Zalipie, the painted village

Zalipie is located in northern Małopolska, about 68 km (42 miles) east of the regional capital Kraków. The village has a long lasting tradition of painted cottages.

The custom of decorating rural chambers with flowery paintings comes from the late nineteenth century, when the residents of the village began to decorate the interior of huts with tissue paper flowers, cut-outs and spiders of straw, hanging under the ceiling, as well as the walls being painted with flowers.

The paintings were made also on the outer walls of buildings, wells and fences. Currently in Zalipie, there are about 20 painted houses. The gardens in summer are bursting with colors of the paintings but also of the real flowers growing near the houses.

This cheerful place, sometimes balancing on the borders of kitsch, is a fantastic place to discover. The people are open and willing to share their passion with guests. There is a little museum in old Felicja Curyłowa cottage (one of the inventors of the Zalipie paintings) and there is Dom Malarek (painters house) where the contemporary works and exhibitions are displayed.

Visit the Zalipie website in English: http://en.poland.gov.pl/Zalipie,%E2%80%93,the,painted,village,Events,7072×2768.html

And watch the video:

Click here to see the details of our ready-made tour ‘Wooden treasures of southern Poland’: https://polishorigins.com/document/wooden_treasures

See the map of  ?Wooden treasures of southern Poland? with the location of Zalipie: http://blog.polishorigins.com/2013/07/01/wooden-treasures-of-southern-poland-introduction/

Aga Pawlus
PolishOrigins Team