Binarowa - the treasure on UNESCO list

Binarowa is a small village on a foothills of the mountains. The region is called Pogorze Ciezkowickie. Small village but hides a great treasure - the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. The site was enetered onto the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List thanks to the beautiful paintings covering the church from the inside. Indeed, the paintings are marvellous!

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel

The Art of Dying

The church was erected around 1500, is wooden, made in a late Gothic style. The painting decoration dates back to the 16th and 17th century. It is tightly covering the walls and ceiling of the nave and the presbitery what makes an unforgetable impression. The paintings is the piece of art made by an unknown artist. You find there a cycle of 21 scenes from The Passion of Christ, The Last Judgement, The Crossroads of Human Life and The Art of Dying.

The Lord's Prayer

What impressed me the most is the presentation of the Lord's Prayer. It is divided into several fragments. Each one shows an Angel and behind him scenes depicting the parts of the prayer. For example the words "And forgive us our trespasses" are presented by a person at the confession. Charming.

In the church stands an old confessional also decorated by the paintings. The funny thing is that it is so narrow that some priests have problems to fit in ;) That is why a new one was made. 

Other precious items of the church are the sculptures and the reliefs, the stone baptismal font (also Gothic), the main altarpiece, a pulpit and a chapel of Guardian Angels. The pipe organ will be under the restoration soon. 

Visiting the church is only possible with a priest or a guide. We met a wonderful guide - Mrs Malgorzata (we highly recommend!). She is a real passionate and thanks to her the place is so visitors-friendly.

Ceiling paintings

Sunday service: 7:30, 9:00, 11:00.

The church is on The Wooden Architecture Route. See other places on the route: Trybsz.

Painted village

Now a bit of off-topic - I would like to tell you about beautiful village on the outskirts of the Carpathians where the land already flattens. The name of the village is Zalipie. Why is it so unusual? Let's see...

Painting on the old house

HISTORY  

In the old times... Imagine the simple rural cottages with a stove in the room where the everyday life went on. The wood-burning stove smoked and the walls were becoming dark. The housekeepers in order to slightly brighten up the room decided to paint white spots on black soot. Over time they started to transform simple spots into the floral patterns and then the colorful paintings. Women began to cover not only the stoves, walls and ceilings of the houses, but also the outbuildings. The rivalry between the painters has began and lasts till now as a painting competition. 

One of the famous painters from Zalipie was Felicja Curyłowa (1904-1974). Houses painted by her in her own yard have become even during her lifetime an ethnographic attraction massively visited by tourists. Curyłowa was also an active member of the community. She helped to glorify the village and sustain the local traditions.

                                       NOWADAYS

Zalipie nowadays still is a simple village whose inhabitants largely depend on agriculture. Time passes slowly here. The impression of tranquility intensify sparse buildings. At first glance, the village looks like many others in southern Poland. But a careful observer after a short moment will notice unusual details: painted curbs, a well with a bucket, a barn in the floral patterns, walls of houses covered with flowers ... even the doghouse is painted!

Visiting the village we met a young artist, a girl named Joanna. She is one of the youngest painters in the area. As a passionate  the local culture and the student of cultural studies she told us a bit about the local customs. She is a treasure trove of knowledge about the culture of Zalipie. Her subtle paintings captivated me:

Painting by Joanna Krok

Painting by Joanna Krok

Each year, a week after Corpus Christi takes place a competition for the best painted cottage. It is the perfect time to visit the village - you can see the newly painted houses in the clear colours. But don't imagine you will find a standard tourist attraction. In Zalipie you can visit the Museum of Felicja Curyłowa but this is only a foretaste of folklore, which you can get to know only when you meet the people who create this culture.

Painted tombstone of Felicja Curyłowa

More photos you will find here. 

If you want to spend some time in Zalipie or neighbourhood ask here.

Crocus - spring in the Carpathians!

How many petals does crocus have? That was the question my mom asked watching in close-up unusual, as it turned out, crocuses on Siwa Polana in the Western Tatras. Most of us has never thought about it but the genned up person will respond that six. 

We can also find unambiguous statement in the professional literature of nature. So how do we explain the fact that there are seven or even eight petals of the flower crocus? That specimens have been observed in the Tatra clearings for many years. Crocuses with an abnormal number of petals are a tiny minority but a skilled observer will find it pretty quickly. Does it mean that the crocus longiflorus , one of the most popular flowers of the Tatra Mountains, has mutated? Probably no - the phenomenon is observed in terms of the variability characteristics which sometimes have become more noticeable but usually there are only episodes such as in the case of four-leaf clover. 

So we can peacefully go to the Tatra Mountains in April, for example to the Chocholowska Valley to admire crocus meadows and by the way bend down and count how many petals has each flower. Right now in the mountains is still a lot of snow, but any day of rain and warm winds will make the crocuses start to slowly grow out of the ground ...  

Spring is coming!

Wiktorówki - a magic place

Wiktorówki – a place in the Tatra Mountains which attract many people: hikers, alpinists, pilgrims, those who search answers, hope, peace, meeting with the past, talk, or… ? Wiktorówki is not only a small wooden church in the middle of  the woods in the Tatras...

HISTORY. Wiktorówki is the Mother of God who takes care of the place and the people visiting Her. In 1860, Our Lady appeared to the call of a young girl being in need named Mary - shepherdess had lost her sheep in the fog. Thanks to the Mother of God the herd was found. Mary also listened to the warning and prophecy for the Highlanders. 

Mountaineers herding sheep and woodcutters working at felling of trees started coming to pray at the place pointed by Mary. A holy image painted on glass was hung on the tree. Then, the glass painted image was replaced by the bas-relief. At the end of the century, an unknown artist made ​​a small chapel and statue of Our Lady Queen of the Tatras. This is the same figure that is the part of the main altar nowadays. The old chapel itself is hanging on the outside wall of the sanctuary. In 1902 a bigger chapel was built but soon burned down. The Figure’s right hand is still charred as a sign of fire. The present sanctuary building dates from 1936 but was rebuilt several times.

PEOPLE. Wiktorówki is the people. The atmosphere of the place create both its residents and the newcomers. The place is in a custody of the Dominicans. They are lovely people who warmly welcome every person who comes to Wiktorówki. Their door is wide open at all time. In the summer sanctuary is packed full of pilgrims. However, if you want more peace and quiet, visit Wiktorówki in the late afternoon or at any other time of the year. 

MEMORY. Wiktorówki is the memory of those who passed away. Around the church is located one of the several symbolic cemeteries in the Tatras. This is the place where commemorative plaques of those who died in the mountains or tied up their lives with the mountains have been placed.  

ON A TRAIL.

Wiktorówki is located in the Polish Tatra Mountains. You can get there in a few different ways. The most popular are two routes. Blue trail leads from Zazadnia. This is the place on the way to the popular Lysa Polana. You can get to Zazadnia taking mini-bus from Zakopane or with your own car. The second trail is the green one and starts at Wierch Poroniec, also on the way to Lysa Polana. The trail leads through the famous Polana Rusinowa with stunning views of the High Tatras. After visiting Wiktorówki you can go for a short hiking trip climbing up the nearest peak - Gesia Szyja (Goose Neck) 1489 m a.s.l.

Polana Rusinowa 

Wiktorowki

The dwellers of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Jaworzyna, Queen of the Tatra at Wiktorówki: Reb and Stefan.