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 Jumping ski The history of ski jumping in Poland dates back to the early 20th century. The first world records were beaten by Sondre Norheim from Norway (30.5 m in 1860). These days, jumps have lengths of more than 240 metres (Adam Małysz has jumped 225 m; in the 2012/2013 season, Piotr Żyła and Kamil Stoch reached lengths of 232.5 m). |
 “Telemark” ski from the end of 19th century The telemark ski, with the Huitfeld “B” binding, was probably made in Berlin. In the upper part of the skis, there are visible traces of previous reed bindings. |
 Mountain ski from Scandinavia A characteristic feature of the northern skis—used in the Scandinavian Peninsula and in Finland—was the disproportion in the length of two skis in one pair: one was longer (the one exhibited in the collection of Małopolska’s Virtual Museums measures 260 cm) and is additionally equipped with a sliding groove; the other, shorter one was used for pushing off (in the case of the present exhibit, the other ski has not survived).
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 “Telemark” ski from 1919 A characteristic feature of telemark skiing was the release of the foot: the shoe was attached to the ski only with the tips of the toes.
The ski — which is in the collection of the Małopolska’s Virtual Museums — is a special type of telemark ski, because of the innovation that the creator of a new type of binding, Bilgeri... |
 Siberian birch ski It is worth noting the characteristic shape (side carving) and the material — birch wood — which is exceptionally light, but, due to its lack of durability, was used very rarely for the production of skis; ash wood, beech wood, or — in special cases — hickory wood was usually used instead. |
 “Winter” — a poster by Koichi Sato from the “Disappearing Japan” series Mount Fuji is a major symbol of Japan and is placed even on banknotes. It is a holy mountain, the place where, according to beliefs, the protective gods of the country live. An expedition to its peak is like an entrance to a heavenly land bathed in golden light through a thick layer of clouds. |
 Adam Małysz ski A Fischer ski jumping ski without binding. The traces of the screws, with which the bindings were fixed, start 60 cm from the heel (in total, they appear over a 42 cm section). The upper side of the ski features the handwritten inscription: “For the Museum Chamber in Piwniczna Małysz Adam”. |
 Mountain ski from Norway The exhibited type of ski was introduced by Norwegians as a mountain ski. Its dimensions—length, the width of the tip in the middle and in the tail—indicate that it is a “telemark” type. The ski has a bowed tip and is bent under the foot, but lacks a groove (its absence is characteristic of mountain skis). The Norwegian binding, made of reed—which was used in the late nineteenth century—is also noteworthy. |
 Siberian ski It is worth paying attention to the unusual shape of the ski. Its width and length (204 cm), as well as the square-cut back, indicate that it is a type intermediate between the arctic and southern ski. It comes from the western part of the USSR.
What is also interesting, is the hole in the front of the ski, which allows for a string to be threaded through it, in order to pull the ski behind, while supporting oneself with a pole if need be. |
Did you know that Walery Radzikowski — about the way the Tatra Mountains were conquered in the late 19th century The beginnings of tourism in the Tatra Mountains date back to the 2nd half of the 19th century. In 1873, Galicyjskie Towarzystwo Tatrzańskie [The Tatra Society in Galicia] was established with its aim of marking out routes, building mountain shelters, doing ethnographic research and describing the uniqueness of the area (maps were created and meteorological phenomena were observed). All this brought tourists to the mountain trails. |
 Sneakers of Karol Wojtyła Sneakers are usually an attribute of children’s games. The ones in the collection of Małopolska’s Virtual Museums are big (size 44!). Judging from the state of preservation, they were used by Karol Wojtyła many times when hiking.
His love for sport was inculcated in Karol by his brother, 14 years older Edmund, who played in a football team. Very often Karol accompanied him; however, due to the age difference he could not run on a football pitch. |
 Ski-boots of Karol Wojtyła Czarne skórzane buty narciarskie należały do Karola Wojtyły. Lewy but z pary jest bardziej zniszczony. |
 Painting “Spring in the mountains” by Rafał Malczewski The Tatra Mountains have always fascinated, delighted and bewildered everyone with their power. They have threatened us with their volatility and have punished daredevils severely who have given up their caution. Ultimately, they have been a real artistic challenge for all those who wished to tame them and include all that has always fallen outside any frames on a flat piece of cloth or paper. |
 Painting “At the Morskie Oko Lake” (“Tourists in the Tatra Mountains”) It is hard to imagine Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains without tourists. They cross the town and mountain trails with great enthusiasm. The landscape attracts crowds wishing to rest in the shadows of the cool mountains, as well as artists who find an inexhaustible source of inspiration in the overpowering nature. It is assumed that the first painter of the Tatra Mountains was Jan Nepomucen Głowacki (1802–1847) and the first Tatra-related painting is the “View of the Carpathian Mountains from Poronin”, dated 1836. Later this theme was taken up by other painters, like Aleksander Kotsis. It was with him that in 1860 Walery Eljasz took his first trip to Babia Góra from which he saw the Tatra Mountains. A year later he managed to visit them. Since 1866 the mountains became his true passion. Eljasz came from Kraków, from a family where painting and art were the order of the day. |
 Karol Wojtyła's skis with poles The burgundy skis, presented in the MVM collection, belonged to Karol Wojtyła. Their characteristic features include the white and blue strip running through the centre, leather straps, and Markeh Automatic fittings. |
Did you know that About the ways of storing tobacco in Podhale Highlanders kept tobacco (habryka) in leather pouches, the so-called miechóry, which were made of cat skin, sheepskin or rabbit skin. They also kept tobacco in pouches made from specially prepared pigs’ bladders, the so-called maharzyny, which were tied up with a leather strap. The tobacco stored in them did not lose its natural moisture and did not get mouldy. |
Did you know that Bagpipes or kobza? What is the difference between bagpipes and kobza pipes? People often think these two instruments are the same but, in fact, they differ in practically all aspects. For one thing, they belong to two separate groups. Bagpipes, also popular in Poland, are wind instruments made of leather and wooden/osseous elements (read more... |
 “Herbarium of Tatra mosses” of Tytus Chałubiński Tytus Chałubiński’s herbarium of Tatra mosses is the most valuable botanical collection at the Dr Tytus Chałubiński Tatra Museum. Doctor Tytus Chałubiński (1820–1889), a man of broad horizons and multiple interests, a great physician with a passion for botany, is one of the legendary figures of Zakopane. |
 An album of woodcuts “One hundred views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai”, the 2nd volume In the collection of the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology, there is an edition of the work 100 views of Mount Fuji by Katsushiki Hokusai. Hokusai was one of the most famous Japanese artists and he created old ukiyo-e woodcuts (Japanese: “a view of the world that passes away”). |
 Men’s folk costume — the Szczawnica highlanders Today’s male costume of the Szczawnica highlanders consists of a black felt hat decorated above the ruff, a linen shirt with a small stand-up collar without the neckband, a blue cloth waistcoat with embroidered decorations on the back and front tails, a short cucha jacket made of brown cloth, which was worn on the shoulder, a sleeveless sheepskin coat, white cloth trousers embroidered along the cuts at the bottom of the legs, at the upper cut as well as along stitches, and kierpce (hard-soled leather moccasins). |
