Jamno

Hi there,

Today I would like to tell you about my district. I live in Koszalin, near the Baltic, in a district called Jamno- Labusz, which priviously was a single village.

The first historical reference about Jamno comes from 1278, when a church was built. In the past, from autumn to spring, Jamno was closed from another villages because of its location between the Baltic and a river. It was no route to wriggle out. The first of paved was built in 1899.

The name Jamno dervies from those related to animals. Its previous names were Jamene, Jamele, Jament and Jamen which are said to come from a foxhole (in Polish language).

The architecture of Jamno is concentrated round the main market with the church in center. From 1266 the village became a barrier for the city of Koszalin to have access to the lake and also to the Baltic.

Jamno was built as a municipal village. In Jamno the main representative of the city was a provost, who could administer punishment and gather taxes in. The fields became the property of the city of Koszalin while the farmers could be their lifetime cotters. The wealth of Jamno's inhabitants was showed by their very colorful and embellished cloths, which were put on till 1921.

Jamno created its own specific culture related to cloths, architecture, decorations and craftsmanship. It is treated as a exception in the Middle Pomerania. The main impact on the Jamno's culture was the city and Netherlands boomers, who got there in the seventeenth century. Those boomers tried to clean the lake and the local drains. These two villages Jamno and Labusz adapted the foreign customs to their owns, creating a totally new and special culture.

In which consists the speciality of Jamno's culture? Principally in polichromic furniture characteristic by their different shapes and colors. The Jamno's armchairs were very important in weeding celebrations. In the nineteenth century artisans from Jamno started to manufacture furniture on order.
The inhabitants were also great weavers.

 However, the main characteristic point of Jamno's culture is still engraving and openwork ornaments.

From 2010 Jamno has been a district of Koszalin but still there are people who celebrate the local culture and traditions. In one of Koszalin's museums it is organised a constant exhibition related to Jamno's culture.

A beer fair

Hi there,

how was your weekend? Yesterday I visited a beer fair. The event was organised in the third pavillion of The Poznan International Fair. There were about forty expositors participated in. Every of them constructed their stall, which offered many attractions. It was a possibility to try nearly one hundred and seventy beers from small and local breweries. Some of them had their premiere during the fair.

The idea of beer fair was not only to sell as many bottles as possible but also to let a visitor try some amount of a beer. The organisers proposed to use a special glasses as to make better visitors' taste experiences. Drinking from the glass is supposed to be better than from a plastic. Every visitor could borrow one paying a security deposit. There were also avaliable a few taps which let the people wash their glasses. It was important not to mix two different beers in one glass.

The beer stalls offered a small amount of beer to try. However, to tell you the truth, the price was not adequate to the full size bottle of one beer so it was better to buy a half litre of a drink.

I am visualizer as every woman so I was fully focused on colorful beer stickers. It could sound strange if someone appreciates a beer judging by its sticker but for me many of them were very interesting.
I tried to drink one dark beer from a local Wschowa's brewery. For the first time I really liked one dark rather than a lager. For me that I tried was not similar to dark one, besides its color. Its taste was very sweet and it had a gentian in the same time. It was a really good choice. I have also bought four bottles from the same brewery as the dark one. I wanted to try some new which I had never tried before so I chose ginger, chocolate, mint and strawberry beers. There are not pasteurized so their expiration date is quite short.
I am really curious of the new tastes as I like trying new beers, especially those from local breweries.

I hope that next year I will also be able to partecipate in that interesting event. 

A visit to Szymbark

Yesteday, it was the Indepedence Day in Poland. Despite the bad weather, I went to Tczew to visit my brother, who has lived there from two years. Tczew is a medium city in the Northen Poland. From the one hand it is quite a modern city with many commerce areas and enterntaiment attractions. From the other hand, it can be called a slow city because it is not very crowded and loud. Unfortunately, as my brother said, there are not many monuments in Tczew so he proposed me to visit Szymbark, an architectural complex nearly fifty kilometers from his residence.

Szymbark is a name of a small village located in Pomeranian Voivoodsheep. It is a characteristic place for the Kashubian culture. There is located a Center of Education and Promotion of the Region. Many people know Szymbark from one very special element which is the Upside-down House. It is a simbol of today's life which is sometimes very unusual and complicated. This special building do not have a real door. Every visitor enters by one of the windows. All the furniture is situated in the celling of the house, which in fact is very awry. It causes that our labyritnh does not work well and we have problems with keeping us in balance. It can provoke dizziness.

Szymbark is also a museum of martyrdom related to exciles of Polish citizens to Siberia. There is really interesting and touching house constructed by Polish excile in one Siberian village. It was transported to Poland to become a symbol of Polish suffer and to remind about that difficult time in history of Poland and The Second World War in general. Every visitor can also admire a model of a Soviet train, which was used to transport exciles into the deep of Soviet Union. Every monument is decorated with photos of real exciles, portraits and drawings related to hard work and life in Siberia.

A special part of all the complex is also a bunker of a secret military organisation called the Pomeranian Griffin which organised the resistance during the Second World War. Its interior is reconstructed in detail. One can also read some notes about the story and people related to resistance in Pomerania.

I fully admired that place about which I had heard many times before. The visit made me feel touched and really proud of Polish history and people.

The International Dog Show (CACIB)

Hello everyone,

I would like to share with you my latest experience. Yesterday I visited the International Dog Show, which took place in Poznan, where I am currently living. The event was organised in pavillions of The Poznan International Fair. In the show took place above two thousand dogs of about 480 dog breeds. The dogs were presented in three pavillions. There was also one in which it was a possibility to buy some dog accessories, dog foods and snacks. I visited several dog shows but the yesterday's was the first organised indoor I watched. It was a good idea because of the rainy weather.

I was really impressed with the variety of dog breeds I could see. I had been sure I know many names very well but it turned out that I was wrong. There were a lot of dogs I had never seen before. What's more seeing them on the street, I could tell there are mutts. What a shame of me :).

My favourite breed group is FCI1, which includes Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs. To tell you the truth, I claim that a real dog is a big one. The Sheepdogs are massive, elegant and really clever. I have always wanted to have one.

Yesterday I was focused on watching the competition of Australian Cattle Dogs and Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs. I was standing much time, watching the dogs which were running. I realised that the rules of the judging were a little bit changed. Ten years ago it was incredible to give a title for a dog, which is naughty, scared or bark-like. I have the impression that yesterday one of the dogs was unappreciated. It was really well-behaved and cooperated with its owner very well. It's a pitty. I am not an expert but some decisions I am not able to understand.

My favorite was Australian Cattle Dog, the one which loves sitting on the chair. I do not know its name but it was a male from Russia. It was really calm, almost peacefll. It was running with elegance and was not afraid of judges who were controlling its teeths. It fully obeyed its owner, a middle-aged ginger woman.

I really recommend you to visit not only the Dog but also the Cat Shows. This week there is also one organised in Arena Hall in Poznan. Those events can broaden your mind and knowledge of the variety of animals live in the world. :)