![Kaplica Jaszczurowka](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Kaplica_Jaszczurowka.jpg)
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
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 ...
. Drawing on the motifs and traditions in the buildings of the Carpathian Mountains, this synthesis was created by
Stanisław Witkiewicz who was born in the Lithuanian village of
Pašiaušė, and is now considered to be one of the core traditions of the
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 ...
people.
Development
As the Podhale region developed into a tourist area in the mid-19th century, the population of
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
began to rise. The new buildings to house these new well-to-do inhabitants was built in the style of Swiss and later Austro-Hungarian
chalets
A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...
.
Stanislaw Witkiewicz, an art critic, architect, painter, novelist and journalist, was chosen to design a villa for
Zygmunt Gnatowski. In his plans, Witkiewicz decided against using foreign building styles and instead chose to utilize the local traditions used by the native Górals of Podhale. Drawing on the
Vernacular architecture of the Carpathians
The vernacular architecture of the Carpathians draws on environmental and cultural sources to create unique designs.
Vernacular architecture refers to non-professional, folk architecture, including that of the peasants. In the Carpathian Mountain ...
, Witkiewicz used as a model the modest but richly decorated homes in Góral villages such as
Chochołów which he further enriched by incorporating select elements of
Art Nouveau style, thus giving birth to the "Zakopane Style". This building, known as the Villa "Koliba" was built between 1892 and 1894, and it still stands to this day on Koscieliska Street in the mountain resort of
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...
.
Witkiewicz designed a number of original buildings in Zakopane, including the "Dom pod Jedlami" in the Koziniec district, the chapel in the Jaszczurowka district, Villa "Oksza" on Zamojski Street, the building of the
Tatra Museum, the chapel of St. John the Baptist in the parish Church of the Holy Family on Krupówki Street, and the Korniłowicz family chapel in the Bystre district.
Stanislaw Witkiewicz once wrote on the idea of the Zakopane style:
The Zakopane style soon found proponents among other outstanding architects, including
Jan Witkiewicz-Koszyc,
Wladyslaw Matlakowski, and
Walery Eliasz-Radzikowski.
Outside the Polish highlands
The Zakopane style also gained popularity beyond the Polish highlands.
[ In the ]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 ...
area, attempts were made to adapt the style to brick construction.[ Examples include Czeslaw Domaniewski's design for a series of train stations and the design for a ]townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
located at 30 Chmielna Street in the center of Warsaw.[ In 1900, the young Kraków-based architect Franciszek Mączyński won an international architectural competition organized by the Paris-based magazine ''Moniteur des Architectes'' with a design of a villa in the Zakopane style.][ There was also the ''Chata'' built for author ]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 ...
in Nałęczów
Nałęczów is a spa town (population 4,800) situated on the Nałęczów Plateau in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland. Nałęczów belongs to Lesser Poland.
History
In the 18th century, the discovery there of healing waters i ...
, a series of villas in Wisła
Wisła (; german: Weichsel; cs, Visla) is a town in Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with a population of about 11,132 (2019), near the border with Czech Republic. It is situated in the Silesian Beskids mountain range in t ...
as well as in Konstancin
Konstancin is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Góra Świętej Małgorzaty, within Łęczyca County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Łęczyca and north of the regional capital Łó ...
and Anin and a brick tenement by Jan Starowicz dubbed ''"Beneath the Góral"'' in Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...
, as well as the train station in Saldutiškis
Saldutiškis is a small town in northeastern Lithuania. According to the Lithuanian census of 2011, it had 343 residents.
Its alternate names include Syłgudyszki (Polish language), Saldutishkis, Trunkuny, and Saldatiškio.
History
The village ...
, Lithuania.Zygmunt Gnatowski and the Koliba House
Gnatowski.org. Retrieved on 2010-12-28.
Additionally, the Góral diaspora has incorporated the norms and designs of the Zakopane Style of Architecture into homes, chapels and community buildings that serve their community, such as the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America
The Polish Highlanders Alliance of America ( pl. ''Związek Podhalan w Ameryce Północnej'') was founded in 1929 in Chicago as an organization that unites all other Góral organizations in the United States. Most of Chicago's Góral community i ...
in Chicago, or the chapel on the grounds of the Polish National Alliance
The Polish National Alliance ( pol. ''Związek Narodowy Polski'', PNA) is the largest and one of the oldest Polish fraternal organizations in the United States. The original goal was to mobilize support among Polish Americans for the liberati ...
's Youth Camp in Yorkville.
Today
The Zakopane style dominated architecture in the Podhale and other Goral Lands for many years.[ Although the cutoff date for buildings designed in the Zakopane Style of Architecture is usually held to be 1914, many new pensions, villas and highlander homes are built according to the architectural model devised by Witkiewicz to the present day. The museum of the Zakopane Style of Architecture located in the Villa "Koliba" first designed by Witkiewicz provides visitors with information on the Zakopane style.
]
See also
* Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America
The Polish Highlanders Alliance of America ( pl. ''Związek Podhalan w Ameryce Północnej'') was founded in 1929 in Chicago as an organization that unites all other Góral organizations in the United States. Most of Chicago's Góral community i ...
* Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludźmierz
References
External links
* Edyta Barucka
Redefining Polishness: The Revival of Crafts in Galicia around 1900
Acta Slavica Iaponica, Tomus 28, pp. 71‒99
Gorals
Culture in Zakopane
Architecture in Poland
Vernacular architecture
Art Nouveau architecture
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