Happy Friday Manila! Sharing with you a special place in Poland from our recent travels. Poland Travels: The Painted Village of Zalipie (over 100 year history that many do not know about) On our travels around Poland 2 years ago we had the fortunate opportunity to visit the secluded village of Zalipie in southeastern Poland. This small village of some 300 people is home to a very old and unique tradition. Over a century ago the women of the village began to paint their chimneys or stove ventilation areas in a creative way. Over the years this has grown into paining the whole house. This town is not well known around the world and it is definitely not on the bucket list when people visit Babcias country but we want to convince you why it should be. It is said that this tradition began over 130 years ago and dates from when people still used wooden logs for their stoves. The smoke from stoves escaped through a small ventilation hole that traveled along the wall to a hole in the ceiling of the house. The ventilation passage and the area around the stove would be covered in black soot therefore women would paint over the spots of soot with whitewash. Yet the spots would still be partially visible and it is believed that the women, in order for their house to appear immaculate (as is custom in Poland) for religious festivals, took to covering the remnants of soot stains with paintings of flowers. Once modern cooking and better ventilation came in to practice, these cover-ups were no longer necessary, yet instead of loosing this tradition the village promoted it and the flower patterns became gradually more and more sophisticated. The paintings were not the single, uniform color one might expect from a traditional and conservative society but instead they were elegant, colorful and brought about a smile when you would look at them. The village, through the intricate and vibrant paintwork of its womenfolk, started to bloom. It is said that one of the women in the village started this tradition and when friends would visit, they liked what they saw and made their own versions in their own homes. It wouldnt take too long for this idea to spread to the outside of the houses – and that is where the friendly competition began. Of course, when this tradition started the women of the village would not have had access to professionally made equipment. They made the brushes used to paint the walls with the tail hair of the local cows. The different pigments would be sourced locally with fat from the dumplings the women made added to give the paint body. Each year the flowers would be repainted just before Corpus Christi when there was not as much important farm work to be done. To this day, the village hosts an annual competition around the feast of Corpus Christi. Local painters (always the women of the family) create their own intricate floral arrangements on the walls of the houses as well as touching up patterns from previous years. The practice has spread beyond the walls of the cottages too – it seems in Zalipie any immovable object is potentially the site for a florescent flourish. Nothing, it seems, escapes their attention. The chicken coups are painted, the village bridge is painted, the fire station, the church and even the bins are painted.. The Painted Cottage competition - Malowana Chata – has been held every year since 1948. Its introduction was part of the movement to help the country psychologically recover from the horrors of the war. One woman in particular retained and developed the tradition. Felicja Curyłowa (1904 – 1974) became so obsessed with the floral decorations that she covered almost every possible surface of her three-bedroom cottage with her ornate adornments. Unsurprisingly her home has been turned in to a museum, to be preserved as the epitome of this wonderful folk art. Zalipie is not well known to Poles or to many tourists but we share our travels to this town with you as we fear this tradition could soon disappear. More and more of the young Poles from this town move to the bigger cities to find work. We were told by the ladies that the population in the town is ageing and shrinking and they fear that one day this tradition will slowly disappear (They promise it will not disappear as long as they are alive). Therefore ensure this is on your bucket list if ever you visit Poland on your next travels. Tip: Please ensure that you eat (maybe pierogi?) before you arrive as there is no place to eat in the village unless you are welcomed into someone’s home. Zalipie the painted village.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 02:43:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015