Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in the southern part of the

Podhale Podhale (literally "below the mountain pastures") is Poland's southernmost region, sometimes referred to as the "Polish Highlands". The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the Carpathian mountains. It is the most famous ...

region at the foot of the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of

Nowy Sącz Voivodeship Nowy Sacz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government, located in southern Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Its capital city was Nowy Sącz. Major cities and towns (popul ...

; since 1999, it has been part of

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). It was created on 1 ...

. its population was 27,266. Zakopane is a centre of

Goral The gorals are four species in the genus ''Naemorhedus''. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus '' Capricornis''). Etymology The original ...

culture and is often referred to as "the winter capital of Poland". It is a popular destination for

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

, and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. Zakopane lies near Poland's border with

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, in a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

between the Tatra Mountains and

Gubałówka Hill Gubałówka is a mountain in the Gubałówka Range (Polish: Pasmo Gubałowskie or Pogórze Gubałowskie), above the Polish town of Zakopane. The mountain is a popular tourist attraction, offering commanding views of the Tatras The Tatra Moun ...

. It can be reached by train or bus from the provincial capital,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, about two hours away. Zakopane lies 800–1,000 metres

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and centres on the intersection of its Krupówki and Kościuszko Streets.

History

The earliest documents mentioning Zakopane date to the 17th century, describing a

glade Glade may refer to: Computing *Glade Interface Designer, a GUI designer for GTK+ and GNOME Geography *Glade (geography), open area in woodland, synonym for "clearing" **Glade skiing, skiing amongst trees ;Places in the United States *Glade, Kansa ...

called ''Zakopisko''. In 1676, it was a village of 43 inhabitants. In 1818, Zakopane was a small town that was still being developed. There were only 340 homes that held 445 families. The population of Zakopane at that time was 1,805: 934 women and 871 men. The first church was built in 1847, by Józef Stolarczyk. Zakopane became a center for the region's

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

and

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

industries; by the 19th century, it was the largest center for metallurgy in the region of Galicia. It expanded during the 19th century as the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

attracted more inhabitants. By 1889, it had developed from a small village into a climatic

health resort A destination spa or health resort is a resort centered on a spa, such as a mineral spa. Historically, many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs or mineral springs; in the era before modern biochemical knowledge and p ...

. Rail services to Zakopane began on October 1, 1899. In the late 1800s, Zakopane constructed a road that went to the town of

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...

and had railways that came from

Chabówka Chabówka is a village located on the outskirts of the southern Polish town of Rabka, in the Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. With population of 1,600 (as for 2006), Chabówka is a popular tourist attraction because of its location ne ...

. Because of easier transportation, the population of Zakopane had increased to about 3,000 people by the end of the 1800s. In the 19th century, Krupówki Street was just a narrow beaten path that was meant for people to get from the central part of town to the village of Kuźnice. The ski jump on

Wielka Krokiew Wielka Krokiew (''The Great Krokiew'', in Polish ''krokiew'' means ''rafter'') is the biggest ski jumping hill built on the slope of Krokiew mountain (1378 m) in Zakopane, Poland. It was opened in 1925. Since 1989 the hills bears the official nam ...

was opened in 1925. The cable car to

Kasprowy Wierch Kasprowy Wierch (; Slovak; ''Kasprov vrch''; sometimes in ''Kasper Peak'') is a peak of a long crest (ridgeline) in the Western Tatras one of Poland's main winter ski areas. Its dominant southern crests, WSW and ESE, mark the border with Slovak ...

was completed in 1936. The funicular connected Zakopane and the top of Gubałówka in 1938. Because of Zakopane's popular ski mountains, the town gained popularity which made the number of tourists increase to about 60,000 people by 1930. During the joint German-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, which started

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in September 1939, the town was invaded by Germany, and the '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered the town on September 4, 1939, to commit various crimes against Poles. In March 1940, representatives of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

and the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

met for one week in Zakopane's Villa Tadeusz, to coordinate the pacification of resistance in Poland. Throughout

, Zakopane served as an underground staging point between Poland and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. From 1942 to 1943, 1,000 prisoners from the German

Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp , known for = , location = , coordinates = , built by = , operated by = Nazi Germany , commandant = Amon Göth (until September 1944)Arnold Büscher (September 1944 – January 1945) ...

were set to work in a stone quarry. In 1944, during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

, the Germans deported thousands of Varsovians from the Dulag 121 camp in

Pruszków Pruszków ( yi, ‏פּרושקאָוו) is a city in east-central Poland, situated in the Masovian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in Warszawa Voivodeship (1975–1998). Pruszków is the capital of Pruszków County, located along t ...

, where they were initially imprisoned, to Zakopane. Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children. In mid-October 1944, there were 3,800 registered Poles, who were expelled from

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and probably another 3,800 unregistered expellees. In January 1945, the Germans retreated from Zakopane and the

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

ended.

Climate

Zakopane has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Dfb''), with the main factor behind its relative coldness compared to the rest of Poland is its altitude. In general, the temperature tends to fall with altitude, therefore Zakopane is almost colder than northern

, which is more than lower than Zakopane. With higher altitudes, the climate gets even colder, therefore, on the top of

( above sea level), the climate is

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

-like (Köppen: ''ET''). The tree line is located at about above sea level in the Tatra Mountains. Winters are typically frosty but are relatively sunny for Poland - in fact, Zakopane receives among the most sun in winter in the country. Snow is normally abundant, particularly in the higher altitudes, which makes Zakopane among the most popular ski resorts in Poland. Summers are cool to warm but rarely get hot. The defining feature of the local climate is the location on the northern slope of the Tatra mountains. Zakopane receives significantly more precipitation than cities on the lowlands to the north of the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

, and just like in the mountains in general, there might be sudden weather changes from sunny to rainy, and vice versa. Occasionally, a very warm

foehn wind A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of ...

locally known as

halny Halny is a foehn wind that blows in southern Poland and in Slovakia in the Tatra Mountains of the Carpathians. The most turbulent halny blows in Podhale region of southern Poland, coming from the south, down the slopes of the Tatra Mountains; in Sl ...

may dramatically increase the temperatures, sometimes beyond in winter.

Architecture

The

Zakopane Style of Architecture Zakopane Style (or Witkiewicz Style) is an art style, most visible in architecture, but also found in furniture and related objects, inspired by the regional art of Poland's highland regions, most notably Podhale. Drawing on the motifs and tradi ...

is an architectural mode inspired by the regional art of Poland's highland region known as

. Drawing on the motifs and traditions in the buildings of the Carpathian Mountains, the style was pioneered by Stanislaw Witkiewicz and is now considered a core tradition of the

Goral people The Gorals ( pl, Górale; Goral dialect: ''Górole''; sk, Gorali; Cieszyn Silesia dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also known as the Highlanders (in Poland as the Polish Highlanders) are an indigenous ethnographic or ethnic group primar ...

Sports

The Tatras are a popular destination among hikers, skiers, ski-tourers and climbers.

Mountaineering

There is a network of well-marked hiking trails in the Tatras and according to the national park regulations the hikers must stick to them. Most of these trails are overcrowded, especially in the summer season. The

High Tatras The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains ( Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; pl, Tatry Wysokie; rue, Высокі Татри,'' Vysoki Tatry''; hu, Magas-Tátra; german: Hohe Tatra; french: Hautes Tatras), are a mountain range along the border of norther ...

offer excellent opportunities for climbing (up to X

UIAA grade In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a grade to a climbing route or boulder problem, intended to describe concisely the difficulty and danger of climbing it. Different types of climbing (such as sport ...

). In summer, lightning and snow are both potential hazards for climbers, and the weather can change quickly. Thunderstorms are common in the afternoons. In winter the snow can be up to several meters deep.

Skiing

In the winter, thousands arrive in Zakopane to ski, especially around Christmas and in February. The most popular skiing areas are

and Gubałówka. There are a number of

cross country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

trails in the forests surrounding the town. Zakopane hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1929, 1939, and 1962; the winter

Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

s in 1956, 1993, and 2001; the

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...

World Championship; several ski jumping world cups; and several Nordic combined, Nordic and Alpine European Cups. It hosted the

Alpine World Ski Championships The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships is an alpine skiing competition organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). History The inaugural world championships in alpine skiing were held in 1931. During the 1930s, the event was held annua ...

in 1939, the first outside the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

and the last official world championships prior to

. Zakopane made unsuccessful bids to host the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

and the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Alpine World Ski Championships.

Tourism

Zakopane kosciol Swietej Rodziny dron (1)

Zakopane is visited by over 2,500,000 tourists a year. In the winter, Zakopane's tourists are interested in winter sports activities such as skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, snowshoe walks, and Ice skating. During the summer, Tourists come to do activities like hiking, climbing, bike and horse ride the Tatras mountain, there are many trails in the Tatras. Tourists ride quads and dirt bikes that you can rent. Swimming and boat rides on the Dunajec river are popular. Many come to experience

culture, which is rich in its unique styles of food, speech, architecture, music, and costume. Zakopane is especially popular during the winter holidays, which are celebrated in traditional style, with dances, decorated horse-pulled sleighs called

kulig Kulig (sleigh rides) is an old Polish winter tradition dating back to the days of the szlachta (nobility). The kulig was a sleigh ride party organized among the Polish aristocracy. A cavalcade of horse-pulled sleighs and sleds went from one man ...

s and roast lamb. Popular tourist activity is taking a stroll through the town's most popular street: Krupówki. It is lined with stores, restaurants, carnival rides, and performers. During the winter and summer seasons, Krupówki Street is crowded with tourists visiting the shops and restaurants. In the summer, a local market along Krupówki Street offers traditional Goral apparel, leather jackets, fur coats, shoes, and purses. Venders also sell foods like the famous ''

oscypek Oscypek (pronounced , Polish plural: ''oscypki''), rarely Oszczypek, is a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland. Oscypek is made by an expert named "baca", a term also denoting a shepherd in t ...

'' smoked sheep cheese, fruit, vegetables, and meats. There are also many stands with Zakopane souvenirs. Zakopane is popular for its nightlife. At night there are always people walking around town checking out the different bars and dance clubs. Most of these bars and dance clubs are located on Krupowki street. These are the bars that are located in Zakopane: Paparazzi, Cafe Piano, Anemone, Anemone, Cafe Antrakt, Literatka, Winoteka Pod Berlami, and Karczma u Ratownikow. These are dance clubs located in Zakopane: Vavaboom, Finlandia Arctic, Genesis, Rockus, Morskie Oko, and Cocomo Go-Go Clu

A scene in

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

's film ''

Man of Marble ''Man of Marble'' ( pl, Człowiek z marmuru) is a 1977 Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It chronicles the fall from grace of a fictional heroic Polish bricklayer, Mateusz Birkut (played by Jerzy Radziwiłowicz), who became the Stakhanovite s ...

'' (''Człowiek z marmuru'') was filmed in Zakopane, introducing the town to a worldwide audience. The mountain scenes from the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film ''

Fanaa Fanaa ( ar, فناء ') in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self).Harmless, William. ''Mystics''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Persian m ...

'' were filmed around Zakopane.

International relations

Zakopane participates in

town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

to foster international links. *

Bansko Bansko ( bg, Банско ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin, Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 1200m AMSL, above sea level. It is a ski resort. Legends There are several legends about who founded Bansko. Ac ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

San Carlos de Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park. ...

(

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

) * Bavel (

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) *

Polonezköy Polonezköy or Adampol is a village, administratively a neighborhood, on the Asian side of Istanbul, about from the historic city centre, within the boundaries of the Beykoz district. It was inspired and funded by Prince Adam Jerzy Czarto ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Poprad Poprad (; hu, Poprád; german: Deutschendorf) is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains, famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the ten ...

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (; german: Sankt Didel), commonly referred to as just Saint-Dié, is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Saint-Dié is located in the ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) *

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest city ...

Stryi Stryi ( uk, Стрий, ; pl, Stryj) is a city located on the left bank of the river Stryi in Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine 65 km to the south of Lviv (in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains). It serves as the administrative cen ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Vysoké Tatry Vysoké Tatry (; hu, Magastátra, ; german: Höhe Tatra, ; pl, Wysokie Tatry, ; cs, Vysoké Tatry, ), formally Mesto Vysoké Tatry () is a town at the feet of the Slovak part of High Tatras in Slovakia including all the major resorts in that ...

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Notable structures

* COS Zakopane speed-skating rink * Gubałówka Hill Funicular *

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** Bi ...

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

ramp

Notable residents

Tytus Chałubiński Tytus Chałubiński (Radom, 29 December 1820 – 4 November 1889, Zakopane) was a Polish physician and co-founder of the Polish Tatra Society. Chałubiński established tuberculosis sanatoria in Zakopane, in the Tatra Mountains. He was a profes ...

(1820 – 1889 in Zakopane), Polish physician and co-founder of the Polish Tatra Society *

Klemens Bachleda Klemens "Klimek" Bachleda (13 November 1851 - 6 August 1910) was a pioneering Polish mountain guide and mountain rescuer in Austria-Hungary. He died during an unsuccessful mountain rescue attempt in the High Tatras. By . Biography Early and per ...

(1851-1910), Polish mountain guide and mountain rescuer, worked from Zakopane *

Stanisław Witkiewicz Stanisław Witkiewicz ( lt, Stanislovas Vitkevičius) (8 May 1851 – 5 September 1915) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, and amateur architect, known for his creation of "Zakopane Style". Life Witkiewicz was born in Poszawsze in S ...

, (1851 – 1915) Polish painter, architect, writer and art theoretician *

Jan Kasprowicz Jan Kasprowicz (12 December 1860 – 1 August 1926) was a poet, playwright, critic and translator; a foremost representative of Young Poland. Biography Kasprowicz was born in the village of Szymborze (now part of Inowrocław) within the Prov ...

, (1860 – 1926) poet, playwright, critic and translator; a foremost representative of

Young Poland Young Poland ( pl, Młoda Polska) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Pola ...

Mariusz Zaruski Mariusz Zaruski (18 January 1867 – 8 April 1941) was a brigadier-general in the Polish Army, a pioneer of Polish sports yachting, an outstanding climber of the winter and caves of Tatra Mountains. He was a photographer, painter, poet and writer ...

, (1867–1941) Polish Brigadier-General, a pioneer of Polish sports yachting, a climber of the

, a photographer, painter, poet, a seaman, a conspirator, a social activist and teacher *

Jerzy Żuławski Jerzy Żuławski (; 14 July 1874 – 9 August 1915) was a Polish literary figure, philosopher, translator, alpinist and patriot whose best-known work is the science-fiction epic, '' Trylogia Księżycowa'' (''The Lunar Trilogy''), written be ...

, (1874 – 1915) Polish literary figure, philosopher, translator, alpinist and nationalist *

Władysław Orkan Władysław Orkan (27 November 1875 – 14 May 1930) (actually born as ''Franciszek Ksawery Smaciarz'', changed surname to Smreczyński, but primarily known under his pen name, Orkan) was a Polish writer and poet from the Young Poland perio ...

, (1875 – 1930) Polish writer from the

period *

Mieczysław Karłowicz Mieczysław Karłowicz (, 11 December 18768 February 1909) was a Polish composer and conductor. Life Mieczysław Karłowicz was born in Vishneva, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Belarus) into a noble family belonging to C ...

, (1876 – 1909) Polish composer, conductor, mountaineer and photographer of the

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 6 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early works show the inf ...

, (1882 – 1937) Polish composer and pianist, member of the modernist movement

; his house in Zakopane, the

Villa Atma The Villa Atma (Polish language, Polish ''Willa Atma'') in Zakopane, Poland, is a historic chalet housing the ''Karol Szymanowski Museum'', department of National Museum in Kraków, the National Museum in Kraków. History It was built in the la ...

, is now a museum *

Kornel Makuszyński Kornel Makuszyński (; 8 January 1884 – 31 July 1953) was a Polish writer of children's and youth literature. Dorota Piasecka. ''Proza Kornela Makuszyńskiego dla młodego odbiorcy: zarys problematyki''. PWN. 1984. pp. 11, 34. He was an elected ...

, (1884 – 1953) Polish writer of children's and youth literature, elected member of the

Polish Academy of Literature The Polish Academy of Literature ( pl, Polska Akademia Literatury, PAL) was one of the most important state institutions of literary life in the Second Polish Republic, operating between 1933 and 1939 with the headquarters in Warsaw. It was foun ...

in interwar Poland *

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period. ...

(1885 – 1939), ''Witkacy'', a painter, philosopher, playwright, novelist and photographer *

Olga Drahonowska-Małkowska Olga Drahonowska-Małkowska (January 9, 1888, Krzeszowice, Poland – January 15, 1979, Zakopane, Poland), with her husband, founded scouting in Poland. Childhood and Adolescence Olga Drahonowska-Małkowska was born in Krzeszowice, the second ...

, (1888 – 1979 in Zakopane), with her husband, founded scouting in Poland * Count

Edward Bernard Raczyński Count Edward Bernard Raczyński (December 19, 1891 – July 30, 1993) was a Polish diplomat, writer, politician, President of Poland- in-exile (between 1979 and 1986). He was the longest living (101), and oldest serving Polish President (f ...

(1891 – 1993) Polish diplomat, writer, politician and President of Poland in exile * Anna Zofia Krygowska (1904–1988) Polish mathematician, known for her work in mathematics education *

Wawrzyniec Żuławski Wawrzyniec Jerzy Żuławski (14 February 1916, in Zakopane – 18 August 1957, in the Alps), also known as ''Wawa'', was a Polish alpinist, educator, composer, music critic, and musicologist. He was a professor of Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Muzyc ...

(1916 in Zakopane – 1957) ''Wawa'' Polish alpinist, educator, composer, music critic, and musicologist *

Władysław Hasior Władysław Hasior (Polish pronunciation: , May 14, 1928 – July 14, 1999) was one of the leading Polish contemporary sculptors connected with the Podhale region. He was also a painter and theatre set designer. Biography Władysław Hasior was ...

, (1928 – 1999) Polish contemporary sculptor from Podhale region, a painter and theatre set designer * Teresa Bogucka (born 1945 in Zakopane), journalist, writer, a democratic opposition activist in

Communist Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

* Andrzej Gąsienica-Makowski (born 1952 in Zakopane) politician, led the

Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms The Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms ( pl, Bezpartyjny Blok Wspierania Reform, BBWR) was an officially nonpartisan organization (but, in fact, a political party) affiliated with Lech Wałęsa. It was established in 1993 and in 1997 became ...

Janusz Waluś Janusz Jakub Waluś ( , ; born 14 January 1953) is a Goral Polish right-wing extremist convicted of the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), th ...

(born 1953 in Zakopane) assassinated

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...

, General Secretary of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

Liz Glazowski The following women have appeared in the American or international edition of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month. Those who were also named Playmate of the Year are highlighted in green. A common misconception is that Marilyn Monroe wa ...

, (born 1957 in Zakopane) Polish-American model, Playboy magazine's

Playmate of the Month A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

in April 1980 * Sergiusz Pinkwart, (born 1973) Polish journalist, writer, classical musician and traveler, Magellan Award winner * Małgorzata Babiarz, (born 1984 in Zakopane) professionally known as ''Megitza'' is a singer, double bass player and composer

Sport

Stanisław Marusarz Stanisław Marusarz (); 18 June 1913 – 29 October 1993) was a Polish Nordic skiing competitor in the 1930s. Life Stanisław Marusarz won a silver medal in ski jumping at the 1938 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti — the first Pole ...

(1913 in Zakopane – 1993 in Zakopane) Polish Nordic skiing competitor in the 1930s * Jan Wojciech Bachleda-Curuś (1951 in Zakopane – 2009) Polish alpine skier who competed in the

1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...

Wojciech Fortuna Wojciech Fortuna (born 6 August 1952) is a Polish former ski jumper who won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Large Hill at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. In the Normal Hill he finished 6th. The Gold Medal was Poland's first - and the only ...

(born 1952 in Zakopane), ski jumper, Olympic gold medallist *

Kamil Stoch Kamil Wiktor Stoch (; born 25 May 1987) is a Polish ski jumper. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport, having won two World Cup titles, three Four Hills Tournaments (two of them consecutive), three individual go ...

, (born 1987 in Zakopane) Polish

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

, world champion and three-time

Olympic gold medalist This article lists the individuals who have won at least four gold medals at the Olympic Games or at least three gold medals in individual events. List of most Olympic gold medals over career This is a partial list of multiple Olympic gold medalis ...

Notable visitors

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...

(1846–1916) *

Bolesław Prus Aleksander Głowacki (20 August 1847 – 19 May 1912), better known by his pen name Bolesław Prus (), was a Polish novelist, a leading figure in the history of Polish literature and philosophy, as well as a distinctive voice in world lit ...

(1847 – 1912) *

Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...

(1857 – 1924)

Zdzisław Najder Zdzisław Najder (; 31 October 1930 – 15 February 2021) was a Polish literary historian, critic, and political activist. He was primarily known for his studies on Joseph Conrad, for his periods of service as political adviser to Lech Wałęsa ...

, ''Joseph Conrad: A Life'', translated by Halina Najder, Rochester, New York, Camden House, 2007, , pp. 458–63. *

Stefan Żeromski Stefan Żeromski ( ; 14 October 1864 – 20 November 1925) was a Polish novelist and dramatist belonging to the Young Poland movement at the turn of the 20th century. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under t ...

(1864 – 1925)

, ''Joseph Conrad: A Life'', translated by Halina Najder, Rochester, New York, Camden House, 2007, , pp. 463–64. *

Bronisława Dłuska Bronisława Dłuska (; ; 28 March 186515 April 1939) was a Polish physician, and co-founder and first director of Warsaw's Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology. She was married to political activist Kazimierz Dłuski, and was an older ...

, (1865 – 1939) Polish physician, older sister of physicist

Marie Curie Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...

(1867 – 1934) *

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

(1867 – 1935) *

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

(1878 – 1957) *

Aniela Zagórska Aniela Zagórska (26 December 1881, Lublin – 30 November 1943, Warsaw) was a Polish translator who rendered into Polish nearly all the works of Joseph Conrad. Life Aniela Zagórska was a niece of Joseph Conrad. In 1923–39 she translated ...

(1881 – 1943) niece of

Rudolf Weigl Rudolf Stefan Jan Weigl (2 September 1883 – 11 August 1957) was a Polish biologist, physician and inventor, known for creating the first effective vaccine against epidemic typhus. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine each year betwe ...

(1883 – 1957) *

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941; nom de guerre ''Śmigły, Tarłowski, Adam Zawisza''), also called Edward Śmigły-Rydz, was a Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's ...

(1886 – 1941),

Marshal of Poland Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies. History To ...

, who painted some Zakopane sights *

Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.

(1887 – 1982) *

Krystyna Skarbek Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek, (, ; 1 May 1908 – 15 June 1952), also known as Christine Granville, was a Polish agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. She became celebrated for her daring exploi ...

(1908 – 1952) *

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

(born 1948)Photo of HRH The Prince of Wales
Thursday 13 June 2002, walking "around the lake Morskie Oko during a walk at Tatras National Park on the final stage of his tour of Poland"

Gallery

File:2018-07-03 Zakopane from air 05.jpg, Aerial view of Zakopane File:Willa drewn. „Staszeczkówka”, Zakopane, A-1128 M 02.jpg, Villa Staszeczkówka Hotel File:Willa „Oksza”, Zakopane, A-68 M 02.jpg, Villa Oksza

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

File:Willa drewn. „Koliba”, Zakopane, A-1125 M 01.jpg, Koliba villa File:Koliba002.JPG, Interior of Koliba File:Kaplica w Jaszczurówce.jpg, Jaszczurówka Chapel File:Zakopane stacja kolejowa dron (1).jpg, Zakopane train station File:Willa pod Jedlami w Zakopanem.jpg, Pod Jedlami villa File:Muzeum Karola Szymanowskiego w willi Atma w Zakopanem, fot. K. Schubert MIK 2019 (49141306542).jpg,

Museum at the Villa Atma File:Zakopane - skiing (28).JPG, Zakopane - view from

(

Tatra mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

in the background) File:Wielka Krokiew 2012.jpg,

ski jumping hill File:Zakopane - skiing (35).JPG, Zakopane - Gubałówka Hill

ski run A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

File:Zakopane - skiing (14).JPG, Zakopane - Gubałówka Hill: a nursery

ski run A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

File:Zakopane - skiing (1).JPG, Zakopane - Gubałówka Hill

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

entrance File:Holy Family Church in Zakopane.jpg, Church of the Holy Family File:Zakopane at night.jpg, Zakopane at night File:Kolejka linowa Polana Szymoszkowa T58.jpg, Polana Szymoszkowa ski lift File:Katyn Memorial at Zakopane.JPG, Katyń Memorial in Peksów Brzyzek Cemetery File:The contemplative Christ of Zakopane.JPG, Traditional wooden shrine File:Willa Konstantynówka.JPG, Villa Konstantynówka, lodging of

in 1914 File:Zakopane Jan 2014 017.JPG, Traditional

cheese File:Zakopane Poland 1938.jpg, Zakopane, mountain massif

Giewont The Giewont () is a mountain massif in the Tatra Mountains of Poland. Its highest peak, Great Giewont (''Wielki Giewont''), is 1,895 metres (6,217 ft) above sea level and the highest peak of the Western Tatras ( Polish: ''Tatry Zachodnie'') l ...

(1938)

Notes

Bibliography

*Stanisław Kasztelowicz and Stanisław Eile, ''Stefan Żeromski: kalendarz życia i twórczości'' (

: A Calendar of His Life and Work), Kraków, Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1961. *

, ''Joseph Conrad: A Life'', translated by Halina Najder, Rochester, New York, Camden House, 2007, . *Krystyna Tokarzówna and Stanisław Fita, ''Bolesław Prus, 1847–1912: Kalendarz życia i twórczości'' (

, 1847–1912: A Calendar of His Life and Work), edited by

Zygmunt Szweykowski Zygmunt Szweykowski (7 April 1894 in Krośniewice – 11 February 1978 in Poznań) was a historian of Polish literature who specialized in 19th-century Polish prose. Life In 1932-39, Szweykowski held a professorship at the Free Polish University ( ...

, Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969.

External links

Official website

Zakopane

Jewish Community in Zakopane
on Virtual Shtetl

An English guide to Zakopane

Twin towns
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship Tatra County Kraków Voivodeship (14th century – 1795) Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Kraków Voivodeship (1919–1939) Ski areas and resorts in Poland Spa towns in Poland Resorts in Poland