Once the largest in Poland pottery centre was located in the northern part of the municipality of Czarna, south-eastern Poland. Rich deposits of clay and the lack of favourable conditions for agriculture made the inhabitants look for a living outside agriculture. In the second half of the 19th century about 120 potter’s workshops were active. Since the 60s of the 20th century Medynia Głogowska has been a folk crafts centre known all over the world. These tradition is still alive today.
In order to revive the pottery tradition, a group of several craftsmen from Medynia Glogowska initiated the Pottery Centre (Zagroda Garncarska) in a beautiful 19th-century wooden building. Here you can attend workshops and lectures. There are also several traditional pottery kilns. You can visit an exposition of pottery and clay sculptures from the early 20th century. In the small shop in the Pottery Centre you can buy souvenirs and crafts. If you love pottery and traditional food you should definitely visit the summer pottery fair each July.
The centre is open from May the 1st on Tuesday – Friday: 9:00-16:00 (groups). Saturday: Information in the restaurant (Karczma u Garncarzy), Phone: +48 17 772 68 30. Sunday: 13:00-17:00 (individual visitors).
At the Pottery Centre you can learn to work with a potter’s wheel and to make clay sculptures. In (international) workshops you can learn about local traditions as well as the manufacturing of musical instruments or ceramic jewelry. And above all: working with and throwing clay at the potter’s wheel let you forget everyday life. Insiders claim that pasting pots has beneficial therapeutic properties: it calms, regenerates the psyche and reduces stress.
In the regional Restaurant Karczma u Garncarzy you can taste regional dishes made and served in traditional clay pots.
Explore the area around Medynia by bike, following the 30 km long pottery trail. Bikes for rent are next to the Pottery Centre in the bicycle rental “Siwak”. The Church of the Visitation of the Holy Virgin Mary is nearby. Admire its beautiful ceramic mosaics made by local potters.
On the route you have the opportunity to explore traditional art studios, where you can meet the potters at work, see them pending the wheel and drying or heating pots in kilns. You can also see different types of firing: “bisque” (red ceramics) or “gray” (grey or black). You can buy pottery “fresh from the kiln”. It is also possible to make an appointment with a potter for a guided tour in the pottery (phone: +48 17 226 2323, or e-mail: biuro@gok-czarna.pl).
Free-standing big kilns, that you will meet on the bike trail, will impress you. Visit the historic cemetery with characteristic tombstones and encounter many roadside shrines. Enjoy the wonderful nature: the fish pounds in Zalesie, the river Wisłok and beautiful panoramas. Take a break in the Park of Our Lady Jagodna in Medynia Łańcucka near the pond with beautiful lilies and drink water from the nearby spring. In the chapel you will find a ceramic statue of Our Lady Jagodna, the patron of Medynia, made by the known local artist Władysława Prucnal.
The gallery of the famous artist Władysława Prucnal contains a rich collection of her works. These are figures, bas-reliefs and mosaics depicting the life of the inhabitants of the ancient village of Medynia Głogłowska. A significant part of the work of the artist is also dedicated to religion. Władysława Prucnal’s work can be found in ethnographic museums in Poland and in galleries around the world, among others in Australia, Japan, and the USA. Wladyslawa Prucnal won the Oskar Kolberg award and an award from the Ministry of Culture for her outstanding art work. Visiting the gallery is only possible after prior appointment. Contact the Municipal Cultural Centre in Czarna (Phone: +48 17 226 23 23, e-mail: biuro@gok-czarna.pl) for an appointment.
A trail map is available here.
Municipal Cultural Centre (Gminny Ośrodek Kultury i Rekreacji) in Czarna
Phone: +48 17 226 23 23 (Tickets)
Phone:+48 17 772 68 66 (Zagroda Garncarska Pottery centre in Medynia Głogowska)
e-mail: biuro@gok-czarna.pl
