Polish culture The culture of Poland ( pl, Kultura Polski ) is the product of its geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to an intricate thousand-year history. Polish culture forms an important part of western civilization and ...

, Wąchock jokes are jokes about the inhabitants of the town of

Wąchock Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants. History Wachock received its town charter in 1454, lost it i ...

, and especially their ''

sołtys A sołtys () is a head of a sołectwo elected by its permanent citizens in a village meeting (''zebranie wiejskie''). According to data from 2010, Poland had 40 thousand sołtys, 30.7% of which were women. Role and powers Since 1990, a soł ...

'' (referring to the times when Wąchock was a village). For example, one joke tells of a sołtys' cat so smart that when given some coffee with milk, he would drink all the milk and leave the coffee. There is no accepted explanation for when and why Wąchock became the butt of these jokes, although several theories exist. Wąchock jokes are typically

riddle joke A riddle joke, joke riddle, pseudo-joke or conundrum is a riddle that does not expect the asked person to know the answer, but rather constitutes a set-up to the humorous punch line of the joke.Mac E. Barrick, "Racial Riddles & the Pollack Joke", ' ...

s, for example: "Why does nobody in Wąchock watch TV? Because the sołtys put blinds on his windows." The running joke "Wąchock for capital of Poland!" ("Wąchock stolicą Polski!") served as one of the slogans for the

Good Humor Party The Good Humor Party ( pl, Partia Dobrego Humoru), is a Satire, satirical organization, founded in Poland on 28 June 2001 by Polish cartoonist and journalist Szczepan Sadurski, during the Good Humor Festival in Gdańsk. It claims to have some 3,00 ...

. It fact, for several days Wąchock was a ''de facto'' capital when during the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Marian Langiewicz Marian Langiewicz, full name Marian Antoni Melchior Langiewicz (; 5 August 1827, Krotoszyn – 11 May 1887, Istanbul), was a Polish patriot notable as a military leader of the January Uprising in 1863. Biography He was born in the province of ...

, the leader of the uprising, had his headquarters at Wąchock. In 2003, the Monument of the Sołtys was unveiled in Wąchock by the local police station. The monument depicts a mustached sołtys seated on a rock, donned in a hat and rubber

wellingtons The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian (boot), Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became ...

. One arm steadies a horsecart wheel with the other supporting a cell phone. The wheel alludes to the joke on how a sołtys of Wąchock is elected: a wheel is pushed down a hill; whichever house the wheel hits first, its homeowner becomes sołtys."Jak sołtys w Wąchocku sobie pogrywał…"
/ref> After Wąchock regained its town rights in 1994, the title of its head became ''

burmistrz Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...

;'' however, the members of the Friends of Wąchock Society (Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Wąchocka) established the title of "honorary sołtys", traditionally elected since the same year. Wąchock also organizes the annual meeting of ''sołtyses''. With a grain of humour, created a documentary in 1988 about the elections of the sołtys of Wąchock, "Sołtys Wąchocka, czyli jak ponownie wygrać wybory" Sołtys of Wąchock, or How to Win the Elections Again" Various ideas have come forward attempting to turn Wąchock jokes into tourist attractions, including the following example (the joke known in several versions): if a Wąchocker needs to take a passport or self-portrait photo, he or she has to dig a waist-length hole, step into it, and take the photo. ''Burmistrz'' Jarosław Samela suggested having a pit with the board saying "Wąchock" over it for tourists to take their photos. "Obrócić w żart"
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wachock Polish humour Starachowice County Joke cycles Polish folklore