visiting Przemysl in August
Charles Wolff
during the month of August. If there's anyone on this list
who's from or familiar with the area, and can tell me a little
more about it than the two pages in most of the guidebooks,
please write or post.
I'm particularly interested in brining back some sort of
unusual (for the U.S.) musical instrument from my visit. I
saw a Ukranian dance group last week who had a "bandura" -
sort of a cross between a banjo and a harp. Is the bandura
also used in Poland? Any idea how much I might expect to
pay for one?
Thanks,
Charles Wolff
cha...@phx.mcd.mot.com
Jacek A. Jankowski
-- Jacek
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Jacek A. Jankowski
ja...@appel012.hydromech.uni-hannover.de
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Jacek A. Jankowski
good idea to visit a few places in town and in the neighbourhood. The
whole area is a very characteristic example of a ethnical border
between nations, where the complicated and for foreigner oft very
unclear history has left its tracks everywhere. If you want to
understand it better, read a few apprioprate chapters from, or simply
the whole book, Norman Davies' "God's Playground. A history of
Poland". Try to avoid nationalistic literature form both sides. To
make the picture more complicated, the changeable in time and place
jewish, hungarian, valachian, armenian, austrian, german and russian
influences are still to be felt, but not easily to be seen without some
reading before.
INTRODUCTION: The are and town are situated in a very characteristical
place in Europe - exactly between East and West. The natural trade
routes led in the past and now just there. Przemysl is one of the
oldest towns of Poland. Before 10th century capital of a mysterious
Chorwat state which politically balanced between Poland, Hungary and
Ruthenia, changed probably twice or three times owners just to be later
up to 13th century a capital castle of ruthenian dukes. During this
century Casimirus The Great seized the town and the whole area, which
consisted up to the end of 18th century teritory of Poland. During
partition of Poland it belonged to Austria (Galizien). In 1918 back to
Poland. In 1939 the pencil line drawn on the map by Ribbentrop and
Molotov led exactly through the town. If you had lived on the right
side of the river San flowing through the city, you would have been a
Soviet citizen (welcome to Siberia), on the left side - a Nazi slave.
After the war Stalin used a rubber and the border leads now a few km
east from town. It had nothing to do with the ethnic situation,
obviously.
Jews appeared in 13th century or before, disappeared 1939-1945. A
brutally short sentence. South-east Poland was once homeland for an
immense part of the jewish diaspora.
The austrian administration left the characteristical buildings of
railway stations, city halls, bureaus and some still present smell
of coffee just like in Vienna... And a huge fortifications around the
town, which changed the town into the biggest fortress of the First
World War.
Valachians left the characteristical woodeen architecture and still
existing customs in the mountains.
Hungarians were just the nearest neighbours. For good and bad.
Russians and Germans appeared in uniforms. Some of them stayed. Usually
for bad.
The Ukrainians on the polish side of the pencil line were simply
expelled after the war in the atmosphere of a guerilla war. They live
now in north and west Poland or somewhere in the USSR. Only a small
part of the population live where their ancestors lived. The Poles on
the soviet side followed the same fate, just for a bureaucratic symmetry.
The Poles survive still there with an extremely delicate role of
preserving the heritage of everyone without offending anyone.
THE LIST OF MAIN ATTRACTIONS IN TOWN AND IN THE AREA: It is advisable
to have a car/bicycle/mountain bike/any of means of communication or
patience to use the extensive bus and train network in the area (some
connections are transits through ukrainian territory).
(1) The old town of Przemysl. Not especially well renovated, but
probably that is why it has a specific atmosphere. Roman-catholic
cathedral and a very big number of (mainly closter) churches, the
former greek-catholic cathedral, eventual greek-catholic cathedral,
orthodox churches, old houses, etc...
(2) Museum, of greater importance is a collection of naive folk icons.
(3) The castle (an amateur theater), with ruins of one of
the oldest churches in Poland. A great wild park around there, up to
a hill from where a beautiful view of the town (TV-tower).
(4) The forts of the austrian fortress built from the middle 19th
century up to 1914. A paradise for amateurs of the military
architecture. Try to find some of them to tell you about it and the
story of the fights 1914/15 there. Remember, that it was one of the
most important fortresses of Europe that time.
(5) The castle of Krasiczyn, a few km west from town. A classical
example of a residence of a rich polish noble family (Krasicki).
In the style of renaissance with a huge park around it. Typical polish.
Sorry, no exposition inside (Russians/Germans cooperation). If you find
it interesting, in the town of Lancut (less than 100km west) a huge
palace of the Potocki family with a museum. A first class attraction.
(6) Kalwaria Paclawska. A collection of chapels and a pilgrimage church
on the top of a hill (Calvary) some 20km south of Przemysl. Try to visit
during a church procession. A holy place for all christian confessions.
(7) Posada Rybotycka. An extremely interesting architecturally orthodox
church: a church-fortress, where all three traditional parts could be
used as defense towers, for example during a mongolian attack or a
neighbour row...
(8) The towns (greater and small) of Jaroslaw, Kanczuga, Pruchnik and
Wielkie Oczy. Such a typical polish province...
(9) The wooden orthodox and catholic churches. Absolutely typical for
the region. Such a churches are not to be found in any other part of
Europe. On the soviet side left only in a few skansens, here in each
second village. Lots of them destroyed after the war, the left ones
represent the mixing influences of east and west, catholic and
orthodox. The wooden folk architecture of a very rich tradition. Very
photogenic. Some introduction to the thema: skansen in Sanok (9) (the
guides speak languages). Ulucz, the oldest one in Poland (beginning of
the 16th century), Chotyniec, Radruz, Liskowate, Rownia, Smolnik nad
Sanem, Ustianowa - only to list the oldest and purest in local style.
Buy a turist map, they are spread all over area.
(10) The town of Sanok (90km south-west). One of the biggest and richest
skansens of Europe: a few churches an chapels of all confessions, a
village school, a mill, lots of wooden huts, thousands of expositions.
The whole folk culture of south-east Poland is represented there. Some
of the guides speak languages - try to arrange in advance. In the
museum in the town castle an incredibly important for the science
collection of icons. The whole history of the icon painting in the
carpathian region. Very informative. Both first-class attractions.
(11) The town of Lesko, 15km south-east of Sanok. Once 75% or more
jewish population. An old synagogue and kirkut (jewish cemetery) with
tradition back to the 15th century and even back to Spain, from where
the jewish population came from (The Holy Inquisition). No Jews left,
but the cemetery stays. The church also worth seeing.
(12) Bieszczady. The montaneous area, which begins just south of
Przemysl, culminates in the south, where the state borders of Poland,
Slovakia and Ukraine meet, in the long and naked ridges of Poloniny in
The Bieszczady Mountains. Very rarely populated and with dense forests
are a backpacker's paradise. In the national park there the nature in
its best. Even as a one - day car trip they are worth seeing, but only
on your own feet you may fully appreciate this homeland of bisons,
bears, wolves, rynxes and the famous carpathian deer. A good time to
visit is August-September - a guaranteed good weather, the best -
October, when the beech forests start to become green, yellow, red,
brown... Try to avoid bad weather there - after a few days of rain it
is an ocean of mud.
BANDURA: Bandura as an instrument is not used in polish folk music.
It is immediately connected to the folk culture of the neighbours,
Ukrainians. It is not easily available in Poland, but if you really
want to stay a few days in Przemysl, you may probably get it on the
market, where the folk coming from Ukraine tries to sell everything
(keyword: targowisko) just to survive in their complicated material
situation now, in the post-soviet era. It is probably advisable just to
order the instrument from someone on the market, who oft commutes
between both lands (Ukrainian border is just a few km east of town). Or
try to buy it yourself in Lwow/Lviv in the Ukraine itself (I do not
know anything about visa formalities for you). Or try to arrange this
by a polish friend.
-- Jacek
P.S. Some people use the word rubber in a different meaning as the
old, good British English Dictionaries allow... I do not know
anything about the products of the soviet chemical industry that
time and anything about safe sex with Stalin.
Rubber (BE) = Eraser (AE). Sorry. J.
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Jacek A. Jankowski
ja...@appel012.hydromech.uni-hannover.de
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Institut fuer Stroemungsmechanik phone +49-511-762-4294
Universitaet Hannover fax +49-511-762-3777
Appelstrasse 9A
D-30167 Hannover
Germany
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Jacek A. Jankowski
Subject: Re: Przemysl and bandura really correct
Newsgroups: soc.culture.polish
References: <21k0q1$6...@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov>
Organization: Institut fuer Stroemungsmechanik
Distribution: world
Stalin used to write with a pencil when working on maps.
The border from September/October 1939 nearby Przemysl and
south of it was exactly the San River with all implications -
a complete division of towns, villages and neighbourhoods.
In 1945 or slightly before the new border went slightly east of
Przemysl - it is up till now unknown for me why Stalin corrected
the border, so that even the whole area south of Przemysl - Pogorze
Przemyskie with a small town of Bircza - went to Poland. The new border
reached San nearby Jawor Mountain - now there is a huge artificial
lake (Jezioro Solinskie). A few places changed their "citizenship"
also later on - for example the once only border crossing to Soviet
Union in southern Poland - Medyka - was in USSR in 1946!
To make things viciously curious, the new border was in the terrain
organized, marked and measured partially, through changeable polish
or soviet commisions. On the map you may still recognize which part
was marked by Poles (runs always slightly more to the east) or soviet
commision (a few km to the west...). Characteristical zig-zags
on the meeting poins.
In 1951 or 52 the Soviets wanted to have the coal of Sokal, polish side,
on the Bug River and informed the polish government, that they would take
it in exchange for Ustrzyki Dolne, south of Przemysl, soviet side.
Imagine the feelings of the people living there, does not matter
on which side of the border. Polish side probably achieved, that the
exchange will take place without the population. They were all expelled,
but could find their new place to live in the exchange territories, where
the previous owners should leave their houses theoretically untouched.
Now the ukrainian border reaches the San River at Smolnik.
In the area live still some people from Sokal.
Stalin used to write with a pencil when working on maps.
Because later he may use a rubber to correct them
in his very personal way.
-- Jacek
P.S. If anyone interested I could find some precise historical
facts, etc. J.A.J.
P.P.S. I do not know anything about Stalin's sexual habits. Sorry.
It doesn't matter if he used a rubber or a eraser,
the effects were the same... J.A.J.
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Jacek A. Jankowski
ja...@appel012.hydromech.uni-hannover.de
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Jacek A. Jankowski
I've had problems not only with the British/American English
("...Stalin used a rubber...") but also with my news-server.
I have probably erased (without using a rubber...) an extremely
interesting discussion about the usage of the word "r
--
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Jacek A. Jankowski
ja...@appel012.hydromech.uni-hannover.de
Jacek A. Jankowski
+ Here are THE full texts of my both answers on the questions +
+ about Przemysl, bandura and rubber usage. +
+ I have to cite them from my backups. I have problems with my server and +
+ I have incidentally erased both articles together with a beautiful +
+ discussion following... sorry. +
+ -- Jacek +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
======== The first article ========
Any questions more?
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Yes, there was a question from someone, if I could explain the sentence
"...Stalin used a rubber...". So I did... A sly provocation...
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======== The second article ========
-- Jacek
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======== I do apologize... ========
I've had problems not only with the British/American English jungle
("...Stalin used a rubber..."), but also with my news-server
and my user, etc.
That is why I have probably erased (without using a rubber...) an extremely
interesting discussion about the usage of the word "rubber" in Europe and
"rubber" in America, safe sex and polish translations (AE eraser: gumka;
AE rubber: guma). It went even in the direction of the subject "rubber usage".
If anyone offended, sorry.
But if anyone still interested in subject, please open
a new article... "Stalin used a rubber !" It may be interesting...
-- Jacek
Michal Jankowski
Anyway, there are now at least 3 copies of your (otherwise very
interesting) articles floating around the world. Just don't send any
more, please.
MJ
Jacek A. Jankowski
Jacek A. Jankowski
to repeat these messages in which there were some 'errors in transmission',
and informing that all previous were 'killed'. Daemon, blah, blah, blah...
I have turned these options off. I do apologize for contaminating
soc.culture.polish with a lot of trash, I did it wrongly, sorry.
I'll try not to do it any more.
-- Jacek
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Jacek A. Jankowski
ja...@appel012.hydromech.uni-hannover.de