There is a place near Krakow that delights international tourists. The most colourful village in Poland, most often posted on Instagram. Zalipie. Idyllic surroundings, which attract crowds with white cottages painted in floral patterns. It is worth coming here when traveling around Poland - photos on Instagram will definitely make a splash among your friends!
Zalipie is located only 90 km from Krakow. Journalists, Instagrammers and tourists from all corners of the world are becoming regular guests here. All that thanks to colourful motifs painted on houses, farm buildings, wells and other facilities. Most of the paintings contain floral motifs. Altogether, it creates an idyllic image of a village stuck in time.
STAY / Vienna House Easy Cracow
Painted houses are definitely not a regular sight in the Polish countryside. This amazing tradition began in Zalipie over 100 years ago. Its story is quite simple. In the 19th century, the smoke from chimneys charred the walls of the houses, so later they were whitened with lime and women decorated them with flowers. Later the paintings could also be found on other objects, such as wells, fences, vessels, crates, farm buildings or … beehives.
Today there are about 20 painted cottages in Zalipie, which makes the village extremely colourful, like in a fairy tale. This place is a unique piece of art that is worth seeing.
This wonderful tradition has been cultivated to this day. An annual Painted Cottage competition has been organised here since 1948. During this event, women decorate more objects with flowers, making the village more and more colourful every year. The results of the competition are announced on the first Sunday after Corpus Christi. And this is also the best time to visit this amazing place as old paintings are covered with new ones.
A walk around Zalipie is a great idea for a trip. Every corner of this magical place hides something extraordinary, wonderful, amazing …
STAY / Vienna House Andel’s Cracow
The first visiting point could be the House of Painters, which is the artists’ retreat and the community centre at the same time. Inside the building you can see photographs of old works and a room decorated with flowers made of tissue paper, buy souvenirs and get a map of Zalipie, where all the objects worth seeing are marked.
For the next visiting point, you should visit the farm of Felicja Curyłowa, one of the most famous painters of Zalipie. Felicja lived here between 1904 and 1974 and was the main initiator of cultivating the tradition of decorating cottages. Currently, her house and all other elements of the farm constitute museum objects.
Zalipie is enjoyed by everyone and it definitely is a place worth seeing and depicting in photos. If you want to feel like you’re in a beautiful, colourful fairy tale, you should add Zalipie to your travel list.