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18 nominations from Poland in the Mies van der Rohe Award 2019!

The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a Prize organized by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, “to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe’.

The Prize was created in 1987 as a partnership between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. Competition is open to all the works completed in Europe within the two-year period before the granting of the Prize.

383 projects from 38 countries – this is a list of the nominees for the Mies van der Rohe European award 2019. This year, 18 objects from Poland were fighting for the main prize.  All the projects nominated this year are pretty amazing, but we have chosen our favorites. They are not only beautiful in the way they are designed and built, but they are very functional.

You can for example send your kids to this super modern school which looks like straight from Hollywood films. Akademeia High School in Warsaw, designed by Medusa Group is a one of a kind studying area in Poland. It focuses on educating young people in order to help them achieve the highest qualifications and get into the best universities in the world.

“By the way House” is the second of our top favorites. Designed by KWK Promes studio, located in central Poland on a beautiful, huge field above the river bank. The owner’s wish was not only to make the best use of the existing landscape conditions, but also to move the interior from the current apartment. The owners wanted mainly to have a private and intimate leaving area, so the house is in the center of the plot, and the living area is on the first floor.

Building of the District Court in Siedlce is a mix of the seriousness and calmness of ancient buildings. Thanks to the restrained form the building looks enormously majestic. In the interior, architects contrasted architectural concrete with transparent glass details. The harmony effect was obtained by combining empty spaces filled with light and full, simple forms.

Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk is built on a lot at Władysław Bartoszewski Square near the center of the city. It is located in a symbolic architectural space, 200 metres from the historic Polish Post Office in Gdańsk and 3 kilometers across the water from Westerplatte Peninsula, both of which were attacked in September 1939.

NAWA – the sculpture of Oskar Zięta on the Daliowa Island in Wrocław is a part of the events related with the celebration of the European Capital of Culture. It refers to the main slogan – “metamorphosis of culture”. Its form is an artistic interpretation of the constant transformation of the city. NAWA is an ultra-light, but solid construction consisting of 35 steel arches forming a gate through which you can walk.

The lucky nominees were 18 objects, but we have chosen (subjectively) 5 of them. Polish architects and architecture companies grow rapidly showing that our country represent the world level.

 

picture source: EUMiesAward website

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XVII Rally of Historic Vehicles in the SIMP Castle in Rydzyna

Just before May started in a beautiful castle located about 80 km from Poznań and Wrocław (village called Rydzyna) took place an unusual event – a rally of antique vehicles. The location is very important, because this castle is the home for The Association of Polish Engineers and Mechanics.

The rally is an annual event carried out jointly with the Leszno Automobile Club. Both collectors associated in various automobile clubs and private collectors take part in it. As part of the Rally program, participants have to overcome a route of around 60km, on which there are checkpoints. There they have to solve a task, answer questions or perform complicated maneuvers with a vehicle. Everything is scored separately. Vehicles are classified in the following criteria:

  • 1,2,3 place in the Car classification
  • 1,2,3 place in the Motorcycle Classification
  • 1,2,3 place in the Classification Military vehicle
  • The best-kept car
  • The best-kept motorcycle

The second day is all about the fans. At the Market Square in Leszno audience choose the most beautiful vehicle and there is an official award ceremony.  This year the favorites were: motorcycles: D-RAD R04 from 1927 and D-RAD R06 from 1929, and cars: MB TA from 1936, Chevrolet Impala from 1958 and Plymooth Valiant from 1960.

The Caste SIMP in Rydzyna is well-known for various of interesting events like elegant balls that will take you back in time. It has been built at the end of XVII century by Italian artist who lived in Poland. Together with the park and all the areas, it was the most magnificent magnate residence in Wielkopolska. The castle collections consist of, among others, sets of furniture, antique engravings, souvenirs of the Sułkowski family and natural collections (including a collection of tropical butterflies, hunting trophies). It is daily open for visitors and it also exists as a hotel containing 47 luxurious rooms. Feel free to contact our office, if you are interested in experiencing a true royal holiday with a lot of activities.

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Polish pilot landed on the Sopot pier!

Redbull is very well-known for making the impossible possible and also this time they managed to shock us! How? One of the best racing pilots in the world, Łukasz Czepiela, landed on a pier in Sopot.

Just imagine having an ordinary Saturday walk and suddenly seeing a plane land just next to you on an extremely narrow, short and wooden area. Sounds insane? Well, it really did happen! But, don’t worry it wasn’t any accident or breakdown. It was supposed to be an inauguration of the season at Sopot pier. Thanks to the amazing skills of the pilot, the whole situation was very secure and there was no danger that something bad could happen to the famous spot in Sopot.

Łukasz Czepiela is definitely a pro when it comes to air acrobatics. He has the title of world best pilot in Challenger class from the Red Bull Air Race. Even for him such a landing wasn’t easy, he was preparing himself for many months.

The plane used for this show was also very special. Carbon Club EX2 is a machine categorized as STOL, “which stands for short take off and landing”. To make the landing possible there was a minimal amount of fuel in the tanks.

Czepiela shows his amazing skills for example during the Red Bull Air Race where he has to face much more difficult quests, like chasing between narrow walls. His famous flight under the bridges for the National Flag Day has been admired by whole Warsaw.

Sopot is one of the most visited and charming Polish cities throughout whole year. The clean air, especially on the pier, where the concentration of iodine is twice as high as on land, what makes it the best place for a get away from the polluted cities.

Picture source: https://www.redbull.com/pl-pl/czepiela-wyladowal-samolotem-na-molo-w-sopocie

 

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Top 5 Most Stunning Polish Castles

In Poland there are almost 420 castles, and although most of them are ruined, there are several dozen which look like in an old fairy tale. Maybe Walt Disney was inspired by the German Neuschwanstein castle, but we can promise you that the polish ones are as adorable as the ones abroad, or even more!

They show us an amazing architecture variety, you can find among them medieval fortresses, elegant residences, but also fancy buildings from a fairy tale or legend. Throughout centuries, they have inspired artists and played a big role in cinematography. Their beauty and history still fascinates thousands of people all around the world. The historical castles and rich cultural heritage of our country are today reminiscent of fortified castles and representative palaces.

  1. Malbork Castle

Sightseeing of this monumental building will keep you busy for at least few hours. The whole area is over 20 ha, there are actually three castles (High, Medium and Low), and over 4.5 million bricks were used to build them.  From 1309, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order resided there and as it can be seen he could enjoy a lot of luxury as for his times. He had, among others underfloor heating or a secluded toilet.  You can go back in time, thanks to their numerous of historical reconstructions.

  1. Castle in Moszna

It looks totally like from a Disney fairytale! Combination of 3 architecture styles, 99 towers, a beautiful large pond and rooms for every day of the year (365!). It is located only 35 kilometers from Opole and it has used to be the residence of the Silesian family Tiele-Winckler. Not only the building is worth visiting, but also the enormous park – about 200 hectare(!). The castle has been extended with an additional wing just before the World War I. For many years it has been used by the Center for Neurotic Therapy. It doesn’t sound unusual, because there is no better place to relax and get in great mood.

  1. Czocha Castle

This castle is known from many films, series and even music videos. This place looks like it has been created specially for spectacular shots – with a moat, thick walls, a photogenic courtyard and a huge tower. It has also very mysterious history.  It was created in the mid-13th century by the order of the Czech King Wenceslaus I and for the next centuries he witnessed numerous sieges, bloody counts and macabre crimes. But through the World War II it had also been a very difficult period at the castle. Nazi created there a laboratory where they have carried out various experiments with new types of weapons.

  1. Książ Castle

It is the third largest – and, according to many people, the most beautiful castle complex in Poland. Built at the end of the 13th century by the Silesian Piasts and repeatedly rebuilt in subsequent centuries, the place is stunning with stylistic diversity. During the last war, one of the secret quarters of Adolf Hitler was located here, and priceless treasures were stored in underground labyrinths, including collections of the Berlin State Library. It is famous for the unearthly beauty of the duchess Maria Teresa Hochberg von Pless, who is affectionately called Daisy. She was the wife of the last owner of the Duke’s estates. She hosted many famous guests, such as: Winston Churchill (privately her nephew), Emperor Franz Joseph, and even Indian Maharaja.

  1. Dunajec Castle in Niedzica

The history of this place is full of mystery. After World War II in the castle has been found a suspicious document written in the ancient script called “kipu”.  It was supposed to be a kind of leading map to a hidden place with treasure left here by the descendants of the Inca ruler, Tupac Amaru II. Why did the Indians from Machu Picchu decide to go all the way here? Well, Tupac’s nephew – and the only rightful heir to the Andean empire – married the daughter of a Hungarian aristocrat, whose family was then owned by the Niedzica fortress. The treasures were found to this day, so maybe you will be the lucky one?

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Funniest Easter traditions

Easter is a very special period of the year in Poland. It combines tradition, religion, food and various Slavic customs.

The list of Polish traditions and customs celebrated during spring holidays contains a number of interesting and surprising events. We suggest you which places to visit in April to experience a real Easter adventure.

The funeral of sour soup and herring

It sounds super weird, but it’s a real folk tradition from Kujawy, which used to be a way of summary after a period of Lent. The dishes allowed to be eaten through this time were mainly sour soup and herring, other products like meat, dairy or sugar was supposed to be excluded from the menu. While the Lent was coming to an end local people prepared a little “revenge” – they would bury the pots with the food deep in their gardens.

Painting eggs

            It takes its roots from old Slavic beliefs, where eggs had a very crucial meaning.It symbolized vital energy and the beginning of a new life. It was believed that it is a connection between the human world and the spirits and gods. Easter eggs are colored eggs, but we can distinguish them by the way of creation: Kraszanki – are colored by boiling eggs in colored water, in the past it was made only with natural ingredients like beet juice or oak bark; Nalepianki – mostly known in Cracow, are eggs decorated with colorful paper cutouts; Oklejanki – made in Mazovian Voivodeship, are covered with colored yarn, which creates very pretty patterns.

Hanging Judas
This tradition is connected with another one, known much better and very popular in Poland – drowning Marzanna. The puppets are made of straw, decorated with colorful ribbons and materials. Drowning or burning Marzanna has a symbolic meaning of saying goodbye to Winter and welcoming Spring. Hanging Judas refers to the story of betrayal of Chris by Judas. Initially, the puppet was hung on a church tower, and later on a tree or pole. It was knocked down, wandered around the village and finally burned and thrown into a pond or river. This performance was played in the 18thcentury, but lately, because of the pretty excessive aggression of the nature of the event, the church authorities prohibited it. However, today – locally, in a bit changed form – this custom is cultivated in Podkarpacie.

Rękawka
This Easter custom is known in Cracow, it is celebrated after Easter, on Tuesday. The name comes from the Krak mound, which, as the legend claims, was built with ground brought in hands. On the slope of this mound, eggs, apples, gingerbreads and a lot of other food products were rolled down straight to the hands of the poorer community. After the hill being destroyed, the custom was moved to the top of St. Benedict.

Poland is full of diversity as it comes to tradition. There are interesting and sometimes weird customs, that through all this year are still being cultivated.. Visit Poland on Easter to feel the amazing atmosphere of holidays combined with local culture.

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Deep Spot in Mszczonów

Mszczonów is about to become the most popular in the whole world thanks to the swimming pool that is being build in this small town located 50 km from Warsaw. There would be nothing extraordinary about it, if it were not for the fact that it is going to be the deepest pool ever built.

It will beat the current record by 5 meters, surpassing the swimming pool placed in Montegrotto Terme. It will be available for use already this autumn.

DeepSpot, as it will be called, is a new project of the company responsible for the very popular FlySpot tunnels, which are used for indoor skydiving.

Before Mszczonów we could have envied other European countries with such great facilities as NEMO33 near Brussels, or the Italian Y-40 pool, which are the destination of frequent trips by divers from around the world. They offer great infrastructure and are tailored from the beginning to the end to the needs of the underwater enthusiasts. In Poland we have a huge diving community, so the idea to create a project like that was just a matter of time. To fill the pool 8,000. cubic meters of water are needed, that is, as much as it is used to fill 27 pools with a length of 25 meters.

Mszczonów is not the only one going for the win. At the same time there is another swimming being build on the outskirts of London – called the Blue Abyss, which will be offering a depth of 50 meters, while the one in Mszczonów is planned for about 45 meters. Completion and commissioning of both facilities is planned for the next year.

However, regardless of the title of the deepest pool on the world, we are proud to see that the investment in Mszczonów has entered the implementation phase and work has already begun. If everything goes as planned, in the autumn of 2019, we will be able to enjoy the charms of this facility, and Poland will once again emphasize its strong position on the diving and freediving map of Europe.

It will be a complex open for all, professional divers will be able to dive in it, as well as complete amateurs, there will be attractions even for people who aren’t really diving fans. The investor has planned the construction of an underwater tunnel for visitors, as well as hotel rooms, a restaurant and conference rooms.

Picture source: https://flyspot.com/pl/deepspot/

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Easter cuisine in a modern version

The most important part of every holiday celebration is of course food! Especially Easter in Poland has a lot of cuisine traditions, that are being upgraded almost every year.

Only one thing never changes – the whole day starts with a big “Easter Breakfast”, where families get together, eat, talk and make wishes. Poland is getting more and more modern and it concerns every aspect of our lives. Poles are mixing tradition with modernity also in kitchen. That’s why you can taste in polish homes more and more fusion cuisine.

There are lots of traditional dishes on Easter, but most known are: stuffed eggs, Mazurek (kind of a cake), Żurek (sour soup) or Vegetable Salad. The fun part is, when we can give it an interesting twist. For example stuffed eggs are very simple to change, just put on the top a spoon of home-made guacamole instead of classic mayo. Vegetable Salad can be changed just by some beets which will give as a beautiful light pink color. Traditional Mazurek seems a bit boring for you? Try making a gluten-free version, by using millet flour, add some coconut cream, few pomegranate seeds and tadaaam! Spectacular! With a little bit creativity, you can transform every Easter meal into something extraordinary.

As I have already mentioned: food is important, but it’s only a part of the whole celebration. Through this few days whole families get together to spend some quality time. The key part of each polish traditional holiday is family – and nothing can compete with just being together.

Visit Poland this Easter to taste some good local cuisine with a bit of worldwide flavors.

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Palm Sunday in Poland

Palm Sunday is a Christian celebration held on a Sunday before Easter, its’ historical meaning was to remember the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

This religious holiday is a start of the Holy Week and ends the Lent, it’s movable and it can take place from 15thMarch till 18thApril.

People have thrown palm branches in front of Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem and that is where this name came from. Poland, however, is 4000 km away from Jerusalem, so the climate is completely different and hence there is a major “palm issue”. That’s why, palms changed into branches of other trees. Easter palms are now willow branches with boxwood and other colored reeds, bound with a red ribbon for good luck. It was believed that the palm dedicated to Palm Sunday protects against misfortunes and that is why it was stored throughout the year. The celebration of this day, beside the religious part is very festive and colorful.

Many polish towns and villages organize unofficial palm competitions – the bigger the better. In 2008 the highest palm was almost 34 meters. Especially known for their amazing tradition is a small village called Łyse. People there take Palm Sunday very serious, and it’s an absolute must for everyone to make a palm composition on his own and show it off at the local church. The competition takes place there already for over 47 years and yearly there are thousands of people from whole Poland who come and watch this color parade.

Visit Poland to explore the beauty of tradition.

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Surprising Polish places that look like foreign attractions

Poland is with no doubt beautiful and unique, but there are some places, you would never guess, that they are in our country.

In Poland, we have our Provence and Tuscany – they look like their foreign counterparts or even better, but we have also our desert, canyons and rock cities. Some of them still remain unknown and not touristic.

Although we have in Poland villages like Venice (Wenecja) or districts like Italy (Włochy) they don’t bring to mind Italian views. However there is a wonderful place called Polish Tuscany – White Water Reserve in Pieniny. It is composed of amazing hills covered with intensively green grass. It is an ideal place for cycling trips and trekking.

Lavender fields are not only in Provence, we also have them in Poland. This beautifully blooming flowers create wonderful romantic landscapes in the Małopolska fields. Lavender blooms most beautifully from mid-June to mid-July. It is not the only place where you can find lavender in Poland, but the fields of Ostrów in Lesser Poland are the most spectacular.

Bruges, Venice and Amsterdam are known around the world thanks to the spectacular canals. But if you are tired of crowds and tourists just visit Opole or Bydgoszcz! When you compare this cities, they look equally magnificent and magical as their foreign equivalents.

We have also a desert in Poland and it is unique on a European scale. The small Błędowska Desert has been a star in a lot of films and the Słowiński National Park was entered on the UNESCO list to the Biosphere Reserves network. The moving dunes, lakes, swamps, meadows, forests and peat bogs make an amazing impression worth seeing at least once in a lifetime.

You will maybe not mistake them with Colorado or Antelope, but rocks in the Stołowe Mountains in Lower Silesia can successfully play the role of canyons. They are in no way worse than their American counterparts – they are just different.

The castle in Moszna is one of the most interesting attraction in the Opole region. Currently, it houses a hotel and restaurant, and interiors are available open for visitors. It has 99 towers and turrets, which makes it look like from a fairy tale. You can sightsee the castles of the Loire in France, but why go so far if you can just visit the Polish ones.

            If you want to travel back in time to ancient Rome, village Stańczyki in the Romnicka Forest is something exactly for you. These viaducts don’t look like any typical bridge. Pillars of viaducts in Stańczyki are decorated with elements that were inspired with the most famous ancient aqueducts Pont du Grad. That is why they are often called “aqueducts of the north”.

            Desert, viaducts, canyons, lavender fields? You don’t have to visit 10 countries, just come to Poland which has it all. Far away from the crowds of tourists and high prices – discover the beauty of small villages and masterpieces created by nature.

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Bringing science to life

Learning can be very exciting and nowadays more and more children and young people start to understand it. In Poland through these past few years many unique science centers and labs were built, which bring science to life.

They convince us that anyone can understand physics or become a scientist.  It encourages people to shape their own mind by critical and creative thinking. In these centers, whether you are old or young, you are being inspired to observe, experiment and be curious. It’s a great place for an all day family activity, there are permanent exhibitions as well as temporary.

Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw, beside lots of great attractions, has also a mesmerizing planetarium, where you can take part in a marvelous “performance”. This center is located right next to the Vistula river and within a walking distance to the University Library and Old Town. It’s not a museum, it’s a space where you decide how much will you advantage from this visit. If you are thinking about a fun date idea, Copernicus Center is there for you – “Evenings for adults” are organized on Thursdays once a month and each evening is special and unique. Beside this, they organize lots of special projects, like science shows, picnics or meeting with scientist.

While talking about Planterium, the place to be is definitely Toruń. They opened already in 1994 and it is very popular among school groups, families and tourist. It is located in a historical tank of the old municipal gasworks in the Old Town. The Planetarium offers astronomical shows in the screening room under the dome and two interactive exhibitions: MARS#17 Base – a new interactive and multimedia area that resembles a futuristic space laboratory on Mars and Geodium, an exhibition dedicated to Earth. They tell about the size and construction of the Universe, stars, constellations, and planets of the Solar System as well as about the history of astronomic discoveries. It is also worth mentioning that Toruń is the home town of Copernicus, so there is actually no better place to learn something about the universe.

Hydropolis in Wrocław, takes us into the world of completely different science – it’s a knowledge center about water. It is which focused on one major issue – show water from various fascinating perspectives. The center was opened in the end of 2015 and it is the only facility of this kind in Poland. It is located in a historic, 19th century underground pure water tank covering a floor area of 4,000 m². While speaking in number it is important to mention that there are 9 zones of exhibition, 6 films in their cinema rooms. They have been visited already by 720000 visitors and Hydropolis won 10 awards and prizes. There are various interesting workshops dedicated specially for groups from kindergarten until high schools, so no one gets bored.

We have mentioned only 3 of dozen Science Centers in whole Poland. It is a great idea for literally everyone regardless age or nationality. You will be surprised how fun it can be to get to know more about science, just visit Poland and find out!

picture source: Centrum Nauki Kopernik / Facebook

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