REVIA Magazine Issue #11

p o l i s h c i t i e s
STARY SĄCZ
most popular and tasty of the mushrooms,
great for making homemade “zupa
grzybowa”.
WHAT TO DO AND FAMOUS SITES
The famous market square is a great place
to start your exciting Stary Sącz expedition!
Tiled with charming granite cobblestones
from the local Tatra Mountains, the square
is a historically rich scene, offering the best
in local amenities, yet embodies a modern
day charisma of its own. Breathing in the
air, the town, you can feel the mystical
aura serenade you – a true reliving of
Poland’s longtime beauty – while at the
same time enjoying modern Stary Sącz with
local shopping and entertainment. The
essence of the market place is an exquisite
combination of historical culture mixed
with contemporary appeal, easily attracting
By: Monica Dolecka
THE HISTORY
Stary Sącz is the cultural traveler’s haven – a
place filled with history, religious inspiration
and a love for nature.
A majestic city in southern Poland, Stary
Sącz is nested low in the Kotlina Sądecka
valley, belonging to the Malopolska, or
“little Poland” province, within the Nowy
Sącz administrative district. The town
sits between the Dunajec and Poprad
(Carpathian) rivers – the crisp blue
waters famous to the professional sport of
kayaking, as well as for many other nautical
expeditions throughout history. Just north
of Slovakia, Stary Sącz is bordered by Beskid
Sądecki, a scenic mountain range in the
glorious western Carpathians.
The city itself dates far back into the
Middle Ages, as early as 1235, when the
then royal Duchess Kinga (daughter of King
Béla IV of Hungary), and her husband King
Bolesław V the Chaste, acquired the land we
now know as Stary Sącz, in 1257. For most of
its early-mid history, the city was a bustling
trade route to and from Hungary, under the
rule of King Kazimierz the Great. In 1795 a
raging fire nearly destroyed the whole town,
which had to eventually be rebuilt from the
ground up.
THE CULTURE AND CLIMATE
Adam Zagajewski’s well-known book,
Eternal Enemies: Poems, perfectly describes
the heart of rustic Stary Sącz, as it is still
experienced today:
“The sun sets behind the market square…
teapots whistle in the house, like many
trains departing simultaneously. Bonfires
flame on meadows and their long sighs
weave above the trees like drifting kites.
Knives descend on bread, on sausage, on
wood, on offerings. Rain falls, the cobbled
streets go black.”
From this image you can’t help but
imagine a welcoming town where hellos
and goodbyes are easily exchanged as
people go about their busy, yet peaceful life,
where there is always time to invite your
neighbor over for some afternoon coffee and
homemade cake. Today, life in Stary Sącz
still looks very much like this.
As among most regions in Poland,
maintaining religious traditions is very
important for the citizens here. Ecclesiastical
architecture brims the town with historical
churches, some built over a half a century
ago, which are conveniently found at every
turn of the corner. People here tend to
value their religion [mostly Catholic, but
not always] and faith over materialistic
possessions and prosperity, thus inspiring
people to appreciate the ‘less is more’
approach to life. It is also normal and very
common for the whole family to attend
church together at least a few times a week.
Stary Sącz boasts an ideal mountain
climate – very sunny, but with enough rain
to harvest healthy crops. June and July
are peak months for fruits and vegetables,
particularly berries from the Carpathian
meadows, and in the fall it is common to
see people filling handmade baskets with
the wild mushrooms picked fresh from the
forest. The saffron milk cap is among the
visitors from around the world. Music is
also an important part of life for the people
of Stary Sącz. As an expression of this love
for music and entertainment, the annual
Festival of Old Music offers an eclectic
variety of both traditional and contemporary
melodies for all to enjoy during the warmer
months.
The famous Papal Altar, which also
houses the local museum, is dedicated to
Pope John Paul II, and is a revered sight
to experience. It is an honored site whose
construction was inspired by the Pope’s final
visit in 1999 after church authorities noticed
a significant increase in tourism after the
Pope’s special pilgrimage. The city wanted to
commemorate the Pope and offer people the
chance to celebrate his life and mission in an
accessible way.
‘Dom na Dołkach’ (aka, ‘House on the
Pits’) is the official local museum of Stary
Sącz and is a great crevice to learn more
about the town’s legendary, yet sophisticated
history. This baroque, Hungarian-inspired
wooden house was constructed from local
plank wood and stone (very common in
Polish architecture), and is topped with a
shingled roof comprised of individual layers
of plank. It is one of the only structures to
withstand the tragic 18th century fire. v
PHOTOS: WIKIPEDIA
SOURCES: WIKIPEDIA; WWW.WSTARYMSACZU.PL
#11, 2015 reviamagazine.com revia 27