Would decorate your house with colorful painted flowers? That is exactly what the little town of Zalipie does!
Visit Zalipie, Poland!
History of Zalipie, Poland
This small village in the southeast of Poland, is vibrantly adorned with traditional folk art. This design took off in the 1800s when homes in the area did not have chimneys to release the smoke from the cottage. This resulted in a blackened interior along the walls and the ceiling.
In order to brighten up the insides of the home, women started to paint white designs over the soot-darkened areas. Their paintbrushes were made from birch sticks that were split into many little pieces at the end.
Source: By Kgbo - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81896315Over the years, women learned to create better brushes and started to use colors in their paintings. What was once little doodles, grew into intricate floral designs inspired by the flowers growing in the village. This painting technique and pattern was passed down through each generation of women and by the 20th century, had evolved into a tradition filled with colorful paintings.
Source: By MOs810 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92845711Present Day in Zalipie, Poland
Today the village no longer only decorates the inside of their homes, but furniture, doors, and ceramics as well as the exteriors of their homes. Each year there is a design competition to encourage painters to cultivate the tradition. Some of the homes in Zalipie are open and welcome visitors to have a peek around.
To learn more about visiting Zalipie, contact us!
We are Damian and Elizabeth, a Polish-American couple, and we are excited to share Poland with you! We have traveled around the world and seen many places but find ourselves most inspired by our home countries.
