Polish culture The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...

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

Wąchock Wąchock is a town in Starachowice County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland, near Starachowice, within the historical region of Lesser Poland. In 2006, it had 2,777 inhabitants. History Wachock received its town charter in 1 ...

, 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 the capital of Poland!" ("Wąchock stolicą Polski!") served as one of the slogans for the Good Humor Party. It fact, for several days Wąchock was a ''de facto'' capital when during the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Marian Langiewicz, 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, clad in a hat and rubber wellingtons. He steadies a

horsecart A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...

wheel with the right arm and holds a cell phone in the left hand. 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;'' 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-deep 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 Culture of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship