Daleszyce historical background and general information Historical background

Daleszyce - historical background and general information § Historical background § Daleszyce was established at the beginning of the 13 th century. According to the chronicles of Jan Długosz, Iwo Odrowąż, the bishop of Cracow, founded a church in Daleszyce under the invocation of St. Michael Archangel. In the past Daleszyce played an important role on communication route. In 1569, king Zygmunt August gave Daleszyce civic rights. Daleszyce lost its civic rights for taking part in the January insurrection in 1863. The citizens from Daleszyce regained the civic rights for their village on January 1 st 2007 Daleszyce.

§ General information § Daleszyce is situated 18 kilometres from Kielce city. Our village is situated in the heart of Świętokrzyskie Mountains – the oldest mountains in Europe. The travellers who visit Daleszyce praise the beautiful location of the village. § The region of Daleszyce is proud of its great touristic value. More than a half of the commune’s area is covered by forests. § The area is no destructed because we have not got huge factories here. Apart from beautiful landscapes and natural reserves, visitors can also see a lot of interesting monuments and learn a lot about the history of our region. § The Baba Jaga Witch wearing traditional clothes for Świętokrzyskie region and sitting on a broom is the symbol of our mountains.

Local and regional costumes § All Polish costumes were based primarily on fabrics created and decorated by the local people. Most of the clothing was produced from linen, cotton and wool, available in the community. Polish folk costume has been widely recognized as an important part of the heritage of traditional peasant culture. The costumes in different areas vary in their ornamentation and coloration from village to village. § At the turn of the XIX and XX century the traditional folk costume started to disappear. First of all male costume “died”, the male one disappeared at interwar period. § But even today , the costumes are worn by folk dances at various festivals throughout the year. § We can distinguish two basic types of costumes for our region. The first one is typical for Świętokrzyskie region, the second one was worn by people who lived in villages in the vicinity of Kielce. This second type was typical for citizens of Daleszyce.

§ A traditional costume typical for inhabitants of Świętokrzyskie Mountains § § Women’s clothing consists of a stripped skirt, a white blouse and an apron ( “zapaska”) – it was a form of a broad shawl hang from the shoulders or put on the skirt. “Zapaska” has red and black stripes. For special occasions, vests ornamented with beads, sequins, and ribbons were worn. They also wore headscarves and strings of beads. § Men’s clothing – a white skirt made of linen with a big collar and cuffs ornamented with embroidery. Male coat was brown.

The costume typical for inhabitants of Daleszyce § § § Men wore black or navy blue coats and pants made of linen and dyed navy blue. From thinner fabric skirts were sewn. For special festivals the shirts had blue and red and black embroidery. The costume was completed with a linen vest. They had leather boots. Older men wore hats called ”wścieklica” or ”A cracked hat” rozłupana czapa”. Younger boys wore a hat called “kaszkiet”. Traditional female clothing was black and red and navy blue. Later on, blue, green and yellow were added. The most typical element of this costume was “zapaska” with red and black stripes. They also wore a vest and headscarves. To emphasise their wealth they put on some skirts (one on the top of the other). Sometimes they even wore five ones.

Local and regional traditional cuisine § § § § bread with milk “podpłomyki” – something similar to pancakes dairy products boiled potatoes with borsch boiled potatoes with curds and whey boiled potatoes and fried eggs “goły” – milk soup with balls made of grated and squeezed out potatoes oven roasted potatoes - salted potatoes, sprinkled with flour and roasted in the hot oven homemade bread sauerkraut with peas boiled together with crushed potatoes with the addition of cream and fried pork fat cut into very small cubes. Salt and pepper should be added to make it tasty dumplings made of potatoes with milk or millet fried on the frying pan small cakes made of the mixture of grated potatoes, eggs, flour, salt and pepper, served with sugar minced meat in cabbage leaves “zarzucanki” - kind of a cabbage soup “zalewajka” – kind of borsch boiled with sausage or ribs and with potatoes cut into small cubes. By the end of cooking a spoonful of cream and pork fat (cut into small cubes and fried) should be added as well as salt and pepper. muffins

Monuments of Daleszyce and places of national memory § In Daleszyce you can see lots of important monuments and sites of national memory. The most precious architectural monuments are: the church of St. Michael Archangel from the 13 th century, the town structure, the cementary in Daleszyce from the 19 th century, , the belfry in the church from 1833, wooden cottages and lots of little chapels and figures of Saints standing by the roads. There also numerous sites of national memory, because citizens of Daleszyce took part in fights for national independence. There are 24 such places, among the others: The monument for the insurgents of the 1863 Uprising and partisans of the 1939 – 1945 years

The legend about Świnia Góra About this huge mountain covered with woods there are lots of stories. There are several versions of the legend but we present three of them. According to the legend, at the top of this mountain, there is a mysterious dungeon with a trunk full of gold and silver. The person, who sees three bushes of hazel (the green one, the white one and the yellow one), will find the entrance to the dungeon. Then he or she should dig in this place to find the trunk with the treasure. A long, long time ago it was a place where Jesus’s Mother used to appear. From this time, especially in periods of epidemic, there were processions to this place. Jesus’s Mother stopped to appear herself when a peasant was going by a carriage. The carriage was very heavy because it was loaded with heavy material. Suddenly the horses stuck in the swamp and were not able to move. Instead of calling the Mother of Jesus, he called the devil. What is more, he called the mountain Świnia Góra. The moral: Mind your words in order not to be ashamed by them. Inside the mountain there is enchanted virgin. Once a boy grazed his cattle on the slop of the mountain and by the chance he found the entrance to the underground. He was very curious about what was in the dungeon. He saw there a trunk full of gold an silver. Next to it a young woman was sitting. She was wearing a white long dress and holding a red flower in her hand. Giving it to a peasant, she told him gently to take the handful of money. The peasant was scared so he run away. Then the voice reverberated: “You fool, if you had took this flower, you would take me to your world. Maybe this virgin has been waiting for her rescuer till now. . .

The map of places which are worth visiting in Świętokrzyskie mountains

§ § § § The Paradise cave was originated in calcium carbonate. Despite its small size it is regarded as one of the most beautifully decorated caves in Poland. There are 200 stalactites hanging from every square metre of the ceiling. You can also admire columns, waterfalls and stalagmites there. It belongs to the very few caves that are illuminated and open for tourists under guide's protection. The length of tourist route inside the cave is 150 metres. Archaeological discoveries proved that people lived there 50. 000 years ago. It is also possible to see the tools they used in the past. There also remains of prehistoric animals like mammoths, cave bears and hairy rhinoceros. In the cave there is also reconstructed place where Neanderthal family had lived with three life – sized figures. In the cave there is a special microclimate. Temperature: about +9 Humidity: 90% Depth: 9, 5 metres Length: 240 metres ( of which 150 is available to be toured ) Height: 250 – 256 metres above the sea level

§ § § The castle was built during the reign of king Kazimierz the Great. During the reign of Władysław Jagiełło the castle was a meeting place for knights. King Jagiełło met his troops there before proceeding to the battle of Grunwald. The castle was also a royal prison. During the reign of king Zygmunt The Old and his son Zygmunt August, the castle’s owner was Bona Sforza, Zygmunt The Old’s wife and Zygmunt August’s mother. Her apparition as the “White Lady” is rumoured to appear and walk in the ruins on cloudless night. The castle’s history as a fortress came to an end during the Swedish Deluge when the castle was conquered and destroyed. Now the ruins of the castle are available to be toured. Tourists can admire beautiful sights from the top of one of the towers.

§ § Tokarnia- the outstanding museum of folk architecture. It includes a few dozen objects especially from 18 th and 19 th century of folk and regional architecture. The unique buildings like manor house from Suchedniów, granary from Góry, windmill, old cottages and many others are situated on an area of more than 70 hectares. Inside the buildings one can see special exhibitions presenting basic living aspects of village and small town communities. Visitors can see tools used in traditional crafts such as brewing woodcarving, herbal medicinal preparations and candle-making. You can admire 19 th-century pharmacy, tailor’s workshop, a small shop, cottages of herbalist, shingle manufacturer and lots of others.

§ “Bartek” oak is the oldest and the most famous tree in Poland. It grows in Zagnańsk in Świętokrzyskie mountains. It is about 700 years old. The 30 – metres tall tree measures 13, 5 metres in girth near the ground and its crown spreads about 40 metres. § There is a legend which says that Jan III Sobieski, one of the greatest kings of Poland, had a rest under this tree when he was returning from Vienna after he had conquered the Turks. It is also said that he hid a Turkish saber and a bottle of wine inside the oak. § The old oak is not in very good conditions now.

§ The Kadzielnia nature reserve is situated in the centre of Kielce city. It was formed by Devonian limestone. Within this small area there almost 20 caves. It is the biggest concentration of caves in our region. The caves are not open to visitors. In the past it was a quarry. The hairy rhinos and cave bears used to live here. Their bones were founded here. § Among the rocks a beautiful amphitheatre was built and from the spectators’ terrace you can observe the Świętokrzyskie Mountains panorama. Nowadays the most famous musicians play concerts here.

§ It is a village which is situated 18 kilometres from Daleszyce. In the past local people from this village specialized in iron smelting. In Nowa Słupia there is the Museum of Ancient Metallurgy. Each year in September it holds a live show of iron smelting the way it was done 2. 000 years ago.

§ The Świętokrzyskie mountains are among the oldest in Europe. There are 650 milion years old. The peaks are not very high. You can visit the famous Łysa Góra (Bare mountain) – a legendary location of witches’ Sabbaths.