still a young man, but as far as I know you have been dealing with cribs for a long time. Do you remember when your first crib was created and what was the stimulus for you to create it? A tradition, a kind of passion for the culture of Kraków? JZ: The topic of Kraków cribs has been present in my life and interests ever since I can remember. Although I come from a long line of Krakovians, I do not come from a family with crib traditions such those of my friend's Andrzejek Malik, who represents already the 5th generation of the Krakow Cribs' creators in his family.

“the profession is passed from father to son”

“Today's Nativity Scene is the result of a twohundredyear evolution of tradition”

DECEMBER 2019

JAKUB ZAWADZIŃSKI

This profession is passed from father to son; on the other hand, some of old and new masters were and they often still are self-taught, just like me. At the age of 7 I thought that the cribs were built by some engineers and professors in the comfort of some specialized laboratories (laughs). It wasn't until around 2008 that I received a wonderful book by Wiesław Barczewski (old crib master) with practical technical advice on how to make a crib from the beginning to the end, so after reading it I quickly built the first crib "prototype", 8-10 cm in size, a very simple construction that, unfortunately, due to my stupidity, was trampled by my classmates during a school break after I brought the raw construction to show at our art lesson. It was one of the traumatic memories of my childhood (laughs) so it wasn't until 2010 that I dared to build the same structure again and at the age of 14 I put up my first crib, it was probably at the 68th Krakow cribs competition. In the children's category I received a distinction for it, which made me even more passionate.

How did it start? As far as I could go back in my memory, my first earliest memories of my adventure with the cribs begin even before going to primary school, when as a few-year-old I was taken by my granddad to the crib exhibition. Once, I got an album from him with pictures of the cribs, I remember how I put the tracing paper on it and drew the shapes of the cribs from them, thinking that in this way I could get the effect as in the exhibition and photos from the album. The next very nice memory for me is the one connected with the event from my primary school, when during breakfast breaks between the lessons, I walked between my friends, collecting papers from aluminium and golden foil (an important material for building cribs), left after they unwrapped their candies, "because I would build a crib". Unfortunately, for a long time I did not know how to take up this handicraft, there are no schools anywhere to learn it.

TLP: From the layman's perspective, it would seem that nativity scenes and all kinds of handicrafts are rather a job for older, experienced artists. But it is probably not true, is it? Is the handicraft of nativity scenes still alive and does it have successors? JZ: In my opinion, it is enough to come to the Adam Mickiewicz monument on the first Thursday of December to find the answer (smile); I think I will answer this question in two ways – the tradition of creating Nativity Scenes is still alive and it is doing relatively well. There are about 40 creators of cribs who regularly, like me, create cribs for the competitions and to the private orders (not counting those who do not create cribs every year, or those who compete only occasionally).

Photo by: Jakub Zawadziński

PROFILE

Generally, most of the participants of the competition and most of creators are children and young people, which makes me very happy because I see lots of these young people every year with new works. However, let's look at it from a different angle – the number of cribs submitted in the competition over the last 80 years, since the beginning of the competition, ranged between 100 and 200, with the majority being refined works prepared mostly by adult masters who had been into the profession for at least several years. 13 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

TLP: We probably should have started our conversation from this question, but now it is probably a good moment as well – could you tell us what the Kraków Nativity Scene actually is? How would you describe it? What materials are cribs made of, what should they contain, what characteristic elements should a traditional Kraków crib have? And finally, are you especially proud of any of your works? What kind of crib was it? JZ: The Kraków Nativity Scene or Kraków Crib is a wonderful tradition dating back to the early nineteenth century, thanks to which you have the irresistible impression that the Baby Jesus was not born in the shabby Bethlehem Grotto, but somewhere under St. Mary's Church, among the Wawel towers and market houses where Lajkonik with all the city residents, angels, musicians, kings, etc. may worship him. This rather 'crazy' idea of such an unusual housing of the Christmas scene was born in the minds of craftsmen and builders from villages near Kraków, today's districts of Zwierzyniec or Krowodrza, bricklayers, carpenters, roofers, who, in the winter period, used to have less construction work year by year which caused their lower earnings during that period. In order to earn some extra money, lots of them, according to the Old Polish tradition, began to walk with groups of their journeymen with carols to rich bourgeois houses, staging the nativity performances in the cribs called Bethlehem creches, i.e. typical wooden sheds that we can see today in churches at Christmas. However, to gain more customers and beat numerous competitors, some began to build not ordinary wooden Christmas cribs, like the one in Bethlehem, but create them in the form of noble palaces, the architecture of which included the well-known monuments of Kraków like St. Mary's Church, Sigismund's chapel, etc., making the first primitive Kraków cribs which since them have begun to serve as a stage for Nativity plays in the form of a puppet theatre. Over the years, increasing competition between various groups of carollers and cribbers brought ever greater growth and evolution of the forms of the first Kraków cribs (in those days

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they usually reached 1.5 to 3 meters in height), until Michał Ezenekier built the first fully defined and evolved Cracow Nativity Scene, today known as "Mother Nativity Scene", which, to this day, sets the traditional layout and schedule of the traditional Kraków Nativity Scene. It is a 3-meter high, twostorey building, symmetrical, with three towers, the middle with the tank and the star (supposedly inspired by the Sigismund's Chapel), while two side towers are the copies of the higher tower of St. Mary's Church, in Polish called 'Hejnalica'. The two floors have also their own names: the ground floor is the 'profanum', i.e. a place with a stage in the middle for playing nativity play with puppets, while the upper floor is the 'Sacrum' where the actual Christmas scene is located, right in the centre of the crib. I would like to mention that the basic and obvious condition for the Nativity Scene to be a Kraków Nativity Scene (of course, except for architecture) is a birth / adoration scene for the Baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph as the central element of it; without it there is simply no nativity scene. Returning to the tradition of Nativity and carol singing with great Kraków cribs. Well, the tradition was ended severely by World War I, after which the tradition got to the edge of decline and oblivion; the cribs stunted to small forms. They were made cheaply and unattractively as gifts for Christmas. In order to save the tradition, the later outstanding director of the Historical Museum of Kraków, Dr. Jerzy Dobrzycki, a great Kraków citizen, a lover of Kraków's history and traditions, organised in 1937 the first competition for the most beautiful Kraków crib. To his joy, over 80 people entered the competition with beautifully decorated cribs, no longer in the form of 3-meter theatres but their beautifully decorated smaller counterparts. The competition, interrupted by World War II, revived immediately after it, in 1945. After the war, the tradition of building cribs revived and has been alive till now, which may be evidenced by the last year's distinction with a unique and honourable entry on the UNESCO list of the intangible heritage of humanity. Today's Nativity Scene is the result of a twohundred-year evolution of tradition, it is a visually, technically and architecturally complex minimum three-tower and storey building, necessarily symmetrical, in the form of a castlepalace, composed only of historic Kraków buildings. There are no monuments from other cities, e.g. from Warsaw (Give my love to Warsaw); the crib is to be meticulously decorated, you can even say that it is encrusted like works of goldsmith's or jewellery art.

Photo by: Max Danilevsky Photography & Movies

When I was born in the mid-90s, in the total number of 180 cribs submitted to the competition, about 80 works were the cribs of grandmasters and masters as well as other great artists. They were beautifully refined architecture constructions, rich in details and made by adults. Unfortunately, since the end of the 90s and the beginning of 2000, about 20 of the most outstanding creators of nativity scenes who were already elderly people, like Mr. Paczyński, Sochacki, Dłużniewski, Głuch, Więcek, Borucki, Michalczyk, died, which was a very severe loss. Death of each of those outstanding masters whose works I admired from an early age is a great loss. Fortunately, in a few cases, their children and grandchildren took over the heirloom – in summary, the tradition keeps up well, but unfortunately more masters die than appear, so the only chance in the youth who, fortunately, eagerly create cribs, which gives confidence and hope that our tradition will be fine. I also hope that thanks to the entry onto the UNESCO list of the intangible heritage of humanity, we will soon have several new masters of this art.

Photos by: Max Danilevsky Photography & Movies

Of course, instead of real gold, pearls or diamonds, the material used here is 'staniol', i.e. coloured aluminium tinfoil, bead balls, coloured papers and tissue paper. The supporting structure, invisible to the viewer, is made of wood, plywood, cardboard, slats and paper nailed and glued with strong glues. For decorations, I personally do not use coloured plastics and haberdashery products that have become readily available in recent years. I stick to the tradition of making items myself with tinfoil. Today's cribs instead of the puppet theatre at the bottom, have figurines, which are set in motion mechanically, using electric motors. Colourful 'stained glass' made of tissue paper, formerly lit by candles, today is typically illuminated by bulbs and LEDs. In addition, apart from the architecture of Kraków and the multitude of decorative elements and architectural styles, there must be figurines in them, that is, as I mentioned above, in the central properly arranged part of the crib, you can say 'on the pedestal', there must be the Holy Family, and around it there should be figures from Kraków legends and traditions, i.e. Kościuszko, Polish kings, the Pope, etc. Nativity scenes are made in different sizes, from miniatures, housed in a nut shell, to several meters high. The largest in the world was built in 2010 by the Markowski family; their record still remains valid, this crib is exactly 5 meters and 1 cm high. Personally, I have always created miniature cribs and I have been continuing this for several years. On average, I make cribs between 12 cm and 30 cm high. I remember especially well and I like the most the smallest crib I made for the competition.

It was about 6 cm high and I made it in addition to the main crib, that was 25 cm high. It aroused considerable interest of the media and viewers because it was located on a teaspoon. I have a lot of similar, unusual ideas to fit a small crib on or in an object / item of everyday use, and in the coming years I will definitely do them as an addition to the main competition cribs. In addition to traditional-looking cribs, I remember the successful Wawel crib which was composed of elements of the royal castle. For example, this year I am making a small nativity scene with architectural elements taken only from the main Market Square. There was also a miniature nativity scene, very simple in decoration, but kept by a figurine of a Krakow resident in traditional outfit. Although I have always made small and miniature cribs, I plan to build a large crib, about 1.5 m high, for one of the next competitions. TLP: How does the creation process look like? How much time does it take? How do you plan new projects? What is the most difficult and what gives you the biggest satisfaction? Do you draw the plans, detailing each element, or do you create your cribs spontaneously? JZ: We can say that I create the nativity scene in a planned way, but there is also an element of spontaneity. I know what the shape will look like, but I don't know what the final effect, with all the details, will be. While working according to a previously planned design, I think about every detail and element. 15 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Photo by: Max Danilevsky Photography & Movies

Photo by: Jakub Zawadziński

Starting, like in any other technical, artistic and creative project, first there must be an idea of what I will do in a given year. I think about it in my free time. I need to know what elements of Kraków I would like to include in a given project, how big crib I will create and how much time I have for it. Sometimes, I cannot make up anything for a long time, and sometimes just a moment is enough for an idea to come to my mind, sometimes even in the middle of the night or while I am cycling. Then, I sketch various ideas, considering and arranging the crib that is the best looking, the most proportional and the most appealing in terms of composition. Once I know that I will implement the idea and I have a general sketch of the crib with all details, I transfer it to paper in a 1:1 scale as a purely technical sketch, according to which I draw by hand and cut out the grids of geometric figures that make up the structure. In small cribs the structure is made of bristol board and reinforced with thicker cardboard, in large cribs it is reinforced with wooden slats and plywood. Every major element I make in stages, so that I can get to the places that are now available and then as they are put together will not be available. Such work lasts for about 3-4 months. When I make a miniature or small scene, I usually start at the end of August. It will take a whole year to create a large crib. So, you have to start building it in January. My favourite stages in the construction of the crib are the stages of decorating all details, stained glass, doors, roofs, etc., creating figurines and small details using specialized tools with sharp thin endings, You can get them in cosmetics stores for ladies (laughs). I like

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Photo by: Max Danilevsky Photography & Movies

this 'lacy' job the most. And in opposition to what I said, the most disliked moments for me are those associated with repetition in creating numerous decorative elements for one decoration. In addition, I do not like technical aspects at the beginning of work, e.g. folding lumps, etc., making twists or rolls of coloured foil to create all the decorations (then, my skin on the fingers is terribly damaged) – but somehow, I have to stand it. However, after finishing work, usually a few days and sometimes just a few hours before the competition, at night, the biggest prize of all these "awards" is the satisfaction that the crib is already finished and ready to be shown. TLP: Is making cribs an important element of your life? As a Kraków resident, do you feel particularly connected with the city during the presentation of the effects of your work? JZ: Personally, the Kraków Crib is the quintessence of all of Kraków – its centuries-old monuments of architecture and art, numerous traditions, and the entire cultural and intellectual heritage. It is a realisation of my inner world of dreams and fairy tales in which I live myself. Longing for a better and more beautiful world. It's just my uninterrupted, private fairy tale to which I can always escape from reality, stress and problems. It gives me joy and satisfaction, so much needed in everyday life. One can say that creating cribs and Kraków are my lifestyle, my way of life – Kraków is my life. I can probably say that I live somehow from Competition to Competition.

PROFILE

JAKUB ZAWADZIŃSKI

When building cribs, I put my heart and a part of my soul into them. I can say (this should be understood for the lovers of modern literature) that cribs are like positive horcruxes from Harry Potter, in opposition to Voldemort's horcruxes. I put a small part of myself and my soul into each of them, a part of what is inside of me. This particle travels then with them into the world, to the viewers. I can't imagine living outside Kraków without creating cribs. You can always leave, even for a long time – but this is my place, my home, my little piece to which I can always come back. I was born here, I live here and this is where I will die. TLP: Tell us, what are the rules for submitting cribs to a competition? Can anyone take part in it? Will we meet you this year at the Market Square? JZ: The Nativity Scene competition is very simple. First of all, it can be entered by anyone from Kraków and from outside Kraków, and from any other country, at any age. To submit a crib to the Competition, you just have to come with it in the morning (until noon) at the Adam Mickiewicz monument in the Market Square, which from the beginning of the competition is a traditional place for presenting the competition works for the current year. Then, the jury enrols candidates for the competition on the list and gives each crib a competition number. The competition has always been held exactly on the first Thursday of December, so this year it was December 5.

DECEMBER 2019

The viewers gather near the monument, to see new works of artists, and the cribs compete with each other and with the St. Mary's Church for the title of the most beautiful tower. There are a lot of artists, viewers, tourists and journalists. Nativity scenes are rated in three categories, the first and proper one is the category of adults, so-called "seniors" for participants over 18 years of age, the second is the youth category for people between 14 and 18 years old, and the third is the category of heirs up to 14 years old. At 12 o'clock the cribs' applications for the competition are closed and to the sounds of St. Mary's Basilica hourly buglecall, a colourful retinue of crib creators with their works sets off from under the monument and heads to the nearby Krzysztofory Palace, the main seat of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków – the protector of tradition and the organizer of the competition from almost the beginning. The chanting procession is led by Kraków residents in traditional costumes, holding a Bethlehem star. Then, the cribs stay in the prepared exhibition halls of the post – competition exhibition. Then, the deliberations of the Jury, consisting of Kraków's famous conservators and art historians, artists, ethnologists and ethnographers, directors of the historical and ethnographic museums and painters begin; they evaluate anonymous nativity scenes by scoring them, giving to each from 1 to 10 points in individual categories. The assessment includes: reference to tradition, decorativeness, colours, dolls, architecture, innovation, moving elements, general aesthetic impression. In addition, the cribs are rated in four different size categories, i.e. large cribs over 120 cm, medium cribs 120 to 70 cm, small cribs 70 to 15 cm and miniature cribs below 15 cm. Jury's deliberations usually last until late in the evening and the results of the competition are announced solemnly on Sunday. The day of Nativity Scenes Competition is such an annual holiday for all of their creators, for me personally more important than birthday, one of the most important days of the year, if not the most important. I can't imagine not making a crib and not taking part in the competition. And if I made it and was for example sick on that day, so I wouldn't come to the Monument to the competition, I would feel extremely sad. So, as long as my health allows, I will be at 'Adam' with the new Nativity Scene on the first Thursday of December. I will also promote this tradition everywhere I can, using every opportunity. I also encourage everyone to take part and see this extraordinary event, which is the crib competition in Krakow, live, with your own eyes.

Photos: Jakub Zawadziński

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cribs and Kraków are my lifestyle “the Kraków Crib is the quintessence of all of Krakow – its centuries-old monuments of architecture and art, numerous traditions, and the entire cultural and intellectual heritage.” - Jakub Zawadziński

Photos: Jakub Zawadziński

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Making Christmas Crib

Photos: Jakub Zawadziński

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ARTUS COURT GDAŃSK the most splendid parlour of old Gdańsk

ARTUS COURT IN BRIEF SOURCE: CITY OF GDAŃSK WEBSITE

opening time

winter time: Mon-closed, Tue 10am–1pm (free entry) Wed 10 am-4pm, Thu 10am-6pm, Fri-Sat 10am–4pm, Sun 11am–4pm. Tickets: 10 PLN (full price) 5 PLN (reduced price). Family up to 8: 20 PLN

Artus Court, the most splendid parlour of old Gdańsk and boasting one of the most beautiful interiors in Europe indicates its association with the Arthurian legend in its name. Its patron, King Arthur is a mythical figure, not only a prominent character in Anglo-Saxon culture, but of the entire tradition of medieval European chivalry. Among the personages portrayed as sculptures on the façade there are two Romans: Scipio the African, the commander – conqueror of Carthaginians and Camillus – the saviour of Rome during the Gallic wars. The other two sculptures are Themistocles the Greek, the commander of the Athenian army in the Persian war and Judas Maccabaeus, the Jewish king who liberated Judea from the Seleucid rule. The two medallions on each side of the court’s portal portray the Swedish (and Polish) king Sigismund Vasa III and his son Vladyslav, the subsequent king of Poland and titular king of Sweden. However, for a long time it was generally believed that the medallions portrayed the emperor Charles V Habsburg and his son Juan d'Austria.

One of the mercantile associations situated in Artus Court at the peak of its prosperity was called The Dutch Bench.The interior design of the court is full of cultural references to ancient and medieval legends and myths. Next to the main entrance there are medallions portraying the protestant reformer Martin Luther and his wife Katharina von Bora. One of the model ships hanging at the canopy of the court represents a felucca, a sailing boat typical of the Mediterranean Sea, here shown as a Turkish galley. Among the characters depicted on the tiles of the great tiled stove (the king of stoves – located in the north-eastern corner of the court’s hall) are probably members of the mid-16th century political elite, Charles V Habsburg being one of them.In the middle of the hall there once stood a statue of the king August III, Prince-elector of Saxony, which was funded by the townspeople grateful to him for the (somewhat forceful, though) introduction of long needed political and financial reforms in Gdansk. The statue was lost in the 1940s.

Address: Długi Targ 43-44, 80-831 Gdańsk www.muzeumgdansk.pl

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History and tourism

The Artus Court, formerly also Junkerhof, (Polish: Dwór Artusa, German: Artushof) is a historic building in the centre of Gdańsk at Długi Targ 44, which used to be the meeting place of merchants and a centre of social life. Today it is a point of interest of numerous visitors and a branch of the Gdańsk History Museum. The name was taken from the very popular medieval legend of King Arthur – a symbol of chivalry and gallantry. First in England, then in other European countries, his name was given to the houses where knights and aristocrats used to meet. In Poland Artus courts were founded and visited by bourgeoisie. There were several courts in Rzeczpospolita but the one in Gdańsk was by far the most famous. [citation needed] In the early 14th century Artus Courts existed in the Hanseatic towns of Elbing (Elbląg), Riga and Stralsund and similar courts like the House of the Blackheads at Riga and Tallinn. It was home to six fraternities which took their names from benches (Banken), the Reinhold's, St. Christopher's or Lübecker, Marienburger, Biblical Magi's, Councillors' and the Dutch bench. These Confraternities were usually organized according to the merchant's or shipowner's trade relations, e.g. with Lübeck, the Netherlands or Poland and gathered the local elite - members of aristocracy and wealthy bourgeoisie. Already in 1492 merchants from England were allowed to appear at the Court. The entrance was banned for craftsmen, stall-keepers and hired workers. Wealthy merchants and visitors from abroad gathered here in the evenings. They paid for beverages in advance: 3 Schillings in the 17th century. Initially, at least in theory, talking about dealings was forbidden in the Court as the yard in front of it was designated for such purposes. Different performances took place in the evenings musicians, singers, rope-dancers and jugglers came to amuse the visitors. Although they were officially banned, gambling, dice and card games as well as various bets were very popular. Normally only beverages and small snacks were served, but sometimes big feasts, which lasted even for a couple of days, were organized there. Especially at the end of the 17th century the feasts organized with great splendour began to turn into all-night drinking bouts. More and more complaints about the customs in the Court were made. However, not only social meetings took place in the Court. In the 17th century librarians presenting books printed in Danzig appeared there, as well as painters with their art; the banning order for other tradesmen did not apply to them.The heyday of the Artus Court falls into 16th and 17th century, but its history is much longer. The name of the building "curia regis Artus" (The Court of King Artus), which was built in the years 1348-1350, appeared for the first time in 1357 in the municipal note about the land rental from 1350. Another building was probably built in 1379. Its traces 22 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

were probably found during the archeological excavations in 1991. This building of the Court burnt down in 1476. It was reconstructed few years later, and in 1552 a new façade was constructed which was once more rebuilt in 1617 by Abraham van den Blocke in the style of Dutch Mannerism. The building was adorned with statues of antique heroes (Scipio Africanus, Themistocles, Marcus Furius Camillus and Judas Maccabeus), allegories of strength and justice above and the statue of Fortuna on the gable. Medallions with busts of King of Poland Sigismund III Vasa and his son Władysław IV Vasa, who was a prince at that time, were placed on each side of the portal. Throughout the Lutheran Reformation the Reinhold's bench organized an anti-Catholic carnival play in 1522, which was staged inside the court. The interior is one big Gothic hall. Since 1531 it has been completely redecorated – the walls have been covered with wainscot and friezes of mythological and historical character. The richly ornamented furniture and numerous paintings add to the splendour of the hall. The most famous ones are, among others, the works by anonymous artists from the late 15th century – Siege of Marienburg, The Ship of the Church, Orpheus among animals by Hans Vredeman de Vries from 1596 and Last Judgment by Anton Möller. The last painting caused much controversy, as the artist has used the scenery of the city and depicted some significant figures of the period as allegorical characters, such as Pride or Faithlessness. The hall was decorated not only with paintings but also tapestries, ship models, armours, coats of arms, or a cage with exotic birds. The other interesting decoration is the 11-metre high furnace made by Georg Stelzner between 15451546. It is covered with 520 tiles depicting the greatest European leaders, both the Protestants – supporters of the Schmalkaldic League, and the Catholics, among which are portraits of Isabella of Portugal and Charles V.The Artus Court was designed as an exclusive meeting venue for the local elite. Only in 1742, at the request of the town's mercantile companies, the Council agreed to change the Court into the town's stock exchange and the city lost its most famous inn. Artus Court was seriously damaged during the East Pomeranian Offensive of the Red Army in 1945, but it was rebuilt after the war. A vast part of the equipment, including the furnace, were reconstructed with the use of materials hidden from the city before the front moved into Gdańsk. The building was entered into the register of monuments on 25 February 1967. On the front wall of the Court there is a memorial board from 1965 commemorating the 20th anniversary of placing the Polish flag on the Artus Court by the soldiers of the 1st Armoured Brigade. Currently the interior of the Artus Court is open for visitors – there is also the department of the Gdańsk History Museum.

Historic Artus Court

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Artus Court GdaĹ&#x201E;sk photo: Mariusz Ciszewski, polska.pl

Lighthouse Keeper on Cathedral Island by Wrocław Official www.flickr.com

LOOKING FOR THE LAMPLIGHTER AND CHRISTMAS IN WROCŁAW Seeking for a unique and creativity-enhancing atmosphere

LOOKING FOR THE LAMPLIGHTER BY ANNA ADAMSKA MEETMYCITY.TOURS

www.meetmycity.tours

There can surely be no more romantic occupation than that of the official Lamplighter of Wrocław! Wrocław is one of only two cities in Europe that still uses Gas lanterns, with the first being lit in the city in 1846. Thankfully on Ostrów Tumski, Wrocław’ s Cathedral Island, the tradition is still carried on to this day and December in Wrocław gives visitors a unique opportunity to meet the notorious Lamplighter. Visitors to the Cathedral Island have chance to see the famous Lamplighter and discover the oldest part of the city during Meet My City’'s Looking for the Lamplighter’ tour. Guests can see the Lamplighter wearing traditional uniform whilst turning on the 108 gas lanterns located on the Island and witness where the history of Wrocław started over 1100 years ago. The Islands of Wrocław offer many examples of beautiful Gothic and Baroque architecture and the Cathedral of John the Baptist, Church of the Holy Cross and St. Giles and St. Martin are all visited on this special tour. Insightful information about Wrocław history and legends of the islands, including the adventures of Casanova's visit to Wroclaw, the legend of the Dumpling Gate and many others make this tour the

Lighthouse Keeper on Cathedral Island public domain by Wrocław Official www.flickr.com

perfect way to spend a romantic winter's evening.

WROCŁAW CHRISTMAS MARKET AND CONSPIRATORS Wrocław boasts one of Poland's finest and largest Christmas markets, stretching across Solny Square and most of Wrocław’'s Market Square Running from 22nd November to 31th December 2019, the market creates a wonderful festive atmosphere with attractions and features for all the family. The market boasts a huge selection of shops, amusement rides, live performances, mulled wine dispensaries and of course the Fairy Tale Forest, where animatronic fairy tale characters recount stories to excited children. A perfect way to explore the unique atmosphere of the Christmas Market and taste some famous Polish dumplings at the same time would be on a licensed guided tour. Wrocław tour company Meet My City offer a 2-hour tour in English or Polish, with an informative and friendly guide who will reveal the history of the city and the Christmas market.

This is a very special edition of Meet My City’'s City Tour, during which they also offer guests the chance to discover a very distinctive and unique location from communist times. Hidden within one of Wrocław's most celebrated restaurants, they visit the Secret Conspirators Room to taste delicious traditional Polish food, warm up with a hot drink and learn more about Wrocław, the ‘Fortress of Solidarity’. The tour centres around the Main Market Square and explains the history of the picturesque tenement buildings, Wrocław legends and little-known facts. Guests also get the chance to meet the famous dwarfs and learn why there are so many of them in the city. So why not treat yourself to a day at the Market and take care of your Christmas shopping away from the hectic & overcrowded shopping centres? Meet My City tours are limited to a maximum of ten guests, so early on-line booking is definitely recommended at www.meetmycity.tours

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Christmas Market public domain by WrocĹ&#x201A;aw Official www.flickr.com

BESKID SÄ&#x201E;DECKI AND GORCE

LOWER BESKID

a trip to the forgotten land

narrated and photos: Krystian Kiwacz www.krystiankiwacz.pl

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A TRIP TO THE FORGOTTEN LAND by Krystian Kiwacz www.krystiankiwacz.pl

By many, it is referred to as the wildest Polish mountain chain; it extends over the territory of two countries, Poland and Slovakia. From the east, it borders with the Bieszczady Mountains, reaching as far as the Sądecka Valley in the west. In the north it meets the Central Beskidian Piedmont, and in the south it passes into the Ondavská Highlands. The highest peak of its Polish part is Lackowa (997 m), while in Slovakia it is Busov (1002 m). In the Low Beskids there is the largest depression in the arch of the Carpathians – the Dukielska Pass (500 m above sea level). The most important rivers of the region include: Osława, Wisłok, Jasionka, Wisłoka, Ropa and Biały Dunajec. There are three man-made water reservoirs here: on the Wisłok in Sieniawa, on the Ropa in Klimkówka, and on the Wisłoka in Krępna. Significant areas of the Low Beskids are protected within the Magura National Park and the Jaślin Landscape Park. The Low Beskids mountains are built of sedimentary rocks known as the Carpathian flysch. Here, you can meet the outcrops of Magura sandstone, which took fanciful forms. The best known are Kornuty on Magura Wątkowska and the Devil's Stone on Folusz. 238 caves and rock shelters were discovered throughout the Low Beskids. Among its hills, you can also find two landslide lakes: under Maślana Góra and under Cergowa. About 70% of the area of the Low Beskids are covered with forests. The foothills vegetation level consists of the remains of the original oakhornbeam stands, alder and wicker thickets in the river valleys. On the other hand, the lower mountain zone is covered with fir, beech and pine forests. Due to the small population and large forest cover of the area, there are numerous deer, roe deer, wild boars, hares as well as predators such as bears, lynxes, wildcats, wolves, martens and foxes. Of the 140 species of birds living in this area, the following should be mentioned: the lesser spotted eagle, the golden eagle, the common buzzard, the hawfinch, the eagle owl, the Ural owl and the black stork.

www.krystiankiwacz.pl

Lower Beskid, Beskid Sądecki and Gorce WORDS BY

PHOTOS BY

Krystian Kiwacz

Krystian Kiwacz | Facebook: Krystian Kiwacz Fotografia www.krystiankiwacz.pl

Krystian Kiwacz: Born in Gorlice, from childhood wandering around the Low Beskids, the Tatra Mountains and the Bieszczady. Initially as a participant in rallies and trips organized by PTTK Gorlice, later during individual trips. After a several-year break, he returned to the mountains with a camera to show their beauty. He particularly likes the Low Beskids region with its mountains that he admires the most. In his photographs he wants to show the beauty of these underestimated and mysterious mountains and encourage tourists to visit Gorlice land. On a daily basis, he works as an accountant in the energy industry. Photography is his hobby and a way to spend his free time.

TLP: The Low Beskids Mountains. Krystian, most of your photos depict mountain landscapes and the life associated with the mountains. These are mainly the Carpathians and the Gorlice area (by the way I would like to return to Gorlice one more time at a different time of the year). Therefore, I would like you to take us to one of the most mysterious and abandoned regions of Poland (at least in my opinion), namely the Low Beskids. It is also your place of birth. It was not always the case that the area seemed deserted. The area around Gorlice, on the edge of the Low Beskids and the Ciężkowickie Foothils is the cradle of the global oil industry. Here, in 1852 the world's first oil mine was founded (other sources state that the oldest was the mine in Bóbrka while the first oil well was built in Siary) and 2 years later the first street oil lamp was lit in Gorlice. The Low Beskids were teeming with life. KK: Gorlice land is the cradle of the oil industry in the world. Crude oil was found here in the Middle Ages. This is demonstrated by, among others, the names of places, rivers and streams. The oil was used to treat wounds and ulcers, colds and tuberculosis, and it was believed to work as a medicine for sheep fluke and horse lump. It was also used to soften hides and lubricate the axles of carts and mills. 32 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Oil from shallow deposits was initially collected by "maziarze" – which was the name of a profession derived from a Polish word "maź", which means slime or slurry. The world's first oil well with a depth of 11.4 m was built in 1852 in the "Empty Forest" on the border of Siary and Sękowa. There were about a thousand of such shafts in Gorlice. Most of them were established in Siary, Sękowa, Libusza, Lipinki and Kryg. The first oil mines began to appear. Gorlice became the main centre of the petroleum industry in Poland, the seat of organizations associated with this branch of industry. Entrepreneurs, investors and qualified workers came to Gorlice from various parts of Poland and from all over the world. In 1854, at the intersection of Kościuszki and Węgierska Streets in Gorlice, the world's first street oil lamp was ignited as a result of the work of Ignacy Łukasiewicz. In 1883, the largest crude oil processing plant was established in Glinik Mariampolski, today's Gorlice district, as a distillery separating lighting kerosene from oil. The founder of the refinery was, with the financial support of the Austrian banker John Bergheim, a Canadian engineer William Henry Mac Garvey, who came to Galicia at the invitation of the explorer of rich oil deposits – Stanisław Szczepanowski.

The Oil Refinery for decades was a thriving company, employing several hundred employees. Unfortunately, in 2005 the court declared bankruptcy of the company. TLP: The word "Low" in the name of the Low Beskids mountains might discourage some tourists to visit the area or even deter them (if, for example, they like high mountains). But fortunately, this name does not have to mean and actually it does not mean that there is nothing interesting here. Like all other mountains, the Low Beskids have their advantages. What is their biggest attraction, according to you? Nostalgic landscapes, traces of abandoned villages, mountain ranges, views – e.g. the one from the top of Barani? KK: The Low Beskids are one of the wildest regions in Poland. We will not find here commercial attractions, famous all over Poland, attracting crowds of people. Instead, we can find here peace and quiet, "disturbed" only by the sound of domestic and forest animals, birds singing, the sound of the wind, jingling of the bells hanging on the necks of sheep or the sound of horses running in the meadows. Beautiful wooden chapels and Orthodox churches are the real gem of this area. Several of them, such as those in Sękowa, Owczary or Kwiatoń, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. These facilities are open to visitors. In their interiors, visitors can admire beautiful polychromes, iconostasis, listen to interesting stories told by local guides. Located in picturesque places, they are an indispensable element of the Beskid landscape. The peaks of the Low Beskids, once grassy, are now overgrown with dense forests. It does not mean, however, that there are no interesting viewpoints here. There is no longer an observation tower on Barani, it was pulled down at the beginning of 2019 due to its poor technical condition threatening the health and life of tourists, but in its place the lookout towers on Cergowa, on Ferdel nad Wapienne were constructed. Interesting views, including the panoramas of the Tatra Mountains, are also offered by a metal tower in Jaworze near Grybów, on the border of the Low Beskids and the Beskid Sądecki. In addition, interesting viewpoints are located on Grzywacka Mountain, Tokarnia, Wysokie which is a mount in the very heart of the Magura National Park, on Jasionka, Krzywe or Oderne. TLP: As someone rightly stated, the most impressive thing about these mountains are the valleys. Most of the wealth of the Low Beskids lies in its valleys. There are even those for whom the Low Beskids are just valleys with all the richness of the Lemko culture, both the tragic one associated with displacement, which resulted in abandoned villages,

vergrowing cemeteries, as well as the part we can admire today and revive – living "Lemko tradition" and its folklore or folk tradition. Do you agree with this opinion (also as a photographer and a resident of these areas)? KK: I fully agree with this statement. Traveling through the valleys of the Low Beskids, we may witness a living history. At every step we meet both the traces of abandoned villages, the signs of bloody events in the Gorlice land which are war cemeteries as well as the traces of culture and religion of the population living here, i.e. wooden Catholic and Orthodox churches, roadside crosses and chapels. It is hard to imagine, but decades ago, the surrounding villages were teeming with life. A great example is Nieznajowa, a village that no longer exists, formerly located in the Wisłoka Valley on the outskirts of the Magura National Park. Once there were very popular cattle markets and four annual fairs in the village. There were also two large mills, a police station, a school, a shop, an inn, two churches and a post office. The village was displaced in 1945. Today, there is only a cottage and a summer house, and the once bustling life is evidenced by the symbolic door standing there with the history of the place, a cemetery, stone crosses and foundations of houses or overgrown cellars hidden in tall grass. Symbolic doors as artistic forms commemorate also other abandoned villages, i.e. Czarne, Radocin, Lipna and Długie. TLP: The former cultural richness of the Low Beskids is largely shaped by the Ruthenian population living here for centuries, called Lemkos since the 19th century, despite the fact that as part of the campaign they were displaced from here (later some of them returned to these areas). After displacement, nature slowly began to "rule" in abandoned fields and in Lemko villages. Later, Beskid was slowly inhabited by new settlers, but some villages were still uninhabited to this day. What is the current life in these areas like? Did it revive after turmoil of war (also in cultural sense)? What do the interpersonal, social relations look like here? Are the old traditions and customs of the region respected and cultivated? KK: Despite the fact that the inhabitants have not returned to several villages, you cannot see neglected, fallow fields or meadows in the Low Beskids. In Czarne, there has been a shepherd lodge for several years, that annually, for several months becomes a home for shepherds and their attendants from Podhale who graze sheep in the surrounding deserted villages. They are an inseparable element of the landscape of this part of the Low Beskids. 33 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Cattle is bred all over the remaining inhabited area. On the other hand, herds of horses run in the meadows of Regietowo Wyżne or Izby. The large number of these animals means that the meadows are mowed in summer and the hay / silage collected then become the animal's feed on winter days. People of different denominations try to live in harmony with each other. Proof of this may be the road signs with the names of different places written in both Polish and Ruthenian. The cultural heritage of Lemkos is still cultivated today. There are many Lemkos associations in Poland, including The Lemkos Association based in Legnica or the "Ruska Bursa" Association from Gorlice. The main goals of their activity include: integration of the Lemko population, propagation, popularization and development of Lemko education, culture, art and language, popularization of the Lemko history, knowledge about the life and activity of Lemkos outside of Poland as well as care for the monuments of Lemko culture and memorial sites in Poland . The most famous events include “Łemkowskie Watry” (e.g. in Michałów in exile or in Zdynia in the Low Beskids), “Lemko kermesze” (in numerous villages of the Lemko Land) or the International Folklore Festival "Świat pod Kyczera" organized by the Lemko Song and Dance Ensemble "Kyczera". In addition, the Lemkos have their own radio station LEM.fm, the radio broadcasts from transmitters in Gorlice (106.6 MHz) and in Polkowice (103.8 MHz) and via the internet at www.lem.fm, which is also the largest information portal of Lemkos in the world. TLP: Apparently one of the most interesting tourist solutions in the Low Beskids are thematic routes. They are not marked in a traditional way, but through information boards next to given objects or signposts directing tourists to those locations One of the most interesting of them is probably the wooden architecture trail. What other routes would you recommend? For hiking, learning about traditions, communing with nature or history? KK: Being in the vicinity of the Low Beskids, it is worth visiting a few of the facilities located on the Carpathian-Galician Oil Trail to learn about the rich history of the oil industry. The most interesting of such objects would include the Museum of Oil and Gas Industry of Ignacy Łukasiewicz in Bóbrka, Maziarska Farm Open-Air Museum in Łoś, Open-Air Oil Industry Museum "Magdalena" at Lipowa Street in Gorlice and Regional Museum PTTK in Gorlice. Another interesting proposition is a fragment of the Trail of the World War I Eastern Front that runs through the Low Beskids and the Foothills. These are mainly war cemeteries that testify to the bloody events that took place in the Gorlice region. 34 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

On May 2-5, 1915, German and Austrian-Hungarian armies broke the Russian front near Gorlice. It is estimated that nearly two hundred thousand soldiers were killed or injured in the fighting. The battle left permanent marks on the Gorlice land in the form of a necropolis, where the soldiers of both warring parties were buried together. It's worth visiting at least the war cemetery No. 60 on the Małastowska Pass and war cemetery No. 51 on Rotunda near Regietowo. Magura National Park offers five nature paths: Kiczera Nature Trail, Hałbów – Kamień Nature Trail, Folusz Nature Trail, Świerzowa Ruska Cultural Nature Trail, Olchowiec Nature and Historic Path. We recommend educational paths: "Magura Małastowska" in Małastów, 2 km long, presenting the issues of species diversity of mountain forests, forest nursery production, forest breeding and topics with the history of Gorlice Land and the 21 km long "Radocin" trail, starting at hotel in Radocin, presenting the historical richness of the Gorlice area and many natural curiosities (landslide, beaver lodges, remains of the Carpathian Forest, beautiful panoramas of the Low Beskids). The Low Beskids have also interesting horse and bicycle routes and a rich network of tourist routes that allow you to traverse the wild Beskids in silence and in harmony with nature. TLP: And referring to the previous question. What can be classified as so-called Top in the Low Beskids. A wonderful spring in Nowica, Rychwałd roadside crosses, World War I Cemeteries? Or something else? Who would find the area the most appealing? KK: The main attractions of the Low Beskids are certainly churches and chapels along the Wooden Architecture trail, Magura National Park and its rich flora and fauna (it is also worth visiting the Educational Center with the Museum located at the MPN headquarters in Krempna), abandoned villages (Nieznajowa, Czarne, Radocyna, Długie) as well as small but peaceful spa towns, e.g. Wysowa Zdrój, IwoniczZdrój, Rymanów Zdrój, and Wapienne). Of course, it is worth going to the highest peak of the Polish part of the Low Beskids – Lackowa and also visiting the Hucul Horse Stud in Regietów. On hot summer days, you can look for refreshment at beautiful Klimkowskie Lake. We might enjoy the results of continuous development of high quality accommodation facilities and catering base. The Low Beskids are a place for people who want to rest in peace and quiet from everyday hustle. The region also provides many attractions, so it's impossible to get bored here. It is enough to come here once to fall in love with the beauty, culture and history of this mysterious land.

Ropica Górna: a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sękowa, within Gorlice County. On photo: Wooden Greek Catholic church.

TLP: This question should be perhaps the first, namely, our conversation takes place in winter, and we present such photos. Is this time of a year an obstacle while considering the visit to the Low Beskids? Is it equally attractive to tourists in winter and other times of the year? Do you like winter in the Low Beskids? KK: Winter time does not make a problem while visiting the Low Beskids. Yes, it may be a little harder to reach abandoned villages like Nieznajowa, but this is still possible. The Low Beskids are a great place to practice crosscountry or trail skiing. As a rule, gentle slopes facilitate safe movement on skis. Association for the Development of Sołectwo Krzywa prepared a project for tourists called "Snowy routes through forests", establishing an 80 km network of cross-country skiing trails covering, among others, abandoned villages.

Winter horse sleigh rides organized by stud farms in Regietów, Ropki and Izby are very popular. Personally, I really like winter in the Low Beskids. Ever since I took up cross-country skiing, my appetite for winter trips has increased even more. I don't mind a few degrees of frost. I am looking forward to the first snowfalls that change the Beskid forests into a fairy-tale land. I recommend going to the summit of Maura Małastowska in winter and also to war cemetery No. 51 on Rotunda, which looks beautiful after fresh snowfall. Last winter I went with my friend to the top of the Rotunda at night. Snowcovered shingles against the background of the starry sky looked amazing. The Low Beskids, however, like any mountains, require common sense and prudence when planning hiking or skiing trips. In the higher parts, you may encounter a significant amount of snow and this would require good physical preparation from the tourist. Hence, you should never underestimate the trails of the Low Beskids in the winter.

The main attractions of the Low Beskids are certainly churches and chapels along the Wooden Architecture trail

“ The Low Beskids are also a great place to practice crosscountry or trail skiing.” 35 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

TLP: Krystian, in this conversation we focused on the Low Beskids (and as a matter of fact, we had a good reason for that). However, I would not like to ignore other of your winter photos from the Polish mountains. I know that one of the mountain chains most frequently visited by you is Beskid Sądecki with the range of Gorce. These are another slightly smaller 'mountain ranges'. What makes them so appealing? Apparently, you were also in the mountains during a beautiful phenomenon called 'Super moon' or 'super full'. Please, tell me a bit about the experience of communing with nature during the phenomenon of the full moon. Does it have a different dimension in the natural surroundings of nature, outside of urban clusters? What does it mean for a photographer or for someone who can experience it? KK: Every landscape photographer wants to have magnificent panoramas in his portfolio. Beskid Sądecki and Gorce, compared to the Low Beskids, have excellent viewpoints, covering both picturesque valleys and Tatra peaks. The most beautiful panoramas stretch from Jaworzyna Krynicka, the observation tower on Koziarz and the trail from the Obidza Pass to Radziejowa - the highest peak of the Beskid Sądecki. In Gorce, unforgettable views are provided by lookout towers in Lubań, Gorec and Magurka. A real attraction in winter are specially prepared cross-country skiing routes in the area of Turbacz, the highest peak of Gorce. One of my unforgettable photographic experiences was the ascent to the peak of Lubań in November 2016. I made an appointment at one o'clock at

night in Grywałd with a friend photographer from Kraków. Together, we climbed to the top. There would be nothing extraordinary in it (maybe except the unusual time of wandering) if it had not been the time of super fullness, a beautiful phenomenon during which we can see a huge and extremely spectacular moon. According to scientists, the full moon on the night of November 14-15, 2016 was not only the largest full moon in 2016, but also the most spectacular since 1948. Another such spectacular phenomenon will be visible only in 2034. The Moon we could observe was 14 percent larger than usual and by one third brighter. The severe frost reaching above -20°C did not prevent us from spending more than five hours on the tower. The high brightness of the moon made me feel like if I was standing on the tower during the day. The fact that it was the middle of the night was only evidenced by the lights from street lamps of nearby towns visible in the valleys. Despite the night, there was a beautiful panorama. The charm of this place was emphasized by fabulously snowy trees. Fresh white snowy powder covering the ground additionally brightened the whole area. Certainly being in natural surroundings, in such wonderful conditions, was worth a sleepless night. After this unique mountain trip, I have not only magnificent photographs left but wonderful memories and impressions as well. A beautiful sunrise admired from the observation tower complemented this unique night at the top. I will definitely come back in winter both to Beskid Sądecki and Gorce. I still have unfulfilled winter photographic and tourist plans. However, my beloved Low Beskids have priority.

Banica, photo by Krystian Kiwacz 36 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

LOWER BESKID, BESKID SÄ&#x201E;DECKI AND GORCE A TRIP TO THE FORGOTTEN LAND BY KRYSTIAN KIWACZ WWW.KRYSTIANKIWACZ.PL

Magura, Austrian War Cemetery No.60

Magura war cemetery contains the graves of 174 Austro Hungarian soldiers who fell in the First World War.

37 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND

Rotunda Â Beskid Niski Krystian Kiwacz An atmospheric place marked by the history of World War I. The Regietowa approach takes 30 minutes to 1 hr and it is a pleasant route, at times tighter uphill. A beautifully restored, tiny cemetery.