Village Poles. The most beautiful village in Poland

Of course, “the most beautiful places” is a somewhat subjective concept. But the attractions collected in this review will show how diverse the country is and how much you can see while traveling around Poland. Here we are talking about those places that are very convenient to visit if you don’t have much time - say, one day or a weekend.
1. Zywiec Lake. This is an artificial reservoir near the town of Żywiec in the Silesian Voivodeship. Although it serves economic purposes - there is a hydroelectric power station here - the lake is distinguished by its unique beauty, and therefore attracts a huge number of tourists. There are marinas, beaches, you can surf and go yachting. A particularly beautiful view of the lake opens from Mount Żar, which belongs to the Lesser Beskids.

2. Koniaków, Istebna, Jaworzynka. This is the so-called Beskydy Truive. All three villages are part of the magnificent landscape of the Silesian Beskids, and are connected by one main road and several smaller roads. These places are also very famous for their traditions: local music and lace weaving skills are especially famous.


3. Skansen in the city of Sanok in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. This is one of the largest open-air museums in the country. On an area of ​​38 hectares there are almost 100 wooden buildings in the spirit of local traditions.


4. Torun. This is one of the most beautiful and oldest cities in Poland. Toruń is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city is also well known for the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. And Torun is also the capital of... gingerbread!


5. Gniezno. This is the first capital of Poland. The first Polish archbishopric was formed here and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located here - one of the most revered and famous Polish churches. How pleasant it is to wander through the narrow streets, the heart of which is the ancient Market Square!


6. Kamenczyk waterfall in the town of Szklarska Poreba (Jelenegur County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship). This is the highest waterfall in the Polish Karkonosze Mountains. The water falls in a frame in three steps from a height of 27 meters. Behind the waterfall there is an artificial cave in which there is a large accumulation of amethysts and pegmatite. This cave is called “Golden Pit”. The waterfall itself is located at an altitude of 846 meters above sea level.

7. The village of Zalipie in the Lesser Poland region of Poland. It is famous for the fact that almost everything in it is painted! Local traditional patterns can be seen everywhere: on houses, fences, swings, furniture, stoves, trees, even kettles and washing machines! By the way - this is also a local feature - basically all the artists in Zalipye are women.


8. Bydgoszcz lies on the Brda River. The unofficial name of the city is “Bydgoszcz Venice”. And it’s hard to argue with this: looking at the centuries-old buildings reflected in the clear river waters and at the boats and boats slowly sailing through the city, you begin to feel like you’re in a medieval fairy tale. To the east of the city is the Bydgoszcz Canal, the oldest existing waterway in the country, connecting the Vistula and Odra.


9. Lake Zegrzyn. If the weather is good on a summer weekend, it means that the beaches near the lake, located 30 km from Warsaw, will be full of tourists. This artificially created reservoir on the Narew River is today one of the most popular Sunday holiday destinations among residents of the capital and surrounding area.


10. Routes for horseback riding in the Low Beskids. The so-called Transbeskid route is the longest among mountain routes of this kind. Its length is 400 km. When you travel along this road, you can meet colorful villages, picturesque valleys, mountain ranges, and magnificent national parks.


11. Palace in Bozkow near the town of Nowa Ruda (Lower Silesian Voivodeship). This beautiful 18th century building has been abandoned for several years now. But perhaps that is why it attracts tourists with its mystery and enigma.


12. Soltykov Jets. This is a natural reservoir in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In addition to magnificent vegetation, there are also deposits of minerals and paleontological fossils.


13. Lake Turkusovo on the western coast of the Baltic. It is located on the site where chalk has long been mined. The color of the lake is somewhat unusual - blue with a green tint. This color is obtained due to the play of sunlight, which, penetrating into clean water and reflecting from the minerals located at the bottom of the reservoir, gives this effect. There are walking paths around the lake. If you climb the nearby hill, you can see not only this lake, but also the Baltic Sea itself.


14. The village of Zhelazova Wola near Warsaw. Frederic Chopin was born and spent his childhood here. Nowadays, in the house where the future composer lived, there is a museum, and near it there is a park and garden laid out in the 30s of the last century.


15. Rafting along the beaver route. This is a real treat for kayaking enthusiasts. The route passes through the West Pomeranian and Lubusz Voivodeships and is located among picturesque forests and rivers.


16. Moshni Castle. Located in the Opole Voivodeship, the architectural ensemble is one of the main attractions of Upper Silesia. Nowadays there is a center for the treatment of diseases of the nervous system, but part of the castle is open to the public.


17. Lake Nidzke. This glacial lake is one of the least untouched lakes in Masuria. Those who value contact and harmony with nature will especially like it here.


18. Rafting on the Dikaya (Divoka) Orlitsa River. Traveling along this river is not an easy task and is more suitable for those who have some experience. It is quite rocky, very cold and incredibly beautiful - an extreme pleasure for rafting lovers. The Wild Eagle flows in the Sudetes through the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic.


19. Museum of characters... before bed. Here are the heroes of the Polish analogues of the program “Good Night Kids”. The only museum of its kind is located in Rzeszow. And it’s not even clear who is more interested here - children or adults...


20. The city of Bielsko-Biala in the Silesian Voivodeship. One of the most beautiful Polish cities with many old buildings and, of course, the central Market Square. By the way, there are two unusual monuments here - to heroes... of cartoons. These are the dogs Rex and Bolek and Lolek, beloved by the Poles.

21. Ruins of Rabztyn Castle in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. This is a knight's castle from the 13th century. Part of it has been restored, but from most of the structure only the skeletons of the walls remain. Which, however, attracts a huge number of tourists. There are many legends associated with the castle. For example, that deep underground there is another castle - large and beautiful. And that its inhabitants sleep there. And only once a year they wake up, open the doors of luxurious halls and sit down at tables covered with delicious dishes. And then everything goes to sleep again - until next year...


22. Sheep Mountain. It is the second highest mountain in the Silesian Beskids. Its height is 1220 meters. Paths running through virgin nature lead to its top, where the geodetic station and observation point are located. And the view from the mountain is simply fabulous!


23. Vistula Žuławy. In northern Poland, several tens of kilometers from the sea, the Vistula leaves a large amount of river sediment, thereby forming sand dunes - they separate Żuławy from the Baltic Sea. A significant area of ​​Żuławy is located below sea level, and therefore an extensive network of dams and canals was built there - it is considered one of the densest in Europe.


24. Icons in Lancut. The town of Lancut in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship is famous for the Lubomirski Castle from the 17th century. To this day it has been preserved in excellent condition. The largest collection of icons in Poland is kept here. There are about 2,500 of them in the castle. Most of these icons were transferred after the war from destroyed churches located in the north-eastern part of Poland.


25. The village of Krasiejów in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship. Traces of ancient amphibians and reptiles were found here, and a paleontological pavilion was built at the site of the find. Now “Jurapark” is open there - an amusement park “inhabited” with dinosaurs.


26. Lavender fields. And not in Provence, but near Olsztyn! The lavender field near New Kavkov has existed since 2001. And although it is sometimes difficult for enthusiasts who grow this plant - after all, the local climate is not as suitable for lavender as Provençal - every year you can observe luxurious blooms here. At the same time, farmers try not to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. And when the season ends, bouquets and sachets are made from dried flowers.


27. Underwater quarry in Piechcin (Kuyavia-Pomeranian Voivodeship). At its bottom lie real treasures - yachts, sailing boats, even two Fiat 126s in almost perfect condition. It is especially interesting here when there has been no rain for some time and the water is completely clear. This is one of the few quarries in Poland where diving is possible.


28. Mouth of the Warta (Lubskie Voivodeship). This is a kingdom of wild animals and birds living near water. There are 270 species of the latter here. All of them are under protection - after all, there is a national park here. In 2009 it was voted the best European tourist destination.


29. Underground bunkers in Szczecin. It is believed that there were almost 800 of them here! After the Second World War, 160 were opened. One of the most interesting is the anti-aircraft bunker. It is located at a depth of 17 meters and even had its own water supply. The thickness of its walls is 3 meters. There could be 2,500 people in the bunker at the same time.


30. Center of Slavs and Vikings in Wolin. Walking through this scansen is like traveling back in time. There are recreated huts from the early Middle Ages, where members of Slavic brotherhoods sometimes spend time. You can go into each of these houses and get acquainted with the interior. A festival of Slavs and Vikings takes place here every year.

Unlike the routes of many autotourists who travel only to capital cities and exclusively on autobahns, my route through Europe ran 95% along local roads and small towns. Therefore, the report on each country will begin with the rural part. True, writing on this topic is much more difficult, since rural spaces are usually viewed from a car window. In the city, go ahead and click everything, but here, to take one photo, you have to overcome laziness every time, look for a place to stop, go out and look for the right angle, sometimes right on the roadway, and then start the car again and taxi out. It is not surprising that the dry residue of the images turned out to be several times less than it could have been.

Thus, there are not many photographs in these sections, but there will be actual travel notes, which do not combine well with reports on individual cities. Let's start with rural Poland.

Formally, the second country on the route was Lithuania, but I don’t have much to say about it, since I drove through this country without any stops at all. But the opportunity arose for the first time to test the navigator (hereinafter referred to as Navik) in action. The manufacturer Garmin did not bother to include normal maps of Russia and Belarus in the European package (and I had not yet learned how to add them myself), and until Lithuania the device only got in the way, but it regularly recorded the route. I immediately turned off the sound and never turned it on, which several times led to driving past the necessary turns, but did not distract from the driver’s direct duties.

Navik coped with the first task of driving around Vilnius perfectly. The fact is that there is still no bypass road around the capital of Lithuania, and I had to drive through unfamiliar suburbs (completely soviet-looking, by the way, with broken asphalt, dull industrial zones and disorderly buildings) with turns, traffic lights, and even morning traffic . With joint efforts we finally got out, and spent two hours admiring the pleasant pine landscapes of southern Lithuania. How many times have I been to Lithuania, and the weather has always been excellent and sunny - the epithet “sunny Lithuania” just begs to be spoken. Well, okay, the post is still about Poland.

So, I crossed Poland twice: first on May 17-18 diagonally from northeast to southwest, and on the way back on June 13 from south to north along the eastern part:

I made two overnight stays, had a good look at one city and a quick look at two more. It turned out to be not enough, but what the hell - that’s how the route was drawn up, and the country is big. The overall impression of Poland turned out to be a big plus - a hospitable country, interesting cities, pretty landscapes - so I was pleasantly surprised and significantly improved my former preconceived opinion about the people and the country.

Well, Poland is large and difficult to navigate for several reasons. Firstly, the country has only recently begun to build highways, and so far there are negligible numbers of them. Secondly, the density of rural settlements is so great that they often merge into each other, and the average speed physically cannot exceed 50 km/h (only in the very east, between Lublin and Bialystok, were there more or less open areas). Moreover, the ragged rhythm of the speed limit is very tiring: 50-70-90-70-50, and the cycle repeats endlessly. Thirdly, the roads are narrow, and sometimes trucks and even tractors drive onto them - you can’t overtake horseradish! Well, all sorts of pickers are everywhere (and on the way back, as soon as I drove in, I was ambushed in the evening: the repairmen simply blocked the road, and until they finished and swept up after themselves, they didn’t let anyone in for about 40 minutes).

But the problem is gradually being solved. The modernization of the road network is proceeding strictly from west to east, as if under the strict leadership of the Germans, and has already reached Olsztyn. New highways are being built and, where possible, old highways are being expanded (and new asphalt is also being laid). Local drivers drive much faster and at the same time much more carefully than in other countries (everyone was overtaking me, but no one cut me off or even interfered. However, I strictly observed the 50 signs, and they were far away not always). The signs are also good: they warn about all cases of ruts or unevenness of the road, even if you don’t feel it after our roads, and mode 50 begins not with the name of the settlement, but with a “development” sign, that is, they let you go 70, where it’s not particularly dangerous. But in zone 50 there are (probably penalizing) photo radars everywhere, which I have never seen in other countries.

In such difficult conditions, I had to go through three long (500 km) stages, and there was almost no time to get acquainted with the Polish province - I would have had time to get there in a reasonable time. Anticipating late arrivals, I booked hotel rooms for the first stages, and at least didn’t worry about overnight stays. But I didn’t buy a paper map of Poland to save money, and relied entirely on Navik, who here never gave a reason to call himself Susanin.

I already noted the phenomenon of cross-border rednecks in a post about Belarus. And in Poland, on the border and 30 kilometers deep, a certain Kantor is a redneck, selling vignettes that no one needs, changing money at an extortionate rate and offering paid toilets for as much as 2 euros. Mentally showing him the sign, I solved all my problems in the first supermarket of the first city on the way - Suwalki. The zloty exchange rate is very convenient: it is approximately 1:10 to the ruble, so it was easy to navigate the prices. Seeing that they didn’t bite here at all, I took out only 200 zlotys from the ATM, which was more than enough for the return trip. I immediately bought an 8 GB photo flash drive for 59 zlotys, which was clearly cheaper than in Russia (ROC = 1.27)

Not noticing any traces of the historical center, I did not explore the city of Suwalki. But there were cheerfully painted Khrushchev apartment buildings with gigantic two-story house numbers painted right on the ends. These turned out to be five-story buildings all over Poland, but I was never able to photograph one.

The Poles compensate for the absence of a border with Lithuania with police patrols in the border areas. I immediately ran into one of them, barely having time to turn west from Suwałki. They very politely checked my documents and asked if I was bringing cigarettes and alcohol. I had both, but in permitted quantities, so we parted amicably. I still got some stress, so I started looking for a parking lot to get something to eat. But Poland is not Belarus: there are no gazebos with tables, and Polish parking lots differ from Russian parking lots only in the presence of benches.

Having solved all the skin problems, we could relax and start exploring the local beauties. Poland is visually different from other countries in several characteristic ways. Firstly, rapeseed blooms very beautifully in May, and bright yellow fields sometimes stretch to the horizon on both sides of the road:

There is especially a lot of this rapeseed in the center and west of the country; this culture is becoming very popular in Europe and Ukraine in the conditions of oil insanity, because Oil is squeezed out of the seeds and used in some biodiesels. The energy problem is also solved with the help of wind turbines, which look a lot like Wells' Martians from War of the Worlds. It was not possible to take pictures - either the rain got in the way, or there was nowhere to stop. But I saw an old windmill, albeit against the sun:

Secondly, in all cities and large villages churches dominate (both in the landscape and in life), and new ones are often distinguished by interesting modern architecture (I also didn’t photograph a single one). On the way back, I was driving just on Sunday morning, and watched as the population flocked in full force and in parade to the morning service. Where the rich are in cars, where the poor are in bicycles. But the roads are empty at this time :)

The churches are complemented by crucifixes and chapels everywhere along the roads and streets. They are also found in other countries, and no less often, but the Polish “uterus bozki” are carefully covered with glass from the weather:

I don’t understand why there are rags hanging on the fence. Thirdly, there are a lot of storks: in every village, especially in the north, there is sure to be a pillar with a huge nest and a bird on top (and in June, chicks appear). They nest even on not the highest poles:

Well, northern Poland is a lake region, and the following views with forest and lake often open up:

Or in combination with rapeseed, which is especially picturesque:

In northern Poland there is something to see besides nature. The towns along the rivers and lakes are nice, Olsztyn is the capital of the region, and there are even Gothic castles. Judging by this diagram, there are a good dozen of them:

I came across the first one from the east, in the town of Ryn, but it didn’t arouse much interest, because it was converted into a hotel with all that it implies:

More interesting than the castle were the ordinary houses in the town, at least on the main square:

Characteristic are not long narrow pipes, but wide rectangular pipes on the roofs. This is even more noticeable on the streets of the neighboring town of Vydminy (and the development is much more authentic: there is no castle, there is nothing to attract tourists):

There was also a functioning monastery in the town:

with a large well-groomed area, with Christmas trees, greenhouses, cherry blossoms and access to the river bank:

But we had to move on. In Olsztyn (separate post) the weather completely deteriorated, it got sharply cold from +25 to +10, and the townspeople who had managed to put on their jackets on their way home from work were obviously thinking about me, what kind of guy is this: in a summer shirt, running, looking around and clicking, God knows What.

I reached the final destination of the stage, the city of Torun (separate post), already after dark. In general, it’s very annoying that in Europe, even in May-June, it gets dark already at 21:00 (and people go to bed outrageously early), and vice versa, no matter how early you get up - at 7-8 in the morning it’s already hot and the sun is high. I would switch all of Europe to Moscow time, honestly! As a result, I decided not to even touch the hands on my watch, but to get up every day at 6 local time - why rebuild my body so many times.

The next morning the weather was forgiving only until it was time to set off, and then the only difference was whether it was just rain or downpour. So, no photos or adventures happened on the second day: so I reached the border with the Czech Republic. On the way, however, I stopped at Auchan and bought a thermal box for food. I had a snack there, for the first and last time at fast food. True, the Polish “sausage” was given such a size that I could barely handle it. I had to count ROCK again - here it came out somewhere around 1.8. The city of Legnica, with its considerable old-factory charm, was too lazy to explore after a hearty lunch.

Closer to the border, the terrain became mountainous, the road improved noticeably, and the roadside buildings became prettier: obviously, neighbors are exposed to each other, because on the Czech side everything was similar. Even ski structures have appeared (although the Giant Mountains are not at all high):

At the border itself, instead of abandoned posts, there suddenly turned out to be a casino, and from its side a deer fawn was crossing the road dejectedly (the poor thing probably lost). It was already getting dark, so there was no point in taking a photo of him.

On the way back (already in June) I crossed Poland again, but this time from Slovakia. All the gypsies, of whom there were countless even in the border Slovak villages, immediately disappeared somewhere. It should be noted that this summer Shakira’s song became an absolute hit in Poland "I am a gypsy! Are you coming with me?", which sounded at least once an hour on all radio waves. It’s good for them to sing when there are no gypsies in their country at all. Slovaks don’t sing it or even listen to it :)

By that time, the schedule had already gone awry, and the planned overnight stay in Slovakia was moved to Poland. Although Poland doesn’t have the pensions I’m used to, there are inexpensive motels, so I didn’t worry too much about driving north while it was still light. And indeed, soon I found a combi-motel with a gas station and a restaurant, where they gave me a room (800 rubles), fed me dinner (another 210 for an entrecote with two beers) and let me watch football on the big screen. By that time, I had long been too lazy to consider the ROK, but even here it was not at all in favor of Russia.

On my last day in the European Union, I still managed to see Lublin and wanted to spend the night before the Belarusian border in Bialystok, but changed my mind when I saw how Soviet-like the planned options turned out to be. I didn’t even look at the third “hotel” (and at the same time the city itself), and went to cross the border. Despite the very picturesque landscapes and a good new road (Navik for some reason called it a country road), there was not a single restaurant on this last section (also a kind of border redneck - there’s nowhere to even spend extra money), and instead of dinner with football I got an hour Have a nice chat with the border guards.

Ten kilometers from Brest, near the border with Poland, stands the village of Nepli. Ten kilometers from the Polish Terespol, near the border with Belarus, another village seems to be peering into the distance. Neply too.

Between the namesakes is the Western Bug River, along which the state border runs. Therefore, to get from one village to another, today you need a visa, a ticket and several hours of waiting. However, there were times when a wooden bridge stretched over the Western Bug.

And the people who lived by the river freely visited each other, calling themselves fellow villagers. The “R” correspondent tracked down the old residents of both Neples to find out what still unites those who were separated by the border more than 70 years ago.

Self-woven memory

Maria Volosyuk was born in Nieply, Poland in 1947. But her mother, also Maria, is from near Pinsk. On Belarusian soil she met her future husband Kazimir. He was a military man, served in the Polesie region. In the 1930s, the newlyweds went to Warsaw to work:

Our village today has 45 houses and more than 80 residents

“When the war began, my parents tried to return to their homeland,” 69-year-old Maria recalls her mother’s stories. “But the border in Terespol was already closed. They were simply not allowed into Belarus.

Maria and Casimir remained in Neply. They worked here. Maria and her two brothers were born here. It was hard to raise a family: no relatives, no friends. Of course, after peace was established, Maria’s parents made attempts to see their loved ones. But for the first time, children tried grandma's pies only in 1958. Maria was 11 years old. She liked and remembered Pinsk region.

The cultural background also influenced the choice of profession: all her life Maria Kazimirovna taught Russian to schoolchildren. Now the second cousin connection with Belarus has been established. Only my grandmother is not at the right age to travel...

In memory of her late mother, Maria keeps homemade and painted towels. Striped - to cover the “ditch”. With flowers - a gift for my daughter. Similar to each other, woven and painted echoes of the past still live in Neplyansky huts on both banks of the Western Bug. It is not surprising, since researchers often treat Polish Podlasie and Belarusian Polesie as one cultural region. They say that local people have a similar view of the world. For example, on both Belarusian and Polish territory there is an image of a stork on houses - a holy bird that gives prosperity.

The Polesie archaic can also be traced through the tradition of towels, continues the Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Belarusian Literary Studies of the BrGU named after A.S. Pushkina Inna Shved:

– Our research has shown that the tradition of towels, characteristic of Belarusian Polesie, also runs in a stripe across Polish Podlasie. It is likely that the wave of traditionalism is breaking off deeper into Poland. Of course, among our European neighbors the custom was not preserved in the same form as ours. The influence of another culture is felt. But even now, towels hang on some “roofs” located at the entrance to Podlasie villages. Rarely, towels can be found in the so-called red kutkas. On the Polish side, the ornament on towels characteristic of the Polesie region is also degenerating. Traditionally this is embroidery of an archaic type. With geometric figures, when locality is discernible in what is depicted. The Poles have almost no more of this: recently, housewives have more often decorated their embroidered shirts with floral satin stitch. However, in conversations, Polish grandmothers confirm that back in the 1960s, towels were actively used in rituals.

Little Switzerland

But we shouldn’t blame history alone for forgetting traditions. People are becoming a thing of the past, and with them amazing skills that modern people, unfortunately, have no desire for. Or time. How do we complain about the modern village? The population is declining. Few young people. There is no one to pass on the cultural code to. However, our twin villages are completely different in this context.

The Polish half of the village today.

The head of the village, Richard Kucharski, calculated: about 250 people live in Polish Nieply today. Two and a half dozen are children. The interlocutor agrees: the village is sparsely populated compared to the 1960s.

Once upon a time there was a shoe store and a clothing store, a tavern, and the purchase of surplus agricultural products from the population. All this was closed. The buildings are empty. Or converted into housing. Here and there, dilapidated log shacks gape. Some things are bought, repaired and used as summer houses. This region was mainly chosen by Warsaw residents for their summer cottages.

Richard KUCHARSKI has been serving as headman (soltys in Polish) for about 15 years.

Now in the village there is a school (it is attended by residents of Nepley, Kuzavka, Stazynka and Kszyczew), a store, two inns, a fire station, a church, and a forester’s office. There is a park. For its beautiful views it was nicknamed the Switzerland of Neplyansk. A regular bus runs from Terespol several times a day.

At the same time, Belarusian Nepli today is a prestigious “bedroom area” of the regional center. Judge for yourself: from the central square of Brest to the village it is a little more than ten kilometers. The village is growing due to new developments. The manager of the Kleinikovsky village executive committee, Yulia Doroshuk, confirms: if in 2012 57 people lived in 28 houses in Neplya, then this year there are already 45 houses and 81 villagers in the village. Of these, 20 are minors. True, there are still issues with the infrastructure: there is no store, regular buses arrive every other day. If you need something urgently, you need to drive six kilometers to neighboring Kleiniki. Or to Brest.

While looking at a historical album about Neplya, I discovered an archival photo of flooded houses. Did you know that the residents of Brest have long dubbed our Nepli the Belarusian Venice. Because during a flood in the spring, the water level rises so high that it floods the roadway. It turns out that the natural “games” of the awakened Western Bug are a common problem for the villages of the same name. It couldn’t be otherwise: both villages are located near the river and experience seasonal bad weather equally acutely. Fortunately, in the last couple of years, floods have bypassed both villages.

To emigrate on horseback

Belarusian Teresa Razykova is almost the same age as Maria Volosyuk, born in 1949. Only on the other side of the Western Bug. Just like a Polish woman, she has relatives “over there.”

In the 1950s, little Teresa's aunt Jadwiga got on a horse and rode to Poland. And she didn’t return. Got married. The marriage produced five children. This is how Teresa Mikhailovna got European relatives. Cousins ​​and brothers still live in the villages of Podlasie. And pensioner Teresa either goes to visit them or invites them to her place. True, after getting married, she left with her husband for Tatarstan. But 16 years ago she returned to her homeland. The people then chose her as the head of the village: for her inquisitive interest in the past, for her respect for traditions.

Elder Teresa RAZYKOVA is respected by her fellow villagers

“Literally a week ago we installed a new “roof” at the entrance to the village,” Tereza Mikhailovna emphasizes the importance of observing customs. – They tied the towel, as it should be. Now our village is under God's care.

“Both my sister and I got married according to these rituals.

Every action in the ritual is thought out to the smallest detail. For example, in Polesie great importance is attached to the preparation of loaf. It has the status of holy bread. Symbolizes the bride and groom separately, their union in marriage as a married couple and their future fate as procreation. In order for family life to be happy, loaf makers must perform special actions, says Professor Inna Shved:

– The dough was kneaded by women or girls, in the Brest region – by godmothers. You couldn't mix with your fists. They kneaded it with their hands so that the husband would not raise his hand against his wife. At the same time they sang something like “Knock-knock on the courtyards, knock on the tables, bilenkymy ruchenkamy, golden perstenkamy.” The yeast dough had to rise well, which predetermined the well-being of the young. After all, they were also in a state of birth and growth. One whole, family. It was believed that how well the loaf rises, the faster the share of young people arrives.

Even in Polesie there is a tradition of putting coins in a loaf. For wealth. The father of the bride must press them into the dough at a certain stage. For example, in the Kamenets region, first the first loaf of bread put the sole, that is, the bottom layer of the loaf, the second loaf of bread made a cross from the dough and placed it on the sole, then the sun was made from the dough, and the cross was covered with it. After this, the father, with the elbow of his right hand wrapped in a towel, pressed the coins into the sun three times. The custom of preparing a wedding loaf in some places in the Polesie-Podlasie region is still recorded, but it lives, as a rule, in the memory of old-timers.

Walk, village, walk, people

How do modern Nepls maintain their traditions? Where and for what reason do villagers meet? The last time music and laughter was heard from the Polish side was on September 15: the village celebrated “Dozhinki”. The harvest festival brought together residents of four villages included in the parish of the Exaltation of the Cross in Neply. Entry ticket includes homemade delicacies. There was pumpkin soup, baked goods, compotes, and vegetables. But the main “hero” of the holiday is the loaf. According to tradition, it is broken by the priest and the head of the commune, and then they go to the people and share it with those present. Once upon a time another mass holiday was held in Neplya - May 1st. Schoolchildren prepared concert numbers, the village gathered in the square and had fun. Nowadays, non-Plants most often meet and communicate in the church. “Dozhinki” was organized in the village for the first time.

Local pilaf is especially tasty.

Yeast pancakes in Polish Neplya are baked according to the same recipe as on the Belarusian side.

Not so long ago, one of the most long-awaited holidays of Belarusian non-Belussians passed away. On August 28, we celebrated Village Day - the joint birthday of the villages of Nepli and Kleiniki. A loaf baked in accordance with Polesie traditions, an exhibition of folk crafts, a concert. Our people love mass celebrations. And local authorities organize them on the main square in Kleiniki regularly: New Year and Carols, May 9, March 8, Mother’s Day, “Dozhinki”. “In addition, over the past two years, we have restored the tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa and Kupala,” concludes Elena Melnik, chairman of the Kleynikovsky village executive committee.

Stop "17 September"

76-year-old Valentin Omelyanyuk is a Pole, born and raised in Neplya near Terespol. Grandfather remembers the times when the river was not yet a border for two peoples and aliens went to visit each other on boats. Nepli was one village. And to avoid confusion, today the Belarusian part was called the Zabuzhian Nepls. You could get to the opposite bank via a wooden bridge, which was built a little further from Neplei, near the village of Lehi. Or by boat. Basel, Valentin's uncle, often sailed to the Zabuzhian aliens. He had a fiancee, Stanislava, across the river. After getting married, Basel remained to live on Stasi's side. Now he, his children and grandchildren are Belarusians. They live in the border town of Kozlovichi. Why not in Neplya? An interesting but understandable question: after the border was established, many owners from border villages moved their houses inland, closer to Brest. Often - even to another village. Teresa Razykova confirms the fact: she remembers a wooden hut that stood in Katin Bor, which has been adjacent to her house in Neplya for fifty years.

The most interesting part of the journey through rural Eastern Europe begins. The Baltic states, even though I had only been to one country before, are still very Soviet, everyone speaks Russian... Poland is a different matter. Poland has been in the EU exactly as long as the three Baltic countries - nine. But despite their common socialist past, the countries developed slightly differently. So what have they done in a little less than a quarter of a century without the “big brother” of the USSR?

One and a half thousand kilometers "zigzag", of course, is too short to understand this country. But to get into it - just right, especially since Chevrolet and I tried to choose the smallest, narrowest, but very beautiful roads!

1 I left Lithuania while it was still dark, in thick fog. It's good that Baltic drivers drive politely and keep speed, especially in bad weather.

2 Another conditional checkpoint. Of course, there is no one there and the passage is free. What a beautiful world without borders! I can imagine how much time I would have lost on exactly the same trip if there were borders between each country. Although I imagine it very well, two and a half years ago I traveled through seven Balkan countries in a month and crossed borders many, many times. (*see travel Balkan stars
)

3 Poland. Previously, these letters meant a completely different world for Soviet people. Getting to Poland was a happiness that was not available to everyone. And even now it should be more European. Let's see.

4 After a couple of kilometers there is a pedestrian crossing right on the highway. Because it is foggy, a woman in a bright uniform with a large stop sign stands at the crossing and helps to cross the road.

5 This was not the case in the Baltic states. In Russia - even more so. And it’s unlikely that it ever will be.

6 I like the interior of the Captiva, it turned out to be quite American and recognizable. Although why didn’t they change the nameplate on the steering wheel in the restyled version? In modern Chevrolets it is different.

7 I drive along the highway for a bit. They exist in Poland. Directly - Russia, Kaliningrad region. But I don't need to go there. Someday, another time. And without stupid boundaries.

8 Autumn foggy morning in the Polish wilderness. It smells very tasty, I want to tell you!

9 The neat little villages are left behind.

10 Not far from a town called Elk, an elk appears on the road. More precisely, a moose cow. He jumps over the wooden fence and begins to slowly cross the road, his heels clicking on his long legs. (and Elk in English is elk. Funny coincidence)

11 I noticed the moose from afar, so she did not pose any danger. I stopped to take a photo of her. The forest beauty turned around to look before disappearing into the bushes. Didn't I turn around to see if she turned around?

12 The roads are most often good. There is no trash along the roadsides. And this is perhaps the only thing that distinguishes the local nature and environment from Russia.

13 There are a lot of cows. We don't have that much in the fall. It's cold already.

14 Mu! Ventspils says hello.

15 Do you believe that a real steam locomotive can suddenly and loudly pass along such a half-abandoned railway? No? But in vain.

16

17 Sometimes the road leads through the outskirts of very different cities. I don’t even remember them, although I want to go straight to some residential area and take a walk there. See how Poles live in Soviet box houses. But not at this time. Travel is “rural”, about small places. And not multi-apartment anthills.

18 Polish cities look very different. Some are very well-groomed, some are completely shabby. But where did the inscription come from in the center of Poland " Kosovo This Serbia"? Well, yes, I don’t like Albanians either.

19 There are a lot of traffic cameras. They are in almost every village. Drivers drive carefully. I think the relationship is obvious. I have a radar detector with me, which I thought about using in Russia, but I couldn’t get it even there. You know, it’s easy not to violate. And I advise you.

20 Just some Polish village that I dropped in for a minute.

21 Beauty!

22 One very interesting shoot went wrong for me. It’s my own fault: I entered the first village of Petrovo that came across into the navigator, although there are a dozen of them in Poland. I began to realize that something was wrong only a couple of kilometers away. As a result, I arrived, talked with local residents and realized that I had come to the wrong place. I photographed them for memory. I’ll say briefly about communication, but separately: in Poland they don’t speak Russian, and you hardly know Polish. But it is possible to communicate, and very easily. To understand Poles fluently, you need to speak a little Ukrainian (these languages ​​are even more similar) and use your imagination. For example, you can guess what a “group” or “zayazd” is without a dictionary.

23 Everything is clear, right? Restaurant, overnight accommodation.

24 Sometimes it's funny. They don't write motel, but "motelik". You probably know about the ugly beauty. And almost all Slavic peoples call the theater a disgrace.

25 An interesting tradition in Poland. It is customary to park old airplanes near gas stations. Like decoration, but still - why airplanes? I've seen this happen many times, and always right next to gas stations.

26 The towns and villages themselves are much neater than ours. Not surprised.

27 In some places it is very similar to Belarus. I’m also not surprised, they are not shy about learning from the Poles, and half of the country was once Poland.

28 Beautiful, neat, pleasant. This is the case in almost every village. You won't be able to guess the country from a photo. They don't live richly here at all. But you don’t need a lot of money to live with dignity. It's just a matter of accuracy and attitude towards yourself and your land.

29 Bicycles are sold near the roads. As I understand it, they are more in demand here than plush Chinese toys of poisonous colors.

30 This is still possible to meet.

31 But simultaneous road repairs are underway throughout the country. They are not just patched up, but expanded and reconstructed.

32 The end result is these beautiful highways. And the speed limit here is not even 130, but 140 kilometers per hour.

33 We are turning onto local roads again. It will be more interesting further!

Friends of the expedition

Travel through rural Eastern Europe supported by car brand

Poland is one of the most famous countries in Central Europe. It has a rich history, and mentions of the country date back to the 1st century. Although tourists are not very keen to visit this country, there are many historical buildings, an extensive Baltic coastline, hills and lakes formed during the Ice Age. Here you can find rare representatives of flora and fauna that are not found anywhere else in Europe. Not only Warsaw and Krakow are worthy of tourists' attention. There are small beautiful towns in Poland and amazing villages that are worth visiting.

The free city of Sanok is located in the foothills of the Carpathians on the San River. The city not only has a rich history and architecture, but also has stunning panoramic views. This small town has been here for almost a thousand years. It houses Sanok Castle and one of the largest collections of icons in Central and Eastern Europe. Popular attractions include the Old Town and the Open Air Museum of Folk Architecture.

Wieliczka is located just a few kilometers from Krakow. It is home to one of the world's oldest operating salt mines.

This tiny town of just over 1,000 people is a true gem for history buffs. It contains almost all of the historical Polish wooden structures from the 19th century, built by the highlanders. Situated between the High and Low Tatras, the city is surrounded by evergreen forests.

Zlotoryja is supposedly the oldest city in the country. It is located on the banks of the Kachava. This area is also known as the “Land of Dormant Volcanoes”. It was once a famous gold mining town. The best way to view the city is from the bell tower of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the 13th century. Outside the small medieval town is Basta Kowalska, also known as the Kuznetskaya Tower, which offers stunning panoramic views of the city. There is also a gold mining museum, which tells the story of the city's famous gold mining past.

The city of Bech is located in the foothills of the Carpathians. It was once considered one of the most significant trading cities in Poland. Here Vaclav Potocki wrote “The Battle of Khotyn”. The city is often called "Little Krakow". Its most important attraction is the parish church, built in the late Gothic style. Here you can walk along the narrow medieval streets, visit the Kromerówka Museum of Beck Land and admire the historical hall in the House of Hodor.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Yaroslav hosted the second largest fair in Europe. Traders from all over the world came here. The main attraction of the city are the cellars and underground storage facilities. Much of the city's extravagant past has disappeared, but the imposing buildings still remain reminders of times gone by. To learn more about the city's history and architecture, you need to visit the historical palaces and city fortifications. The Orsetti House houses a museum entirely dedicated to Yaroslav. Since 1375, an almost untouched layout of the city has been preserved.

The quaint but delightful city in the Wielkopolska Voivodeship is often called the “Pearl of Polish Baroque”. This was facilitated by the Baroque palaces and buildings located in the city. Much of the architecture was created by 17th century masters Ian Stair and Pompeo Ferrari. The buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries complement those built earlier. The most historically significant building in the city is Rydzyn Castle. Also interesting is the Baroque Church of St. Stanislaus, in which the founder of the city is buried.

It seems that this city is lost in time. Having gone through many battles and recovered from their consequences, it stands calmly as a reminder of the medieval atmosphere. The most famous building in the city is the Gothic Episcopal Castle. Back in the 14th century, the Church of St. Peter was built. There are remarkable buildings scattered throughout the city, such as the classical town hall built in the 19th century, the Church of St. John, the Jesuit complex of the 15th and 16th centuries and the Catholic shrine of St. Lipka, where pilgrims have flocked since the 17th century.

Polish kings and Lithuanian princes loved to stop in the city to taste alcoholic beverages. It once housed 36 beer taverns, 15 establishments for vodka lovers and 10 honey inns. This small town, located near the Narew River, is one of the oldest settlements. There are more than a hundred historical buildings here, including the Tikocin Castle and the Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity. The Jewish cemetery is one of the oldest in the country, and the Baroque synagogue is one of the best in Poland and a main attraction.

The city is located on the banks of the Vistula River, and was once an important grain trading center. And now it is considered one of the best preserved historical cities in the country. Since the 19th century, the small town has attracted creative geniuses from all over the world. Some even spent the whole summer here. The streets of the city are lined with art and sculpture galleries. Here you can see such famous buildings as the parish church of St. Bartholomew and John the Baptist, the remains of Kazimierz Dolny Castle, St. Anne's Church, as well as many historical granaries.

It is considered the winter capital of Poland. This small but charming town is full of restaurants and shops. The majestic, snow-covered Tatra Mountains bring glory to the city. People come here to relax throughout the year, but as soon as the first snow falls, thousands of ski lovers flock to Zakopane.

Based on materials from touropia.com