It is already known which Krakow building may be the first to become part of the exhibition of the open-air museum being built as part of the Branice Educational Park. It is a wooden cottage from the end of the 19th century, belonging to the Waligór family from Wola Justowska, which hides an important history for the local community. It was inhabited by the great-grandparents of the current owner, who were village mayors. A portrait of one of them is even in one of the national museums!
An Educational Park "Branice" is being built in Cracow , which is part of the Recreation and Leisure Center "Przylasek Rusiecki" - a project initiated and implemented by the Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości company. We mentioned the center in the occasion of the article about the modernized bathing area, which is located on its premises.
Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości announces that the Branice Education Park is scheduled to open in 2023. The preliminary concept is that it will be divided into several parts. Its center will be an open-air museum consisting of up to 11 homesteads, an inn and a wooden church. In addition, there will be quite a few plant motifs characteristic of rural areas, among them herbs or fields of grain. An apiary, a gala plaza and an administration and exhibition building are also planned.
Our dream is to create a beautiful and vibrant place in the form of an educational park, which will be a destination for hiking and biking trips, rest for residents, and will also respond to the desire to learn about the distinctive, unique and culturally valuable landscape of a village near Krakow, as well as historic wooden architecture ," describes the project of the "Branice" Educational Park by Anna Korfel-Jasinska, deputy to Krakow Deputy Mayor Jerzy Muzyka.
The park's concept was based on strategic materials for the area, namely the local zoning plan, as well as the historical and functional features of the village near Krakow. It is intended, as much as possible, to familiarize visitors to the park with the cultural landscape of the village from the late 19th century and early 20th century.
A major role in the park design is to be played by vegetation characteristic of the village at the turn of the 19th/20th century
© Kraków Nowa Huta Future
Preliminary concept of the "Branice" Educational Park © Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości.
© Kraków Nowa Huta Przyszłości
completing the open-air museum
The stage of "completing" the exhibition of the open-air museum is now underway. The Consultative Council for the Educational Park "Branice" has made a ranking list of objects that should be included in the open-air museum. It will be formed, among others, by historical buildings from different parts of Krakow. Currently, 20 residential and farm buildings from 14 areas of the city are undergoing specialized inspection. Currently, 20 residential and farm buildings from 14 areas of the city are undergoing specialized inspection - a fact echoed in the media. Local media and Krakow's Deputy Mayor Jerzy Muzyk were invited to the official inspection of one of the farms, which may become part of an open-air museum.
We are talking about a cottage with farm parts from the 19th century, located in Wola Justowska, on Nad Zalewem Street. The historic farmhouse belongs to the Waligór family. It is intriguing, especially by the fact that it conceals an important history for the local community. It was the home of the current owner's ancestors, former aldermen of Wola Justowska. A portrait of one of them, Maciej Waligóra, painted by Andrzej Grabowski, is in the collection of the National Museum in Wroclaw.
The farm was once inhabited by village heads
© UM Kraków
The interior of the building has been partially renovated
© UM Kraków
Maciej Waligóra, great-grandson of the current owner with the same name and surname, can be credited with a lot of merits for the residents of Wola Justowska. It was on his initiative, for example, that a public school was established, or an agricultural circle that has been operating for 140 years!
Maintaining such a monument is beyond our financial capabilities, which is why we decided to donate the house to the open-air museum. My dream is that one day a replica of the house will be built. I can't imagine that there will be an empty place ," says the current owner of the house, Maciej Waligóra.
"An element of rich history"
On July 20, an official inspection of the farm for inclusion in the open-air museum's exhibition took place. During the meeting, Jerzy Muzyk said this about the historic building:
This is an element of our rich history, the history of those places that have been included in the administrative area of Krakow and co-create the city. We are obliged to remember this tradition.
As part of inspecting buildings for inclusion in the open-air museum's exhibition, specialists check, among other things, their technical condition, including structural elements: foundations, walls, ceilings, roofing, and perform a mycological assessment, which includes identifying the threat posed by moisture, fungi, mold and insects. Photo and drawing documentation is prepared, as the object must be inventoried in detail.
The farm is located at 1 Nad Zalewem Street
© UM Krakow
Research on all objects planned to be part of the open-air museum is being carried out by the F-Projekt Marek Fijałkowski design office. Descriptions of the individual objects are currently being created, along with photographic and drawing documentation. In the next stage, the value of the buildings will be assessed, and cost estimates will be prepared, including design documentation related to the demolition and reconstruction of the objects included in the park.
The final design of the educational park and open-air museum has not yet been created. For the moment, the Kraków Nowa Huta Future company is only providing visualizations of the preliminary concept. The realization of the educational park is estimated to cost PLN 43 million.
elaborated: Katarzyna Domagała
