Skansen in Sidzina, open-air museum in Sidzina, Poland
Skansen in Sidzina is an open-air museum of folk culture beside the Kamycko stream in Sidzina, under the Babia Góra range. Its eight timber buildings, roofed with shingles, include the Banasik cottage of 1806, a granary called Górka, a forge moved from Spytkowice, a water mill, and a Loreto bell tower from 1937.
The museum opened in 1963 during the 400th anniversary of the village's founding, thanks to teacher Adam Leśniak and parish priest Józef Świstek. Leśniak began collecting old household items when electricity arrived in Sidzina and local people started throwing away tools they had used for generations.
In the cottages, guides and displays explain the old division between the dark, smoke-blackened kitchen (kurna chata) and the white izba, where religious paintings hang above the bed. The Chałupa Banasika also holds a presentation on the use of herbs, and the Chałupa Kozioł shows the legends and documented history of the village through photographs. In the Chałupa Maja, the former bakery room is given over to flax growing and processing, with tools and spoken explanations.
The site is reached by a footbridge over the stream and can be explored on foot along simple paths. Since most areas are outdoors and the ground can be uneven, it is best to wear comfortable shoes and allow enough time to move between the different buildings.
Among the buildings is a small wooden Loreto bell tower where visitors are invited to pull the rope themselves. According to local belief, the sound of the bell carries a person's intention skyward.
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