Dear Kościuszko
Dear Kościuszko,
To be honest, I was upset that you wouldn't join us in Kazimierz Dolny, but after getting here it turns out that you were right on all three counts: (1) There are no other road bikes--you would have been lonely, (2) the streets themselves are largely rough-hewn cobbles--you would no doubt have cracked a rim or broken a spoke, and (3) this weekend is the Chocolate Festival (Festiwal Czekolady)--something in which you have expressed no interest whatsoever.
In southern Poland on the western slope of Barania Góra (Ram Mountain) two little streams--the Czarna Wisełka (Black Little Vistula) and the Biała Wisełka (White Little Vistula)--gently flow down the mountain westward. They eventually merge near the base of the mountain and then turn generally northwards, their combined strength now referred to as the Wisła (Vistula) river.
The Vistula, inexorably flowing, eventually leaves the mountains and enters a 70-kilometer-long (44 miles) gorge referred to as the Małopolski Przełom Wisły (Lesser Polish Gorge of the Vistula). At the northern end of this gorge, where the uplands on either side give way to the northern plain, you will find the small town of Kazimierz Dolny.
Kazimierz Dolny sits on the right bank of the Vistula river at a relatively sharp bend. The little town is roughly 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Warsaw as the crow flies and started as a Benedictine enclave in the 10th Century called Wietrzna Góra (Windy Mountain). In the 12th century, Prince Kazimierz II the Just gave the land to nuns from Kraków, who in gratitude renamed the place Kazimierz in his honor. Later on, in order to distinguish this Kazimierz from the Kazimierz neighborhood upriver in Kraków, the word Dolny, "Lower", was added. Hence, Kazimierz Dolny (Lower Kazimierz).
Kościuszko, we're sending you a picture of one of the roads. This one is more or less typical; there are many better and some worse. This picture should just confirm again that this is no place for a road bike like you. In fact, with my bad ankles and knees, it is barely a place for me, and I had to be very careful to avoid further injury!
Since Kazimierz Dolny occupies a strategic location at a narrowing of a bend in the Vistula, a castle was erected above the town in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The city grew to become an important nexus for trade and commerce. It primarily served as a collection point for Polish grain bound for markets in western Europe. Ships would travel downriver (north) to the Baltic Sea and then to ports beyond. However, along came The Deluge (which I've mentioned elsewhere) and Kazimierz Dolny was razed by the Swedes. This setback, combined with grain production centers opening up in the West, meant that the grain trade dried up and the little town became economically and geographically irrelevant.
After The Deluge and subsequent decline, Jan III Sobieski, who I mentioned briefly in my post Łyczyn, Dębówka, and Polish Mathematicians, tried to revitalize the town by encouraging Greeks, Armenians and Jews to settle there. There were tax incentives and, at least for Jews, the town became a favorable immigration point. Still, the town languished and never quite recovered, however, and when the partitions of Poland happened after Jan III Sobieski's death, Kazimierz Dolny remained "frozen in time" due to its continued isolation and its unimportance to regional politics.
I'm sure you would have enjoyed the sights (roads notwithstanding), had you come. The early morning views of the Vistula were incredible and we had the river to ourselves, having gone out so early. Next we explored the town. There were the expected churches and several market squares with scores of booths selling everything from candy, arts and crafts, household items and various trinkets and gifts to remember one's visit. All of this set amongst renaissance-era buildings, made for a marvelous experience. We both took scores of pictures, many of them surprisingly excellent. We'll show them to you when we get home.
We next walked up toward the summit of Wietrzna Góra, where there are the ruins of a 13th Century castle that overlooks the town and commands the river beyond. From this vantage point we could even see the window of our room at Austeria Kazimierska, where we stayed.
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Kazimierz Dolny was rediscovered by the wealthy in Warsaw (to the northwest) and Lublin (to the east southeast), who built summer villas in the area. This resurgence brought with it the decision to maintain the traditional renaissance architecture that still dominates the town to this day. By the time World War II began, there were about 3000 permanent residents, a number which swelled during the summer months when the seasonal inhabitants arrived.
Unfortunately, Kazimierz Dolny was not able to hide from World War II. At the outbreak, the town was home to about 1500 Jews of the Hasidic Kuzmir dynasty. In 1940 when Hitler's Holocaust swept through the town, they were rounded up, along with all the Jews in the surrounding area and crammed into a ghetto until 1942 when the survivors were sent to Bełżec extermination camp.
Bełżec was the third deadliest camp, after Auschwitz and Treblinka. It is estimated that upwards of 450,000 Jews were murdered there. When the work was "done" near the end of 1942, the camp was plowed over and disguised as a farm. Survivors of the camp were so few (numbers are estimated at less than 10), and the hiding of the remains of the camp so successful, that few today have heard of or even know of the existence of this terrible place. We should do well to not forget.
To the left is a picture of the rear of the original Jewish synagogue in the center of Kazimierz Dolny. Today it is a small museum and store. A plaque on the side of the building remembers those who perished.
Kościuszko, you know how interested I am in all-things-Viking. It might interest you to know that there was a faux Viking longboat moored along the Vistula. I really wasn't going to say anything about it because it is obviously a boat for river tours, and I'm generally not interested in such things, but one might be curious as to why a Viking-themed tour boat might be found here, of all places.
I'd say the owner of the boat is probably aware of the history of the area. Others among our readers, however, may not know that long before there was a Poland, organized tribes of Vikings (from modern day Sweden, not those from Denmark and Norway that ravaged Western Europe) ranged up and down the waterways of Eastern Europe and Russia, trading as far south as Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) and often settling among the inhabitants along these same rivers. It is yet another reminder of the long reach of history and that there is no shortage of things to think about in this regard!
Today, Kazimierz Dolny is a retreat for artists of all kinds and you can find galleries and exhibitions throughout the town. This, obviously, makes the place an extremely popular tourist destination as well. However, it is a destination primarily for Poles, and not frequented by others due to its general inaccessibility. To make the 90 mile (145 km) trip from Warsaw requires driving on two-way roads (one lane, each direction) for most of the trip.
Chokepoints slowing down progress even further are provided by traffic through the towns of Góra Kalwaria and Pulawy. If you'd like to visit--and we recommend going, by the way--plan on spending about 2.5 hours (or more) on a journey by car, much longer by bus. There is no train service.
Kazimierz Dolny is a magical place and despite the difficulty in getting there (and back), the journey itself has a lot to offer. The area south of Góra Kalwaria is heavily agricultural and the same small farms that characterize the area around Warsaw can be seen there, too. Unlike the small family farms near our home, however, the small farms there produce apples. Lots of them. I would estimate that 9 out of 10 fields we saw were apples. If you know anything about apples, you'd also know that they are now ripe, so our journey was marked by thousands upon thousands of apple trees, hung with hundreds and hundreds of juicy red apples, ready for harvest. Seeing such a bounty really is mind-boggling!
Like all our adventures, this one really was about the journey. It's about the journey to and from Kazimierz Dolny and the journey once there to explore the town and to get to know it the best you can in the time you have. Here you have the opportunity to both journey back in time and to journey to a part of Poland that few get to see. You have the opportunity to sit by the Vistula and contemplate the flow of history and the nature of time. We are extremely fortunate indeed, to have been able to spend time here.
Well, Kościuszko, we walked all day and ended up where we started early in the morning: at the Vistula River. What a wonderful time we had. And we still have tomorrow, as well! I wish you could have joined us, but perhaps our description, and the pictures we show you later, will give you some idea of why this place is so beloved! We'll be home soon and you and I will go out for a ride as soon as possible after that. In the meantime, take care and enjoy the 2018 UCI World Championships in Innsbruck!
To be honest, I was upset that you wouldn't join us in Kazimierz Dolny, but after getting here it turns out that you were right on all three counts: (1) There are no other road bikes--you would have been lonely, (2) the streets themselves are largely rough-hewn cobbles--you would no doubt have cracked a rim or broken a spoke, and (3) this weekend is the Chocolate Festival (Festiwal Czekolady)--something in which you have expressed no interest whatsoever.
In southern Poland on the western slope of Barania Góra (Ram Mountain) two little streams--the Czarna Wisełka (Black Little Vistula) and the Biała Wisełka (White Little Vistula)--gently flow down the mountain westward. They eventually merge near the base of the mountain and then turn generally northwards, their combined strength now referred to as the Wisła (Vistula) river.
The Vistula, inexorably flowing, eventually leaves the mountains and enters a 70-kilometer-long (44 miles) gorge referred to as the Małopolski Przełom Wisły (Lesser Polish Gorge of the Vistula). At the northern end of this gorge, where the uplands on either side give way to the northern plain, you will find the small town of Kazimierz Dolny.
 |
| Vistula looking south from Kazimierz Dolny. |
Kazimierz Dolny sits on the right bank of the Vistula river at a relatively sharp bend. The little town is roughly 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Warsaw as the crow flies and started as a Benedictine enclave in the 10th Century called Wietrzna Góra (Windy Mountain). In the 12th century, Prince Kazimierz II the Just gave the land to nuns from Kraków, who in gratitude renamed the place Kazimierz in his honor. Later on, in order to distinguish this Kazimierz from the Kazimierz neighborhood upriver in Kraków, the word Dolny, "Lower", was added. Hence, Kazimierz Dolny (Lower Kazimierz).
 |
| Rocky Road. |
Since Kazimierz Dolny occupies a strategic location at a narrowing of a bend in the Vistula, a castle was erected above the town in the 13th and 14th Centuries. The city grew to become an important nexus for trade and commerce. It primarily served as a collection point for Polish grain bound for markets in western Europe. Ships would travel downriver (north) to the Baltic Sea and then to ports beyond. However, along came The Deluge (which I've mentioned elsewhere) and Kazimierz Dolny was razed by the Swedes. This setback, combined with grain production centers opening up in the West, meant that the grain trade dried up and the little town became economically and geographically irrelevant.
After The Deluge and subsequent decline, Jan III Sobieski, who I mentioned briefly in my post Łyczyn, Dębówka, and Polish Mathematicians, tried to revitalize the town by encouraging Greeks, Armenians and Jews to settle there. There were tax incentives and, at least for Jews, the town became a favorable immigration point. Still, the town languished and never quite recovered, however, and when the partitions of Poland happened after Jan III Sobieski's death, Kazimierz Dolny remained "frozen in time" due to its continued isolation and its unimportance to regional politics.
 |
| A slice of the town square. |
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| View from the castle. |
The ruins were thick with people by this time, with more arriving each minute, but it was well worth the trip for the views. Alas, aging joints got the better of both of us and we decided that a retreat down the hill was in our long-term best interests. This meant that we did not go to the Defensive Tower lookout or the actual summit of Wietrzna Góra. We have to save something for a return trip, though!
Towards the end of the 19th Century, Kazimierz Dolny was rediscovered by the wealthy in Warsaw (to the northwest) and Lublin (to the east southeast), who built summer villas in the area. This resurgence brought with it the decision to maintain the traditional renaissance architecture that still dominates the town to this day. By the time World War II began, there were about 3000 permanent residents, a number which swelled during the summer months when the seasonal inhabitants arrived.
 |
| Former Jewish Synagogue. Kazimierz Dolny. |
Bełżec was the third deadliest camp, after Auschwitz and Treblinka. It is estimated that upwards of 450,000 Jews were murdered there. When the work was "done" near the end of 1942, the camp was plowed over and disguised as a farm. Survivors of the camp were so few (numbers are estimated at less than 10), and the hiding of the remains of the camp so successful, that few today have heard of or even know of the existence of this terrible place. We should do well to not forget.
To the left is a picture of the rear of the original Jewish synagogue in the center of Kazimierz Dolny. Today it is a small museum and store. A plaque on the side of the building remembers those who perished.
 |
| Tourism. |
I'd say the owner of the boat is probably aware of the history of the area. Others among our readers, however, may not know that long before there was a Poland, organized tribes of Vikings (from modern day Sweden, not those from Denmark and Norway that ravaged Western Europe) ranged up and down the waterways of Eastern Europe and Russia, trading as far south as Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) and often settling among the inhabitants along these same rivers. It is yet another reminder of the long reach of history and that there is no shortage of things to think about in this regard!
 |
| Our Perfect Table at the Inn. |
Chokepoints slowing down progress even further are provided by traffic through the towns of Góra Kalwaria and Pulawy. If you'd like to visit--and we recommend going, by the way--plan on spending about 2.5 hours (or more) on a journey by car, much longer by bus. There is no train service.
Kazimierz Dolny is a magical place and despite the difficulty in getting there (and back), the journey itself has a lot to offer. The area south of Góra Kalwaria is heavily agricultural and the same small farms that characterize the area around Warsaw can be seen there, too. Unlike the small family farms near our home, however, the small farms there produce apples. Lots of them. I would estimate that 9 out of 10 fields we saw were apples. If you know anything about apples, you'd also know that they are now ripe, so our journey was marked by thousands upon thousands of apple trees, hung with hundreds and hundreds of juicy red apples, ready for harvest. Seeing such a bounty really is mind-boggling!
Like all our adventures, this one really was about the journey. It's about the journey to and from Kazimierz Dolny and the journey once there to explore the town and to get to know it the best you can in the time you have. Here you have the opportunity to both journey back in time and to journey to a part of Poland that few get to see. You have the opportunity to sit by the Vistula and contemplate the flow of history and the nature of time. We are extremely fortunate indeed, to have been able to spend time here.
 |
| Vistula looking south from Kazimierz Dolny. Sunset. Autumn. |
Well, Kościuszko, we walked all day and ended up where we started early in the morning: at the Vistula River. What a wonderful time we had. And we still have tomorrow, as well! I wish you could have joined us, but perhaps our description, and the pictures we show you later, will give you some idea of why this place is so beloved! We'll be home soon and you and I will go out for a ride as soon as possible after that. In the meantime, take care and enjoy the 2018 UCI World Championships in Innsbruck!
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