Czarna Woda: Lemko History and Nature
Accommodation in Czarna Woda
Czarna Woda is now one of the streets in Jaworki, in the municipality of Szczawnica. The stream of the same name offers a second geographical point of reference. The history of the former village, Chyża Babci Matrony and a quest in the surrounding area provide different cultural and scenic points of interest. There is a specific condition for visiting Chyża: while renovation work is underway, it is partially open to visitors, but only by prior arrangement with the owner. Check the access conditions before your visit.
File:Złącz podwaliny chałupy zrębowej - Czarna Woda - 000984p.jpg
Photo: Krzysztof Kwaśniewski via Source, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
The Czarna Woda stream and the landscape
The Czarna Woda stream is 6.99 km long and a right-bank tributary of the Grajcarka. It flows through Czarna Woda and then enters the area of the village of Jaworki. Although the place and the watercourse share the same name, the place name does not refer to the entire course. In the wider regional area, the stream is considered an important landscape feature of the Beskid Sądecki. It therefore offers two scales for orientation: its course through Czarna Woda and its place within a larger landscape.
Chyża Babci Matrony
Chyża Babci Matrony has stood in the village of Czarna Woda since at least the 19th century. The collections include a historic rural building with a cellar and an outhouse, as well as a chapel. Old furniture, such as chests and a cradle, household items and religious objects—including pictures and a small Ruthenian cross—add to the collection. There are also authentic Ruthenian costumes, sculptures, photographs and family records.
The collection thus encompasses architectural, everyday and religious objects, as well as personal records. For visitors interested in rural life and family history, Chyża offers several ways to explore local cultural history.
Czarna Woda and Ruś Szlachtowska
Czarna Woda was one of four settlements that made up Ruś Szlachtowska. This was the westernmost enclave of Lemko settlements in the Carpathians. Two historical scales can therefore be considered side by side: the objects and family records at Chyża belong to a specific collection, while Ruś Szlachtowska offers a view of an entire settlement region. If you are interested in Lemko cultural history, this shift from an individual place to its regional context provides a useful point of reference.
The shrine in Masłejakówka
In Masłejakówka, the shrine stands on the site of a planned Orthodox church. It is in the oldest, lower-lying part of the village, near the boundary with Jaworki. Its location and connection to the planned church place this cultural site in its geographical and historical context.
A quest in the surrounding area
You can play the quest “U źródeł Białej Wody” in the Czarna Woda area at any time. It starts in the centre of Jaworki, on a square at the intersection of Czarna Woda and Pod Homolami streets. From there, it leads through the Biała Woda Nature Reserve in the Little Pieniny range and tells the story of areas once inhabited by Lemkos.
The two experiences have different visiting conditions: prior arrangement is required for Chyża, while the quest can be played at any time. As route details may change, check them before setting off.
For the wider travel overview: Szczawnica.
