Plaveč – week #5 – The Place where we are – Spiš et Šariš
by Pilotage on Aug 20, 2013 • 02:35 PM No CommentsWalk Plaveč – Muszyna
The place where we are – Spiš and Šariš – László Milutinovits
Even though I have not been to Plaveč before, the region around has always attracted me, partly because of natural
beauties of the High Tatras and partly because of its cultural heritage. Before I came here mostly to climb mountains near the city of Poprad or hike in the Slovensky Raj. However, one summer before my usual trip I happened to read a few writings by Gyula Krúdy, a 19th-20th century Hungarian author, and recognized that he used to study as a pupil
in nearby Podolin, the next settlement after Stará Ľubovňa. He depicts the magical 19th century atmosphere of this small, historical
town in the shade of the mighty mountains in several of his short stories. That was the first time when I decided to spend a few days to discover the area around besides climbing the peaks of the Tatras, and learn about the region.
The most famous towns of Spiš (Szepes) and Šariš (Sáros) counties, including
tiny Podolin but also important municipalities like Levoča, Prešov, Bardejov
or Kežmarok were founded by German-Saxon settlers, who were invited by Hungarian monarchs after the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. As the Ottoman-Turkish occupation in the 15th-17th century did not reach out to this part of the country, the architecture of these relatively well-to-do towns remained untouched, therefore some of them are today on a UNESCO world heritage list. The region was located on an intersection of trade routes between Poland and Hungary, therefore became a rich centre of trade. Locals exported iron, copper, furs, leather, corn, and, for example, the famous Tokaji wine. Additionally, the nearby mines and other resources
like wood (an extremely important, almost only fuel before the age of petrol and coal) also provided lots of opportunities for industry. The population used to be quite mixed, including, among others, Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks and a significant Jewish population. Nowadays, the region is also a home of a numerous Roma community.
Going back to my writer – later he lived more in Budapest, and became famous mostly about his writings of early-20th century bohemian lifestyle in the city. As in his childhood he was fascinated by the stories of the Arabic Tales from One Thousand and One Night, he decided to call his most famous character, an adventurer and womanizer, Sindbad, but put his stories in contemporary frames. Krúdy’s Sinbad also inspired Hungarian director Zoltán Huszárik and cameraman Sándor Sára to make a film, starring Zoltán Latinovits – one of the most well-known and legendary scenes depicting a gentry-style rich dinner in an old-style restaurant.
The urban family tractors
Plaveč and Vislanka
In the villages of Plaveč and Vislanska, behind the garden fences or parked in front of the house doors, we see family tractors.
They take the place of the car in the garden.
Those machines correspond to a local family-kind agriculture. To each house its tractor, because to each family its piece of land.
The urban family tractors in Plaveč and Vislanka are sometimes rather old; but they are perfectly maintained. We notice a pleasure to repair and pride to maintain these machines in good condition.
They are moderately sized vehicles.
Some people, dressed in street clothes, drive their tractors across the villages.
By Guillaume de Boisbaudry
Photos by Guillaume de Boisbaudry
Marta Jonville – Mechanisms for a Tent
Performance realized in Plaveč Train Station on 2013 august 22
With Beáta Kolbašovská, Cristina David, Jakub Pišek, Linda Van Dalen, Lujza Magová, Małgorzata M. Dudek, Marta Jonville, Mathieu Lericq, Paul Maquaire, Valérie de Saint Do.
Conception by Marta JOnville
Music performed by Beáta Kolbašovská
Music aparatu by Jakub Pišek
Photos Julie Chovin
Julie Chovin – Silence
The viewer of the show perceives a computer, but the usual picture on the screen is slightly in movement. And suddenly, a character walks into the frame and disrupts the picture.
This video shows an absurd gesture, the one to interfere in a landscape which look like the operating system Windows’s picture by default. And then, to scream « Silence » on the silence. The action of disturbing the silence, and as well the calm and the artificiality of this more than well-know picture of a PC screen, although we don’t look at anymore.
Direction/editing : Julie Chovin
Concept : Julie Chovin / Łukasz Jastrubczak
Camera/sound : Judit Kurtág
Special thanks to Barbara Nawrocka.
Alexis Emery-Dufoug, László Milutinovits, Seydou Grépinet
Free Kingdom on the Border
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Walk to the Rysy Pic – Map
Pic du Risy from PointBarre asso on Vimeo.
Interview LÁSZLÓ MILUTINOVITS on corner of Slovakia and Poland : the Rysy Peak
The place where we are – Spiš and Šariš
Even though I have not been to Plaveč before, the region around has always attracted me, partly because of natural
beauties of the High Tatras and partly because of its cultural heritage. Before I came here mostly to climb mountains near the city of Poprad or hike in the Slovensky Raj. However, one summer before my usual trip I happened to read a few writings by Gyula Krúdy, a 19th-20th century Hungarian author, and recognized that he used to study as a pupil
in nearby Podolin, the next settlement after Stará Ľubovňa. He depicts the magical 19th century atmosphere of this small, historical
town in the shade of the mighty mountains in several of his short stories. That was the first time when I decided to spend a few days to discover the area around besides climbing the peaks of the Tatras, and learn about the region.
The most famous towns of Spiš (Szepes) and Šariš (Sáros) counties, including
tiny Podolin but also important municipalities like Levoča, Prešov, Bardejov
or Kežmarok were founded by German-Saxon settlers, who were invited by Hungarian monarchs after the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. As the Ottoman-Turkish occupation in the 15th-17th century did not reach out to this part of the country, the architecture of these relatively well-to-do towns remained untouched, therefore some of them are today on a UNESCO world heritage list. The region was located on an intersection of trade routes between Poland and Hungary, therefore became a rich centre of trade. Locals exported iron, copper, furs, leather, corn, and, for example, the famous Tokaji wine. Additionally, the nearby mines and other resources
like wood (an extremely important, almost only fuel before the age of petrol and coal) also provided lots of opportunities for industry. The population used to be quite mixed, including, among others, Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks and a significant Jewish population. Nowadays, the region is also a home of a numerous Roma community.
Going back to my writer – later he lived more in Budapest, and became famous mostly about his writings of early-20th century bohemian lifestyle in the city. As in his childhood he was fascinated by the stories of the Arabic Tales from One Thousand and One Night, he decided to call his most famous character, an adventurer and womanizer, Sindbad, but put his stories in contemporary frames. Krúdy’s Sinbad also inspired Hungarian director Zoltán Huszárik and cameraman Sándor Sára to make a film, starring Zoltán Latinovits – one of the most well-known and legendary scenes depicting a gentry-style rich dinner in an old-style restaurant.