The small village of Zalipie is located about 30 km north of Tarnów. An asphalt road leads to the village, so you can easily reach it by car. What awaits us after passing the "Zalipie" sign?
A colorful village like from a fairy tale. Its incredible atmosphere has been appreciated by tourists
Zalipie is a village in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in Dąbrowa County, in the Gmina Olesno. Its hallmark is picturesque cottages. Beautiful floral paintings decorate the exteriors and interiors of the buildings. Even doghouses, barns, stoves, ceilings, and walls are adorned with these designs. Zalipie is probably the most colorful village in Poland, visited not only by locals but also by foreign tourists. The charm of this Lesser Poland village has been recognized by, among others, the Japanese Association of Travel Agencies, which placed it on the list of the 30 most picturesque places in Europe, according to the portal national-geographic.pl.
The history of Zalipie - floral paintings appeared here over 100 years ago
The tradition of painting cottages in Zalipie dates back to the 19th century and has survived to this day. Over 100 years ago, the women of the village decided to take care of the soot-covered walls in their rooms. Initially, they whitewashed them with lime, and later floral pictures began to appear on the walls.
The patterns have always been individual and depended on the idea and manual skills of the folk artist, and importantly, they were painted by hand without using stencils. It is the same today; each painted bouquet is a signature of the author, an unwritten autograph, no one paints identically
- reads the website dommalarek.pl. One of the most outstanding painters in the village was Felicja Curyło, whose homestead now serves as a museum. It was also through her initiative that the House of Painters in Zalipie was established, striving to make the unique Polish village famous worldwide.
