Podhale Region Research Articles

Farming is a Grind. A Górale’s Perspective on Labour as a Local Heritage

During my recent ethnographic fieldwork research in Chochołów in the western Podhale region, I got the impression that the work of the Górale was one of the most valuable issues in everyday life. Although my research was about heritage, not directly about work, I decided to follow my interviewee’s voice and look specifically at work. I concluded that work is one of the most important references in the local value system. Not only is hard work valued and held up as a model, but it is also often presented as inherited. Even in 19th-century texts, one can read that Górale worked hard and that work was significant to them. Modern Górale also emphasise that they have diligence in their blood, that it is something setting them apart, and that it has always been so. Drawing on various theories from heritage studies, I aim to demonstrate that labour in the Podhale region can be viewed as a form of cultural heritage. This heritage juggles between the authorised and the unauthorised discourse, between the tangible and the intangible. Above all, it is linked to the production of locality, community, and a sense of uniqueness. It can, therefore, be seen, as Rodney Harrison wanted, as heritage in action.

Stan obecny i kierunki rozwoju ośrodków narciarskich w Polskich Karpatach

Current state and main directions of ski resorts development in the Polish Carpathians Forecasts for the development of ski tourism in the world are not optimistic. They are related to the influence of climate change on the shortening of the ski season and the decrease in skier demand, as well as the progressive ageing process of the societies in economically developed countries. Therefore, ski resorts all over the world are faced with many challenges as a consequence of these phenomena. The purpose of this article is to present the current state of ski infrastructure in the Polish Carpathians and to define contemporary trends in the development of ski resorts in this area. The main methods used in the research process included inventory of ski infrastructure, field observation, analysis of the websites of ski resorts and their profiles posted on social media, and interviews with representatives of leading ski resort management companies. The state of infrastructure for downhill skiing in the Polish Carpathians in 2020 included 469 ski lifts, including 91 cableways, with a total length of 199.8 km and transport capacity of 400.8 thousand people per hour, as well as 528 ski runs with a total length of 304.7 km. The best developed tourist regions are the Tatras and Podhale region, as well as the Silesian Beskids. Among the 91 ski destinations in the Polish Carpathians, the best developed for skiing are: Białka Tatrzańska, Krynica-Zdrój, Wisła, Zakopane and Szczyrk. The most important development trends of ski resorts in the studied region are: modernization and construction of new, high-quality lifts (cableways, gondolas etc.); expanding the offer of ski resorts in terms of the summer season, especially for cyclists and families with children; combining the offers of many ski resorts in the region in the form of one joint ski pass; the use of special price promotions for the purchase of ski passes out of high season; using modern interactive tools for attracting customers; high concentration of tourist traffic in selected ski destinations; development of infrastructure for tourists travelling with motorhomes. The actions mentioned above are the most commonly used adaptation tools to climate and demographic changes that are aimed at increasing the profitability of ski resorts.

Apartament z widokiem na apartament z widokiem. Współczesny rozwój bazy noclegowej w powiecie tatrzańskim z perspektywy lokalnej społeczności

An apartment with a view of an apartment with a view: Contemporary development of accommodation facilities in Tatra County from the perspective of the local community The rapid growth in the number of individual tourist trips to the towns and villages of Podhale, observed nowadays in combination with changes in visitor preferences, in particular the growing share of short stays, higher expectations in terms of standards offered by accommodation facilities and a greater interest in renting separate apartments, coincides with the growing demand for properties to be purchased in tourist resorts in Poland for investment purposes. These processes trigger the expansion of accommodation opportunities, particularly by increasing the number of facilities that offer apartments: houses for rent, self-catering apartment buildings, and aparthotels. Recognising the new trends in the development of accommodation facilities in Tatra County that lead to spatial, social, and economic changes, a study was carried out, aiming to: 1) verify the availability of accommodation facilities, in particular including the scale of the phenomenon of apartment rental of apartments (the data were obtained from available statistical and spatial databases, a field inventory and the Booking.com website), and 2) examine the problems caused by the contemporary development of the accommodation infrastructure in local communities (the data were obtained during interviews with representatives of local communities, n = 74). The study demonstrated well-developed accommodation facilities in Tatra County, characterised by uneven spatial distribution, a large share of informally operating facilities and a rich offer of apartments for rent. The development of accommodation facilities, triggered by mechanisms of the free market, helps to satisfy the fluctuating tourist demand, and consequently to maintain the economic function of tourism in the region. However, on the other hand, it causes numerous spatial and social conflicts. In particular, it leads to excessive intensification of development, dwindling of landscape values, and destruction of cultural heritage (including the vanishing of traditional architecture). Furthermore, it may result in reduced availability of accommodation facilities operated by local residents, as well as in tourism gentrification of Zakopane and loss of the traditional highland character of villages of the Podhale region.

When tourism meets conservation: a deep dive into residents’ attitudes towards Tatra National Park

ABSTRACT This study investigates the complex relationship between residents and national parks in a top nature-based destination, Poland's Tatra and Podhale region. Utilizing a door-to-door survey of 511 respondents from 26 towns around Tatra National Park (TNP), the research employs two-step structural equation modeling and fsQCA to analyze how place attachment and preferences for nature protection strategies interact. Contrary to the widely held view that tourism development positively influences attitudes toward national parks, we found tourism growth in the communities surrounding TNP impacts how these communities relate to the protected area. The study concludes that for TNP to gain broader community support, it is crucial to convey to residents their essential role as a tourism asset. This finding has wider implications for how national parks and adjacent communities can coexist harmoniously in areas experiencing rapid tourism expansion.

On the usefulness of Józef Tischner’s Historia filozofii po góralsku (The History of Philosophy, Highlander Style) as a source of knowledge of the Podhale dialect and culture

The aim of this article is to show the extent to which Józef Tischner’s Historia filozofii po góralsku (The History of Philosophy, Highlander Style) is a cognitively attractive source of learning about Podhale’s dialect and culture and the possible threats or difficulties that may be associated with using the work to this end. The author begins his discussions by considering such features of the work under examination as its apocryphal and fairy-tale-like nature and proceeds to showing it on three different planes. From the linguistic perspective, he notes the dialectal features characteristic of the work in terms of phonetics, inflection, syntax, word formation, lexis, and phraseology. In terms of cultural studies, he devotes his attention to the customs and traditions of the Podhale region as well as to the regional cuisine, which found their places in individual stories. In some of the consideraƟ ons focused to a greater extent on philosophy, the author indicates the characteristic features of the highlander worldview, which Tischner captures in his work, and conducts the word-formation and semantic analysis of selected neologisms and neosemantisms, which were used by the author of the stories to enrich the highlanders’ speech with philosophical terminology

On “Reliving the Past”: An Anthropologist’s Perspective

The article presents a theoretical conceptualization of the metaphor of “reliving the past” for ethnographic fieldwork use. The following three issues are elaborated: (1) how the metaphor of “reliving the past” is present in the academic literature; (2) what anthropological theories inspire the proposed use of the notion of “reliving the past”; and (3) how the use of this kind of “theory” and “method” might affect the practice of ethnographic fieldwork. The article is based on the author’s experience gathered during the realization of research on the memory of the Second World War and the post-war period in the Podhale region.

How small and medium-sized family enterprises in the tourism sector develop inter-organisational relationships: a case study

The purpose of this article is to identify factors influencing the way small and medium-sized family enterprises in the tourism sector form and maintain inter-organisational cooperation and evaluate their importance. The study is based on qualitative data collected during 19 standardised in-depth interviews with representatives of family businesses operating in the Podhale region, one of Poland’s major mountain destinations. The study’s conceptual framework is based on Christine Oliver’s determinants of relationship formation, which affect the way businesses establish inter-entity cooperation and achieve extended social embeddedness. Factors identified by the author include resource disparity, reciprocity, efficiency, stability, and formal elements. The study contributes to the literature on inter-organisational relationships by providing insights about the determinants of inter-entity cooperation in the SME sector and the functioning of family firms in Poland.

The spatial and temporal variability of hydrological drought in the Polish Carpathians

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the climate and geographic factors controlling the hydrological drought of the rivers located in the Upper Vistula catchment in the Polish Carpathians. Drought was identified based on the daily flow (based on water stage measered once a day at 6 UTC) series dating from between 1975 and 2019 at 49 gauging cross-sections. Four physico-geographical regions were identified in the Polish Carpathians and spatial variabilities of the basic drought characteristics were developed within these regions. Such spatial distributions were treated as maps indicating drought hazard areas in the region. In addition, an analysis was undertaken to study the seasonality of the start and end times of the drought (all in the multi-annual period), the longest duration of droughts, the droughts of the highest volume in multi-annual period, as well as the number of drought days. Multi-annual variability of the number of drought days was also analysed. The results suggest that droughts in the Polish Carpathians are events characteristic of summer and autumn, whereas in the Tatra Mountains and the Podhale region - of autumn and winter. The greatest hazard of a prolonged and high-volume drought occurs in the Podhale region and the Tatra Mountains, while the lowest hazard is observed in the Bieszczady Mountains and the eastern part of the studied area.

Polish Lace Makers: Gender, Heritage, and Identity

Polish Lace Makers: Gender, Heritage, and Identity

Ze studiów nad kulturą regionalną. Regionalizm literacki

The terms “Region and regionalism” may have two meanings: a broad or a narrow one. Their broad meaning is found in sentences such as “the South-Western Europe region,” “the Zagłębie regionalism,” “the Podhale region” etc. We are interested in the meaning of the term regionalism in the sense of a deliberate, intended cultural trend (e.g. literary, poetic) related to a certain space and history, the culture of specific land, architecture, folklore, landscape, “works of nature.” In such cases, the term regionalism is closely linked to culture, and thus, to poetry and prose. The author attempts to find an answer to the questions of how the ideals of regionalism are realised in the literary works of well-known Polish writers, and how often they stem from the spirit of the region of the writers’ origin.

O zakopiańskich rezydentkach

The residents of Zakopane are the group of permanent inhabitants who were not born in the Podhale region, but it was their choice to connect themselves to it. The formation of this group is the result of the social-demographic changes in the Tatra mountains at the beginning of the 20th century and in the interwar period. It is a group that is diversified and therefore difficult to define. It figures as a link between the highlanders who are ingrained into the space of Podhale and those who treat it in a pragmatic and utilitarian way. The residents constitute the cultural phenomenon present in literary works as well as in the cultural life of Zakopane during the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The main subject of the article is a portrayal of the residents — historical figures and literary heroines — taking into account their functions in the society of Zakopane of those times: the groups which have been highlighted are schoolgirls, the women who provide accommodation to the tourists, and the organizers of literary saloons.

The Role of Frost Processes in the Retreat of River Banks

The rate of bank retreat was measured using erosion pins on the alluvial banks of the rivers in the Podhale region (the boundary zone between Central and Outer Carpathians) during the hydrological year 2013/2014. During the winter half-year (November–April), the bank retreat was mainly caused by processes related to the freezing and thawing of the ground (swelling, creep, downfall). During the summer half-year (May–October), fluvial processes and mass movements such as lateral erosion, washing out, and sliding predominated. The share of fluvial processes in the total annual amount of bank retreat (71 cm on average) was 4 times greater than that of the frost phenomena. Erosion on bank surfaces by frost phenomena during the cold half-year was greatest (up to 38 cm) on the upper parts of banks composed of fine-grained alluvium, while fluvial erosion during the summer half-year (exceeding 80 cm) mostly affected the lower parts of the banks, composed of gravel. The precise calculation of the relative role of frost phenomena in the annual balance of bank erosion was precluded at some stations by the loss of erosion pins in the summer flood.

Application of water quality indices to the assessment of the effect of geothermal water discharge on river water quality – case study from the Podhale region (Southern Poland)

In the European Union the basic requirements in the subject of the appropriate quality of water, constituting a habitat for fish, was established in Directive 2006/44/EC (EU, 2006) on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life (currently implicitly repealed by Directive 2000/60/EC). This legislation presents the list of parameters that should be controlled together with their guide and mandatory levels, methods of analysis as well as minimum sampling and measuring frequency. Based on the case study from the Podhale region in southern Poland, the impact of used geothermal water discharge on river water quality was assessed, in particular in the context of the quality of the life of salmonid fish species. The variability of the chemical composition of river water as a result of used geothermal water discharge was assessed both in statistical terms and in correlation to river flows. To quantify the water quality in terms of protection of the fish life, a new Fish-Water Pollution Index was developed. In the presented case, similarly to the Water Quality Indices and Heavy Metal Pollution Indices, also the Fish Water Pollution Indices values calculated upstream and downstream of the used geothermal water discharge, do not display significant differences.

Obraz gór w kobiecych narracjach o Tatrach do 1939 roku

Women’s narratives from before 1939 constitute a small part of the entire literature dealing with the Tatras. Many of them have been forgotten owing to their limited artistic value as well as limited contribution to the development of literary culture in the Podhale region. An important and often dominant feature of women’s narratives concerning the Tatras is idealisation of the mountains.
 The article focuses on the idealistic image of the Tatras created by female writers before 1939. The basic research method adopted by the author is geocriticism, which provides for the creation of a typology of female writers based on their links to geographic space. In the case of Tatra narratives, the female writers can be divided into highland women (indigenous inhabitants), guests (women staying in the Podhale region temporarily) and residents (non-indigenous inhabitants).
 Each of these groups sees the Tatras slightly differently and idealises them in a slightly different manner. The way female writers see the mountains is sometimes uniquely escapist (which is associated with the treatment of Podhale as a land of childhood years and concerns mainly the indigenous inhabitants of the region); is connected with the category of stereotype, which stems from a common, superficial perception of the mountains (this, in turn, is the domain of guest writers); thirdly — idealisation is a form of a demand.The author of the article discusses the various groups of female writers and the idealising devices they use in their works. The works analysed by the author include those by Gea Dobrzańska, Aniela Gut-Stapińska, Zofia Urbanowska and Gabriela Zapolska.

„Góry łopuszańskie” w twórczości Seweryna Goszczyńskiego

In his two works devoted to the Podhale region (Dziennik podróży do Tatrów [Diary of a Journey to the Tatras] and Sobótka) Seweryn Goszczyński devotes a lot of attention to a description of the “mountains of Łopuszna”, part of the Gorce Range. The author is a precursor when it comes to presenting this space and one of few nineteenth-century writers who explore the varied structure of the Gorce landscape — natural and cultural. The article is an attempt to analyse the way Goszczyński presents Gorce, and the consequences of his creation for the analysed place.

Analysis of the Thermal Retrofitting Potential of the External Walls of Podhale’s Historical Timber Buildings in the Aspect of the Non-Deterioration of Their Technical Condition

The paper discusses thermal quality improvement in historic buildings. It is based on a case study of a wooden historical building in an architectural style typical of Zakopane, located in the Podhale region of Poland. The building’s historical value and timber structure prevent the application of typical thermal retrofitting solutions. This paper presents an analysis of the possibilities of the improvement of energy performance of a historic building (villa) which included: a review of the available energy performance improvement solutions applicable to this type of building, with a particular focus on applying internal insulation; a technical condition assessment using non-invasive methods, the identification of problematic areas in terms of the thermal retrofitting of buildings with timber walls and decks; in situ tests: thermovision tests which showed the places with temperature distribution field disturbances in the building’s envelope, focusing on thermal bridges; measurements of actual thermal transmittance coefficients for extant partitions; measurements of the building’s airtightness and the microclimate in selected rooms; numerical analysis: an assessment of the influence of the thermal bridges on the building’s existing condition, an analysis of water content changes in wall systems post-insulation. The presented approach enables the improvement of the energy performance of timber historical buildings while preserving the historical value of its architecture. It is innovative because it tries to fill in a research gap concerning a lack of relevant guidelines in Poland. The research questions that the authors asked were as follows. Is it possible to improve the thermal insulation of a building’s wooden walls without adversely affecting the building’s technical condition? With regard to the necessity to meet nZEB (nearly zero energy building) standards, is it feasible to improve the timber walls of historical buildings? The study found that under the correct assumptions and while maintaining a responsible approach to design, it is possible to improve the energy performance of historical buildings without interfering with historical heritage.

Visitors’ Perceptions towards Traditional and Regional Products in Trabzon (Turkey) and Podhale (Poland)

Gastronomy tourism is defined as a type of tourism that deals with the relationship between food and beverages and culture in the context of the local culinary culture. Local dishes, recipes, and culinary culture, which express the lifestyle of cities, are an important part of tourists’ choice of destinations. According to many studies undertaken in recent years, tourists have seen an increase in the number of trips conducted to taste a cultural dish and to learn cooking techniques and cooking skills. In this study, the Trabzon (Turkey) and Podhale (Poland) regions were selected as a study area. These regions are characterised by unique, very interesting culture and art and, especially, folklore. The cuisines from Podhale and from the Trabzon region are equally attractive. The study was conducted on 151 people in Trabzon and 102 respondents in the Podhale region. The study revealed that only 15 out of 253 respondents had not heard about regional and traditional products. The authors analyzed whether people from different age groups had specific habits concerning the place of purchasing regional products in the analysed regions of Poland and Turkey. Regarding the question of whether the motivation to buy regional products was the same in households with a larger and smaller number of residents, it was found that only one correlation proved to be statistically significant: the correlation between household size and buying regional products because of their price.

The Spruce in the Culture of the Podhale Shepherds

In this article I tackle the issue of the worship of spruce trees in the culture of the shepherds in Podhale, a region in southern Poland. This is an issue related to the particular significance of the spruce. It has played a great role in the culture of the whole Podhale region, and es-pecially in the pastoral culture of this area. The spruce was elevated to the rank of a symbol of good luck, prosperity and well‑being. All ac-tivities carried out in the work of shepherds were connected with the ceremonial treatment of spruce trees. It should be noted that these ac-tivities were religiously and magically motivated, as spruce twigs were blessed in the church beforehand. However, this does not change the fact that the rituals were magical. An example would be the custom according to which shepherds would pin spruce or fir twigs to their hats, believing that this would keep them and their sheep were safe. Nowadays, shepherding culture enjoys great interest among research-ers, as well as among Polish and even foreign communities, who apply for participation in shepherding courses organized today. The magic associated with pastoral culture was also reflected in Polish litera-ture and dialect poetry. Readers can refer to the works of such poets and writers as: Seweryn Goszczyński, Kazimierz Przerwa‑Tetmajer, Władysław Orkan, and Stanisław Witkiewicz or dialect poets Wanda Szado‑Kudasi kowa and Roman Dzioboń.

Zakopane i Tatry fin de siècle. Jan Kasprowicz – podróże artysty

The article discusses the process of increased interest in Zakopane and Podhale culture in the second half of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century. Discusses the problem of highlanders acquiring national identity. Characterizes the environment of the intellectual and artistic elite of Zakopane. Attempts to analyse how fascination with the Tatra landscape and highlander culture influenced the formation of one of the myths that fund modern national identity. Tries to show how the artists influenced the development of Zakopane as a holiday spa. It also shows the impact of bohemia on the transformation of the culture of highlanders in the Podhale region. The second part of the article discusses the relationship of the poet Jan Kasprowicz with Podhale. His peregrinations to Zakopane and Poronin were presented. On the selected example from creativity, an attempt was made to analyse the poet’s fascination with the Tatra Mountains and highlander culture.

Disco Polo from the Podhale Region: The Cultural Power Game

Disco Polo from the Podhale Region: The Cultural Power Game