Hi everybody, this Eva zu Beck for DW Travel and dzień dobry from Poland!
Today I want to show you the most beautiful village in the entire country
but before we head over there, let me take you on a super quick tour of Kraków,
the cultural capital of Poland.
Let's go!
Kraków pops up on most travel itineraries in Poland,
thanks to its rich history and fairy tale beauty.
The entire old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
with architecture dating back to medieval and renaissance times.
In fact, Kraków as a city is so old that it predates
the official establishment of Poland as a country.
Honestly, it's hard not to love it here.
But today, I'm on my way to a very different kind of place, a two-hour drive away from Kraków.
It's a little less grand than the big city, maybe, but it has an intriguing story of its own.
Allright, it looks like we've just arrived here in Zalipie.
Zalipie, by the way, it's considered to be Poland's most beautiful village.
I see a map over there, so let's stop for a second
and see what exactly we can check out here.
It looks like these are all the houses that we can see here, so we are right here right now.
There's a museum over there on the other side of the village, and all of these colorful points
are private houses, privately owned homes
which are decorated in the traditional Zalipian style.
So let's start at the beginning.
Somewhere right here.
It's helpful to have a map, but my favorite way to explore new places
is to simply get lost in them.
Zalipie is a small village with a very specific claim to fame.
It first appeared on the tourist radar about ten years ago when the story of these painted houses
became widely shared in Poland.
We will go to that story a little bit later in the episode.
For now, let's take a look around!
So, looks like this courtyard is empty, there's nobody here, but the gate is open to visitors,
and there's a lot of people who come and check out the beautiful paintings on the houses,
so I think I will just gonna go inside.
Wow, this place is absolutely beautiful. Come take a look!
I know it doesn't really look like it, but this is a door that leads to a cellar.
It's probably the most beautiful cellar door I've ever seen in my life.
Check this out, all of these colours, all of these flowers are hand-painted by the people
who live in this house. So you've got really lovely summer motives, you've got sunflowers,
you've got orange, and red, and purple flowers.
You can see that the people who create these paintings really care a lot about keeping up tradition.
And that's just not something that you see every day anymore.
Can I take this with me?
Check this out.
I'm super excited to show you this house specifically.
So I'm Polish, and my great-grandma used to live in a house similar to this one.
A house like this in Poland is called a khata and khatas are traditional wooden cottages
with thatched roofs, so this is what that is. And in addition, because it's in Zalipie,
this khata is also painted.
It's so awesome, honestly, I wish I could just take this house, move in and live in it.
It's so cute.
This isn't like the cutest home you've ever see in your life?
Some people here in the village have found a way
to commemorate the floral tradition of Zalipie.
The lady that owns this house has learned the craft of painting flowers from her grandma,
and she inherited this beautiful home.
So now she runs a little shop with handpainted souvenirs.
And she makes all sorts of different beautiful things in her own signature style.
And I think the best thing for me about this room is this spot right here.
I don't know if you know what this is, but it's a traditional old-school Polish oven.
In here you make bread, pancakes, potatoes, anything.
This is basically a kitchen, you can also sleep on top.
Again, I remember my great-grandma had an oven like this in her house,
and we used to sit on top of it on really cold winter days and warm ourselves up.
Obviously, it serves a slightly different purpose here.
I want to take a look at some of the handmade souvenirs that the lady has gotten in here.
So, initially, before coming to the village of Zalipie, I was a little bit worried
that this place will be super touristy, but being here right now, it's completely not like that.
You know, there's a real sense that it is an actual normal village which it is.
Some of the houses are painted, others are not and the people who live in this village
are just normal ordinary people. So it feels really natural and cool and welcoming.
And a little bit special without any of that touristy artifice that you see in some places.
After spending a couple of hours in the village, I met up with Maria,
one of the traditional painters from Zalipie.
I wanted to ask her how the flower paintings came about
and what the newfound wave of tourism means to the village.
I'm here with Maria, who is about to show me the local art of painting flowers.
So I'm about to learn something.
I've got this little piece of wood.
I've got a brush, we've got some water, we got some paints.
I think we're ready to get started.
So I'm about to paint my second type of flower.
Well, it wasn't quite the same level of craft as the artists from the village,
but let's say it wasn't the worst of my work.
So, check this out.
I have made this under the very helpful supervision of Maria, but this is still something I made.
The final touch on my masterpiece is to write the name of the village of Zalipie as a signature.
The village of Zalipie is a great example of responsible tourism done right in Poland.
With all the homes and infrastructure in the hands of locals and a true commitment
to local culture that goes beyond catering to tourists,
it's one of those rare spots that feel just natural.
As for me, I know that I will be coming back.