Warsaw Voice - Culture at Kazimierz Dolny

By Magda Kuszewska
31 March 2004

About 150 kilometers from Warsaw is the magical town of Kazimierz Dolny.

A Mecca for painters and the capital city of open air painting, Kazimierz for over two centuries has been attracting not only artistic souls. The magnificent Vistula River landscape and extraordinary historic buildings are also appreciated by tourists, over one million of whom visit the town every year. Preparations for the summer cultural season are now underway. Significant artistic events taking place in Kazimierz include the Movie Summer and the Polish Festival of Folk Singers and Bands.

Kazimierz used to be a fishing town and a wheat trade center where the greatest granaries were situated. The heart of the town is its picturesque market square, surrounded with stone patrician houses and guarded from above by the Parish Church (Fara) and the Reformats monastery.

The pride of the town, its Vistula River Museum, consists of three branches situated in the Celej House, the belfry at the Parish Church and the Natural Museum. The Vistula River Museum has been made a member of the Brussels-based EURO-ART European Federation of Artistic Colonies, an EU organization. The Museum in Kazimierz is the only member of the prestigious organization from the former Eastern Bloc.

The works of Jan Wydra, an outstanding yet under-appreciated painter living before World War II, will be exhibited in the Summer Gallery. The exhibition is part of a series of events familiarizing audiences with the work of the town's artists. The Summer Gallery, May 1-June 20, 19 Market Square, is open every day from noon till 7 p.m.

The To the Armory Through Kazimierz exhibition at the Vistula River Museum recalls the year 1955, when an exhibition at the Warsaw's Arsenał gallery triggered a transformation in modern Polish art: the artists decided to break with the doctrine of socialist realism. This year's exhibition presents the circumstances surrounding the birth of that trend in Kazimierz and the way it evolved. The Warsaw Fine Arts Academy is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and the exhibit in Kazimierz is part of the celebrations. The Vistula River Museum, June 27-July 25.

Another exhibition presented in Kazimierz opened July 2003 in the Celej House. It presents the history of Kazimierz's artistic colonies from the late 19th century until the present day. As many as 200 exhibits have been collected in seven rooms, including prints, paintings and drawings, supplemented with reproductions of works not belonging to the Museum. The artists that have been working in Kazimierz include Aleksander Gierymski, Józef Pankiewicz, Władysław Ślewiński and Władysław Skoczylas.

Useful Information
Tourist services (accommodation, reservations, tour guides, events), 14 Nadrzeczna St., tel. (+48-81) 881-02-36 and 882-11-25. A wide selection of tourist services. Accommodation in hotels and numerous private rooms (from zl.25 per night).
Access by car-head for Dęblin, half-way to Lublin. By train-from Warsaw to Puławy, and from there with bus no. 12 (departs every 60 minutes) or with a private bus to Kazimierz. There is no train station in Kazimierz.
Kazimierz Dolny is situated on the bank of the Vistula River on the Lublin Plateau. The region's inhabitants number 7,300 people, including about 2,300 residents of the town itself.