Polish Culture
The Culture of Poland
The Culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1000 year history. The culture of Poland has a lot to do with everything in Poland. Its unique character developed at the crossroads of the Latinate and Byzantine worlds, in continual dialog with the many ethnic groups living in Poland. The people of Poland have always been hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in other countries. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art, with all its complex nuances.
Kraków is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Poland. It was named the European Capital of Culture by European Union for the year 2000. The city has some of the best museums in the country and several famous theaters. It became the residence of two Polish Nobel laureates in literature: Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz, while a third Nobel laureate, the Yugoslav writer Ivo Andric also lived and studied in Krakow. It is also a home to one of the world’s oldest universities, the Jagiellonian University of Kraków.
Religion
Older Polish people are strongly religious while younger thirty-somethings tend to be medium religious (attending church on major catholic holidays) or not at all religious. The so-called 'Generation JP2' (JP2 is short for John Paul II), people between the age of 16 and roughly 25, tend to establish a neo-conservative look on religion in Poland, just like Americans did in the '80. Some of the youngest are extremely religious, if not fundamentalists. Others try to split from the Vatican in some intellectual reformatory way like the neo-catholics or neo-christians, but they still are very religious. The vast majority of youngsters remain officially catholic and occasionally go to church, but in fact do not give much attention to religion. During Easter, the churches have a lot of ceremonies and are very well visited by the locals. Saturday evening is for candlelight ceremonies outside the churches. On Rynek Glowny, there is outdoor theater and music in the evening. Regular stores are closed during main religious holidays (25th & 26th of December, Easter Sunday, and Monday), other holidays may mean shorter working hours.
Customs
Dialog and the interpenetration of cultures have been a major characteristic of Polish tradition for centuries. Customs, manners, and style of clothing have reflected the influences of East and West. The traditional costumes worn by the nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries were inspired by rich Eastern ornamental style with its Islamic influences. The style of clothing is called Goral (Pronounced GOO-RAL). Polish cuisine is yet another aspect of Poland's cultural identity. Distinctive Polish foods include kielbasa, pierogi (pierozki), pyzy (meat-filled dough balls), kopytka, golabki (pronounced Go-waunm-b-ki), sledzie (sh-ledje-eh), bigos, kotlety (schabowy and mielony) and much more.
Architecture
Polish cities and towns reflect the whole spectrum of European styles. Poland's Eastern frontiers used to mark the outermost boundary of the influences of Western architecture on the continent.
History has not been good to Poland's architectural monuments. However, a number of ancient structures have survived: castles, churches, and stately buildings, often unique in the regional or European context. Some of them have been painstakingly restored, like Wawel Castle, or completely reconstructed after being destroyed in the Second World War, including the Old Town and Royal Castle in Warsaw, as well as the Old Towns of Gdansk and Wroclaw. The centre of Kazimierz Dolny on the Vistula is a good example of a well-preserved medieval town. Poland's ancient capital, Krakow, ranks among the best-preserved Gothic and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe. Meanwhile, the legacy of the Kresy Marchlands of Poland's eastern regions with Wilno and Lwow (now Vilnius and Lviv) as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in these developments with Roman-Catholic church architecture deserving special attention. In Vilnius (Lithuania) there are about 40 baroque and Renaissance churches. In Lviv (Ukraine) there are Gothic, Renaissance, and baroque urban complexes with influences of the orthodox and Armenian church.
One of the best-preserved examples of the Modernist architecture in Europe is located in Katowice, Upper Silesia, designed and built in the 1930s. Interesting buildings were also constructed during the Communist era in the style of Socialist Realism; while some remarkable examples of modern architecture were erected more recently.
Art
Polish art has always reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The Krakow school of Historicist painting developed by Jan Matejko produced monumental portrayals of customs and significant events in Polish history. Stanislaw Witkiewicz was an ardent supporter of Realism in Polish art, its main representative being Jozef Chelmonski. The Mloda Polska (Young Poland) movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art, and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by Jacek Malczewski (Symbolism), Stanislaw Wyspianski, Jozef Mehoffer, and a group of Polish Impressionists. Artists of the twentieth-century Avant-Garde represented various schools and trends. The art of Tadeusz Makowski was influenced by Cubism; while Wladyslaw Strzeminski and Henryk Stazewski worked within the Constructivist idiom. Distinguished contemporary artists include Roman Opalka, Leon Tarasewicz, Jerzy Nowosielski, Wojciech Siudmak, and Miroslaw Balka and Katarzyna Kozyra in the younger generation. The most celebrated Polish sculptors include Xawery Dunikowski, Katarzyna Kobro, Alina Szapocznikow and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide recognition. In the sixties the Polish Poster School was formed, with Henryk Tomaszewski and Waldemar Swierzy at its head.
Literature
Since the Christianization and the subsequent access to Western European civilization, Poles developed a significant literary production in Latin. Conspicuous authors of the Middle Ages are among others Gallus Anonymus, Wincenty Kadlubek and Jan Dlugosz, an author of the monumental work on the history of Poland. With the arrival of the Renaissance, Poles came under the influence of the artistic patterns of the humanistic style, actively participating in the European issues of that time with their Latin works.
The origins of Polish literature written in the first language go back beyond the 14th century. In the 16th century the poetic works of Jan Kochanowski established him as a leading representative of European Renaissance literature. Baroque and Neo-Classicist belle letters made a significant contribution to the cementing of Poland's peoples of many cultural backgrounds. The early 19th century novel "Manuscrit trouve a Saragosse" by Count Jan Potocki, which survived in its Polish translation after the loss of the original in French, became a world classic. Wojciech Has' film based on it, a favourite of Luis Bunuel, later became a cult film on university campuses. Poland's great Romantic literature flourished in the 19th century when the country had lost its independence. The poets Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki and Zygmunt Krasinski, the "Three Bards", became the spiritual leaders of a nation deprived of its sovereignty, and prophesied its revival. The novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, who won the Nobel Prize in 1905, eulogised the historical tradition. It is difficult to grasp fully the detailed tradition of Polish Romanticism and its consequences for Polish literature without a thorough knowledge of Polish history.
In the early 20th century many outstanding Polish literary works emerged from the new cultural exchange and Avant-Garde experimentation. The legacy of the Kresy Marchlands of Poland's Eastern regions with Wilno and Lwow (now Vilnius and Lviv) as two major centres for the arts, played a special role in these developments. This was also a region in which Jewish tradition and the mystic movement of Hasidism thrived. The Kresy were a cultural trysting-place for numerous ethnic and national groups whose achievements were inspiring each other. The works of Bruno Schulz, Boleslaw Lesmian, and Jozef Czechowicz were written there. In the south of Poland, Zakopane was the birthplace of the avant-garde works of Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy). And, last but not least, there was Wladyslaw Reymont awarded 1924 Nobel prize in literature for his novel Chlopi (The Peasants).
After the Second World War many Polish writers found themselves in exile, with many of them clustered around the Paris-based "Kultura" publishing venture run by Jerzy Giedroyc. The group of emigre writers included Witold Gombrowicz, Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski, Czeslaw Milosz, and Slawomir Mrozek.
Zbigniew Herbert, Tadeusz Rozewicz, Czeslaw Milosz, and Wislawa Szymborska are among the most outstanding 20th century Polish poets, including novelists and playwrights Witold Gombrowicz, Slawomir Mrozek, and Stanislaw Lem (science fiction). The long list includes Hanna Krall whose reportage focuses mainly on the war-time Jewish experience, and Ryszard Kapuscinski with books translated into many languages.
Music
Music of Poland has a long history. The music of Fryderyk Chopin, inspired by Polish tradition and folklore, conveys the quintessence of Romanticism. Since 1927, the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition has been held every five years in Warsaw. Polish classical music is also represented by composers like Karol Szymanowski, Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, Witold Lutoslawski, Wojciech Kilar, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and Krzysztof Penderecki - all of whom rank among the world's most celebrated composers. (An album of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3, subtitled Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, has sold over 700,000 copies.) Contemporary Polish jazz with its special national flavour has fans and followers in many countries. The best-known jazzmen are Krzysztof Komeda, Michal Urbaniak, Adam Makowicz, and Tomasz Stanko. Successful composers of film music include Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, Wojciech Kilar, Czeslaw Niemen and Zbigniew Preisner.
Film
Graduates of the famous Lodz Film School include many celebrated directors, among them Roman Polanski (Knife in the Water, Rosemary's Baby, Frantic, The Pianist) and Krzysztof Zanussi, a leading director of the cinema of moral anxiety of the 70s. Andrzej Wajda's films offer an insightful analysis of what is universal in the Polish experience - the struggle to maintain human dignity under circumstances which hardly allow it. His major films describe the identity of many of Poland's generations. In 2000 Wajda was awarded an Oscar for his contribution to cinema. In the 90s the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski, such as The Decalogue (made for television), The Double Life of Veronique and the Three Colors trilogy, won great popularity. Other Polish film directors such as Agnieszka Holland and Janusz Kaminski have worked in Hollywood as well. Polish animated films - represented by Jan Lenica and Zbigniew Rybczynski (awarded an Oscar in 1983) - have a long tradition, and derivie inspiration from Poland's graphic arts.
Theatre
The Polish avant-garde theatre is world-famous, with Jerzy Grotowski as its most innovative and creative representative. One of the most original twentieth-century theatre personalities was Tadeusz Kantor, painter, theoretician of drama, stage designer, and playwright, his ideas finding their culmination in the theatre of death and his most recognised production being "Umarla klasa" (Dead Class).
Museums and festivals
Poland offers a wide spectrum of cultural experience. Those interested in high culture will enjoy the renowned music festivals like Wratislavia Cantans and the Warsaw Autumn. Polish museums exhibit remarkable art collections - masterpieces including Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow; the Veit Stoss High Altar in St. Mary's Basilica, Krakow; and the Last Judgement by Hans Memling (The National Museum in Gdansk). Ethnographic museums and open-air site-seeing museums also hold attractive collections. The panorama of Polish culture is completed by a medley of local festivals.