Villa Harenda — Jan Kasprowicz Museum

Harenda is a quiet area halfway between Zakopane and Poronin, known for the timber villa where the Polish poet Jan Kasprowicz (1860–1926) spent the last years of his life. He was one of the leading writers of the Young Poland movement, a translator of Shakespeare and other European classics, and a professor at Lviv University — so Ukrainian visitors will find many familiar threads here. It was in Lviv that Kasprowicz built up a large library, and the dining-room furniture of the villa was made by Lviv craftsmen to a design by his son-in-law, the painter Władysław Jarocki.

The house was built in 1920 by the highlander Jan Fudala-Kluś as a guesthouse. Soon afterwards it was bought by the English painter Winifred Cooper, and in 1923 Kasprowicz acquired it — according to Polish Wikipedia, with money earned from translating Shakespeare. The name comes from the "Pod Arendą" inn near Opole, which the poet visited as a schoolboy; later he added the highland aspirated "h". Kasprowicz settled here with his wife Maria, née Bunin, and lived at Harenda for only three years — he died in 1926. 2026 marks 100 years since his death, so exhibitions, poetry evenings and concerts are held throughout the year at the museum and in Zakopane.

What to see

The museum opened in 1950 on the initiative of the poet's widow, and in line with her wishes the rooms have been kept as they were in Kasprowicz's lifetime. The layout follows a highland cottage: in the middle the hall (here the dining room), on the left the "black room" (the parlour), on the right the "white room" (the bedroom). Visitors see furniture, family photographs, books, the glass paintings the poet collected and pastel portraits by Witkacy — one shows Kasprowicz shortly before his death. There is also a death mask made by a highland carver. Upstairs is a gallery of paintings by Władysław Jarocki.

• The mausoleum — a granite tomb designed by Karol Stryjeński (1933), where the poet's ashes were moved; Maria Kasprowicz rests in the chapel above.
• The veranda with mountain views — in summer it is decorated with nasturtiums, the poet's favourite flowers.
• The wooden Church of St John next door — an old church moved here from Zakrzów near Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and consecrated in 1950.

Practical information

The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 to 15:00; closed on Sundays, Mondays and holidays. A ticket covering the museum, gallery and mausoleum costs 20 zł (reduced 15 zł). The official entrance is from Guty Street: drivers coming from Kraków pass the Orlen petrol station and take the first street on the right; after about 200 m there is a lay-by for parking, from where a footbridge over the Zakopianka stream and steep steps lead up to the house. Older visitors and people with disabilities are advised to approach from Harenda Street — head for the wooden church; you can park a car right by the house. From central Zakopane, city buses no. 16 and 17 run to Guty Street and no. 14 to Harenda Street. Hours as of October 2026 — it is worth phoning before your trip.

Nearby

Back in the centre, visit the Pęksowy Brzyzek cemetery, where many of Zakopane's artists rest, and the Tatra Museum. On the east side of town, on the road to Morskie Oko, stands the chapel in Jaszczurówka, a masterpiece of the Zakopane style.

Official website: harenda.com.pl

Photos: Fossilis1, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons; Kapitel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; mik Krakow, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.