Slovakia, Bardejov, September 2003; Ilford Pan 100 negative scan, frame size 6x9 cm; camera: Ercona II.
Crosscarpatia tour 2003r. [ trasa: Presov - Bardejov - Humenne - Michalovce - Użhorod - Mukaczewo - Czerniowce - Chocim - Kamieniec Podolski]
It was a time of lonely journeys across different frontiers, at the meeting point of different cultures which, intertwining in the past, left their mark. Material and immaterial trace of the residence of Slovaks, Hungarians, Ruthenians, Jews, Germans and Poles. Hungarian, "Czechoslovak", Romanian, Polish and Ukrainian traces, written in various permanent forms in space and resulting from frequent changes of state borders in the last hundred years. And everything that results from the difficult and often tangled history is overlapped with the matrix of several dozen years of real socialism, which has unified the cultural and social space with its pseudo-modernist waltz.
Wednesday, September 3, 2003
That day I made a trip to these small mountains near Bardejov. Nice, gentle hills, like in the Beskids on the Polish side of the border, perfect for a slow hike. Along the way, quiet and peaceful villages and settlements scattered among lightly forested mounds. Oddly enough, in the middle of the day these villages sometimes seemed dead or even abandoned. The townspeople went to work somewhere in the city? After the return of the route, in the late afternoon I made my way to a block of flats situated on a strange and small plateau above the old town, behind the church. There are some nice tin car garages that I wanted to photograph. The weather was even favorable, the garages in the rays of the setting sun, but unfortunately the changeability of the weather made itself felt. Well, there was a local pub located on the ground floor of one of the blocks to wait. A large hall, tables with metal legs, chairs too. In the corner, on the boom, a black and white TV set, fortunately turned off. Beer from a mug, but most of the locals also took something stronger as an accompaniment. The composition of the staff in the pub and its age shows that the housing estate was built for the working class some twenty-five years ago. All regular customers are probably retired or on a pension. When ordering a second beer, the barmaid - but the term buffet would be better - asks me what I have to sell. I do "big eyes" because I don't know what she means. It turns out that she took me for a Ukrainian. It means the camouflage is working. Old jeans, a plaid flannel shirt and clumsy beer ordering in Slovak with a foreign accent were enough.
Below are photos from this short trip to the hills near Bardejov.
Bardejov, church of St. The Apostles Cyril and Methodius, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
Bardejov, church of St. The Apostles Cyril and Methodius, September 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
The church is currently on the UNESCO list of monuments.
Bardejov area, a modern chapel; Sep 2003; scan from a color diapositive; camera: Pentax MG.
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