Jurgów ' is a small village (c. 900 inhabitants) in the Spisz region of southern Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, near the border with Slovakia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

 and the town of Bukowina Tatrzańska

Bukowina Tatrzanska

Bukowina Tatrzańska , is a village in Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bukowina Tatrzańska. It lies approximately north-east of Zakopane and south of the regional capital Kraków.The village...

, on the Białka river. It used to be a part of Slovakia. It lies approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) east of Bukowina Tatrzańska

Bukowina Tatrzanska

Bukowina Tatrzańska , is a village in Tatra County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland, close to the border with Slovakia. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Bukowina Tatrzańska. It lies approximately north-east of Zakopane and south of the regional capital Kraków.The village...

, 15 km (9 mi) north-east of Zakopane

Zakopane

Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...

, and 81 km (50 mi) south of the regional capital Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

.

Sights and attractions

• The beautiful and historic St Sebastian wooden church from about 1670. It is made completely of wood, and is still in use today. The church has twice been rebuilt: first in 1811 and again in 1869. It is surrounded by large, very old trees. The walls and roof of the church are faced with wooden shingles, and it has a Rococo
  Rococo
  Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
  
  -style interior, including many carved figures of angels, saints, etc.
• A group of shepherds' huts in the "Podokólne" clearing. Grazing cows and sheep was a primary occupation of Jurgów's villagers, who owned a lot of pastureland in the Tatra
  Tatra Mountains
  The Tatra Mountains, Tatras or Tatra , are a mountain range which forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland, and are the highest mountain range in the Carpathian Mountains...
  
   mountains where they grazed their flocks, and had many shepherd's huts. After they lost their pastures in the Tatras, they moved their various structures down from the mountains and assembled them in a nearby clearing. They use these to shelter their cows and sheep from spring through autumn. Some people also stay there for a time during the same period.
• An old water-powered sawmill
  Sawmill
  A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
  
  , which is still in use today.
• Soltys's croft, which is currently a part of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane
  Zakopane
  Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
  
  .

External links

• Wirtualny Jurgów , ,