Weird Poland
It’s official: Poland is wonderfully weird.
At first, we discovered a few little oddities and thought nothing of it. And then, after a bit of research, we realized that it is actually an epidemic.
Why all the crooked crookedness?
The most photographed building in the whole country is the crooked house in the northern town of Sopot, designed in tribute to a local children’s book illustrator.
More mysterious is the crooked forest in the northwestern part of the country, where approximately 400 trees all have oddly similar shapes. It is believed that some sort of human technique forced their awkward growth, but the methods or rationale are not known. Two theories: that they were deliberately shaped to use the odd structures in ship building, or they were caused by being run over by tanks in WWII (the trees snapping at the stem but still enduring).
Or, upsidedownedness?
Built in 2007, this upside down house was designed to represent the uncertainty facing Poland after the end of communism. It apparently took five times longer than a normal house to construct, largely because of the disorientation felt by the builders.
(So disappointed we only learned about this place after we had left the region.)
They love their legends!
The entire country is ripe with curious legends, and the mermaid of Warsaw is a popular one.
She graces the coat-of-arms for the city, and her likeness can be found scattered throughout landlocked Warsaw (any mermaid statues we have previously seen were in coastal cities). Legend has it that she made it to the area via river, and liked it so much she settled. A rich merchant trapped her, but a young fisherman saved her, and she vowed to protect the city with her sword and shield.
Another in Warsaw is Basilisk, and we have heard vastly different stories behind this legend.
The monster once guarded treasure within the building and turned any man who tried to reach it into stone. He was defeated in the end by a tailor who showed the monster a mirror – he was so disgusted with how he looked that he has since gone into hiding. (No word on what happened to the treasure. 🙂 )
And then there is this pig.
Poland has a vast array of unusual statues: a young boy with an erection, the monument of a faithful dog, and they even have the world’s largest Jesus.
And then, the pig. Floating on the Vistula river, running through Krakow.
A local tour guide had no idea what it was, but a Polish friend told us it symbolized cleansing. The pig, set in a position to be lit ablaze, signifies renewal. Apparently.
A search on the googles for weird Poland brings up all kinds of other eccentricities.
(If we had known beforehand, we might have made our country-wide tour “weirdly” themed!)
I think the pig symbolizes dinner and the river is a reminder to wash your hands before you eat. Great photos.
Logical. I like it.
That forest is SO amazing!
Goodness Dalene, you two make eastern Europe sound so fascinating – I may well have to jump continents to give it a go!
That and… “Apparently.” You never cease to make me smile here at my keyboard in this g-forsaken rice paddy. 😉
🙂 Well, you said you were looking for a change!
True. Lesseee…
Vietnam vs. Poland
Gee, I can’t think of two more opposite spots on the Planet!
Another great post about my new home country! Did you know that Warsaw also boasts the world’s skinniest house? I just found out about this recently, and it’s located not too far from me at 22 Chlodna Street. 🙂
You can take a tour inside here:
http://www.public.trzywymiary.com/domkereta/start.html
I think I heard about that! And isn’t there a super skinny one in the old town too?
A crooked building, a crooked forest .. Poland is weird indeed 🙂 Great photos, I love the one from the upside-down house. I did not have the chance yet to visit Poland but maybe one day…
How crazy. Never thought Poland to be like this. I’ve had a lot of history with Polish people never really can tell what their country is about 🙂
I think it’s one of those countries that just has to be experienced first hand. 🙂
I remember meeting an American guy from the Midwest (I think) of Polish heritage, who had grown up surrounded by Polish jokes that only made him think not-so-great things about his home country. I did my best to tell him how cool it was, and I’m pretty sure I succeeded, but I would have preferred this photo presentation to back up my claims.
Aw, poor guy! I hope he knows how cool and quirky his country is. 🙂
Weird, indeed! And very cool. I like the story about the upside down house. I can see why the builders got disoriented. It’s a little disorienting just to look at the photo.
These are indeed some quite weird places/buildings in Poland. I’m glad to see so many in one place – I usually saw just one listed 🙂 (the house is the most famous, in my opinion).
I guess every country has its curiosities, right? 🙂
What a fun post! I would love to know how those trees came to be so uniformly shaped! Interesting theories!
Weird and random is always good in my opinion 😉
This is an awesome post! I especially want to see the crooked forest and the upside down house!
Wonderful post! Poland is indeed weird and fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
Yeah, we’re a weird nation 🙂 that Jesus statue – ugh what an ugly, terrible thing!
Poland is said to have the most beautiful women in the world. Men from many countries say it when they visit. I was in Krakow one month and I cannot disagree.
Totally cool! I am so loving the quirkiness.
Sounds really interesting! I love the upside down house. Lots more reasons to get to Poland!
Oddly, there’s an upside-down house like that in Myrtle Beach, SC. At first I thought it was a Wizard of Oz theme park but apparently it’s some sort of science museum for kids. I love weird stuff like that!
I adore Poland — Krakow is my favourite city in the world (two dozen visits and counting!).
Sth about this white pig:
http://www.artboomfestival.pl/en/4/2/10187