Jurgów

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jurgów (Hungarian: Szepesgyőrke, Slovak - Jurgov) is a small village (c. 900 inhabitants) in the Spisz region of southern Poland, near the border with Slovakia and the town of Bukowina Tatrzańska, on the Białka river. Used to be a part of Slovakia.

[edit] Sights and attractions

Wooden church in Jurgow

Białka river near Jurgów

The beautiful and historic St Sebastian wooden church from about 1670. It is made completely of wood, and is still in use today. The church has twice been rebuilt: first in 1811 and again in 1869. It is surrounded by large, very old trees. The walls and roof of the church are faced with wooden shingles, and it has a Rococo-style interior, including many carved figures of angels, saints, etc.
A group of shepherds' huts in the "Podokólne" clearing. Grazing cows and sheep was a primary occupation of Jurgów's villagers, who owned a lot of pastureland in the Tatra mountains where they grazed their flocks, and had many shepherd's huts. After they lost their pastures in the Tatras, they moved their various structures down from the mountains and assembled them in a nearby clearing. They use these to shelter their cows and sheep from spring through autumn. Some people also stay there for a time during the same period.
There is also an old water-powered sawmill, which is still in use today.
Soltys's croft, which is currently a part of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane.