Waksmund, Village in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Waksmund is a village in southern Poland located on the south bank of the Dunajec River in the Lesser Poland region. It sits just east of Nowy Targ, with the Gorce Mountains rising to the north and the Tatra foothills visible to the south.
The village was founded between 1334 and 1338 by German-speaking settlers under Magdeburg Law, on land previously called Wilcze Pole, meaning Wolf's Field. By the 15th century, the settlement had grown enough to carry military obligations to the Polish crown.
The name of the village comes from the Slavic word for wax, pointing to a long local tradition of beekeeping in the area. Walking through the village today, you can still see wooden houses built in the style typical of the Podhale highland region.
The village is easy to reach from Nowy Targ and works well as a base for day trips into the surrounding mountains. The Dunajec River runs nearby and helps with orientation when exploring the area on foot.
Waksmund is known as one of Poland's coldest spots, with recorded winter temperatures reaching minus 35 degrees Celsius (minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit). An unofficial reading of minus 49 degrees Celsius (minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit) was reportedly measured there in 1929, which drew attention to the village well beyond the region.
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