Sołtys Farmstead in Jurgów

The Sołtys Farmstead (Zagroda Sołtysów) is a branch of the Tatra Museum in Jurgów, the south-westernmost village of Polish Spiš, three kilometres from Bukowina Tatrzańska and close to the Slovak border. The earliest documents mention the village in the 16th century under the Hungarian name Gyurgowa. The harsh climate and the nearness of the Belianske Tatras were unfavourable for farming, so the people of Jurgów lived mainly from shepherding, grazing their flocks on the mountain pastures and glades of the Javorina Tatras. In 1848 they were granted the pastures as their property, but in the second half of the 19th century the mountain pastures of Jurgów, Czarna Góra and Rzepiska became part of the estate of Prince Christian Hohenlohe. In exchange the villagers received land closer to their villages — Jurgów got the Podokólne glade, to which more than a hundred years ago they moved their shepherds' huts from Javorina; the huts still stand there.

The farmstead was built in 1861 by the great-grandfather of its last owner, Jakub Sołtys, and passed down through the generations. After the Second World War part of the family moved to a new house, and in 1982 the Tatra Museum bought the old farmstead. Unlike the prosperous Korkosz Farmstead in neighbouring Czarna Góra, the Sołtys holding shows how a poor Spiš family lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

What to see

• Dwelling and farm buildings in one row under a single roof — typical Spiš construction of spruce logs, with a roof of wooden shakes.
• The hallway with a grain bin and coopers' shepherding vessels — wooden water buckets, jugs and milk containers.
• The single living room, where the family slept, cooked and received guests: a main beam carved with the building date and a rosette, a stove once used for cooking over an open fire, a bed, a shelf of dishes, benches, a table, oleographs and faience plates, and poles instead of a wardrobe.
• The store room, the woodshed ("jata"), a sheepfold for some thirty sheep, the threshing floor and the stable; sledges and the loom were kept in the jata, and grain was threshed with flails and flax processed on the threshing floor.
• A collection of Jurgów costume from the late 19th and early 20th century — a now rare variety of Spiš dress of wool, linen and leather, with red "janglija" cloth and trimmings bought in Kežmarok. Jurgów once had two fulling mills and was known for weaving.

Practical information

Jurgów lies on the road from Bukowina Tatrzańska to the Slovak side, towards the former Jurgów–Podspády border crossing; it is about 19 km from Zakopane and the same from Nowy Targ. The farmstead is house number 215 in the village. In summer the museum is open almost every day, and out of season from Wednesday to Sunday; admission is free on Thursdays. A visit takes 30–45 minutes. The buildings are old, with high thresholds, so wheelchair users should phone in advance to check what is possible. Children enjoy seeing a real sheepfold and a loom — a good addition to a stay at the thermal pools of Bukowina or Białka.

Nearby: trails and peaks

Only 600 m from the farmstead runs our trail Trybsz – Polana Podokólne, leading to the very glade where the people of Jurgów moved their shepherds' huts. A longer route with views of the Tatras is Chochołów – Trzy Kopce Pass. The wealthy counterpart of this farmstead is in the next village — the Korkosz Farmstead in Czarna Góra.

Official website: muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Photos: Marek Wojciechowski (Mewa767), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Sebastian Dutkiewicz, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons; B1i2k3e4r, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.