Exhibit of the Month is a series initiated by the Jagiellonian University Museum with the beginning of the new academic year. Each month we will explain the Museum collection to you, choosing a single exhibit or a group of exhibits which usually are not shown to the open public. This month's features a collection of photographs depicting the Pieniny National Park, taken by Stanisław Mucha.

The Pieniny National Park was created in 1932 as the first Polish national park. However, the campaign for the preservation of this unique area had begun much earlier.

In the 19th century, the Pieniny Mountains became a popular destination for Polish and foreign tourists looking for a place to rest and wander around. During that period, first maps and guidebooks were released and early mountain guides began to appear.

Among the people who contributed to the development of tourism in the region was the owner of the town of Szczawnica, Józef Szalay, who gave the town the status of a spa. Famous visitors included Jan Matejko, Maria Konopnicka and Henryk Sienkiewicz. It is noteworthy that the local mineral waters were classified and described by the medicine professor and rector of the Jagiellonian University, Józef Dietl, who would later become the mayor of Cracow.

The increasing numbers of tourists led to the expansion of the road network, as well as the construction of  mountain hostels and designation of hiking trails. Various forms of tourism and winter sports began to flourish.

The growing popularity of the Pieniny Mountains turned the public attention to the natural, health and cultural qualities of the region. In conclusion, an effort was made to put the area under protection, as most of it remained under the control of private owners.

In 1921, Władysław Szafer, a botany professor at the Jagiellonian University and head of the State Commission for Nature Conservation, opened negotiations about the protected status of the Pieniny Mountains. In the same year, Stefan Drohojowski created a preserve on the Zamkowa Mountain in Czorsztyn. Very soon, plans were drawn concerning the areas to become the national park, and there were efforts to purchase many plots of land from their private owners. The size of the protected area was increasing. Ultimately, a directive issued in 1932 confirmed the establishment of the Pieniny National Park. Concurrently, the Slovak Nature Preserve was opened on the other side of the border, providing enviromental protection for another part of the Pieniny region.

The total area size of the park is 2,372 ha (mainly the Central Pieniny), including 750 ha as a strict protection zone.

The Pieniny Mountains are rich and diverse in flora and fauna. Almost 7,000 animal species have been observed in its area, the largest group of which are invertebrates living in the branches of trees and on meadows. Numerous bird species are found here, including the black stork, buzzard, and hazel grouse. Rare birds include the Eurasian pygmy owl and the rock walls are inhabited by the rarely seen murrelet. The most numerous group of mammals are rodents such as squirrels and mice (field, house, and forest mice). The Park is also home to hares, wild boars, roe deer, lynxes, and wildcats. Wolves and bears also occasionally appear. The list of animal life also includes numerous bats hiding in caves and rocky outcrops. The Dunajec River is also home to many fish species such as the marmot, chub and bream.

The plant world is very diverse. There are two endemics in the Park: Pieniny dandelion and Pieniny treacle-mustard. Particularly interesting plants include the Pieniny cornflower, Zawadzki chrysanthemum, and the Pieniny variety of wormwood. Local glades are adorned with primroses, violets, orchids, and in summer with cornflowers and bluebells. The forests are dominated by coniferous trees. The oldest pine trees in Poland, over 500 years old, also grow in the park.

The area is a noteworthy place place due to its cultural aspects and intermingling traditions. Poles, Slovaks, Hungarians, Germans, Ruthenians and Jews lived here. The largest group inhabiting the Pieniny Mountains was the Szczawnica highlanders. They dealt mainly with shepherding, farming, fishing, but also rafting.

Popular rafting trips down the Dunajec River gorge are an integral part of the Pieniny landscape. The tradition of rafting and transporting wood down the river is several hundred years old. Rafting as a tourist attraction was popularised in the 19th century by the aforementioned Józef Szalay, who made it a spectacle — a dozen or so rafts with a leading boat with a rafter banner and mortars fired by cheering people. The guests and tourists floating on rafts were accompanied by a music band. Upon arrival in Szczawnica, everyone was greeted with music and singing.

The original dugouts were made of hollowed trees (spruce or poplar) which were tied together. Initially, two dugout canoes were tied together, but more were added later. In the 1930s, rafts made of planks appeared in the area. To this day, rafting is extremely popular and is an integral part of the attractions of the Pieniny.

The main objective of the Pieniny National Park is to protect nature and to make the area accessible for research and sightseeing purposes. Thanks to the research carried out, we can better characterise the nature and history of the area and, consequently, better protect it.

It is worth noting that in 1985, during research in the Obłazowa cave located near the Pieniny Park a group of archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University discovered, among other things, a boomerang made of a mammoth blow — the oldest object of this type in the world.

The presented shots were taken by the well-known photographer from Cracow, Stanisław Mucha, on the request from the State Commission for Nature Conservation, an agency established in 1925 on the initiative and under the leadership of Professor Władysław Szafer. The photographs were used to issue postcards popularising the beauty of the Pieniny Mountains.

 

Captions:

- Pieniny National Park, view from the Sokolica peak

at the Dunajec River gorge. Photo by Stanisław Mucha

ca. 1935, MUJ-11793-F

- Pieniny National Park, a deer fawn

Photo by Stanisław Mucha

ca. 1935, MUJ-21812-F

- Pieniny National Park, view at the Trzy Korony (Three Crowns) peak. Photo by Stanisław Mucha

ca. 1935, MUJ-21832-F

- Pieniny National Park, a rafting trip on the Dunajec River  

Photo by Stanisław Mucha, ca. 1935, MUJ-22470-F

- Pieniny National Park, an eagle owl

Photo by Stanisław Mucha, ca. 1935,  MUJ-13432-F 

Bibliography:

Zarzycki, Kazimierz, Marcinek, Roman, and Wróbel, Sławomir. Pieniński Park Narodowy. Warsaw, 2000

Valde-Nowak, Paweł. “Człowiek pierwotny w Jaskini w Obłazowej”, [in:] Pieniny – Przyroda i Człowiek, vol. 10 (2008)

Orman, Elżbieta, and Węglarz, Barbara. “Szalay Józef”, Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. XLVI/4, issue 191: 526–529  

www.pieninypn.pl (accessed on 18 May 2023)