Podlasie: Tree and Sacrum (Along the Open Window Trail)

We invite you on a micro-excursion along the “Tree and Sacrum” trail.

In Podlasie villages blended into May greenery, we will meet wooden sacral and folk architecture. We will talk about the symbolism of Orthodox church architecture, about how elements of wooden house ornamentation appeared in the Podlasie countryside, about life in the old village, about the Podlasie phenomenon of holy springs and about the language and culture of the Podlasie Belarusians. There will also be time to try local delicacies.

Details:
- Meeting: May 9, 2026 (Saturday), 7:00 under the Palace of Culture and Science, at the parking lot opposite Kinoteka. Departure at 7:05 towards Białystok. Return to Warsaw around 20:30–21:00.

Program (in short):

• Ryboły Pietraszki — a sacred place with a wooden chapel by a holy spring.
• Soce — a village on the “Open Window” trail; a stroll along cobbled streets and an encounter with wooden folk architecture.
• Puchły — the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God; inside we will learn, among other things, the story of the miraculous icon.
• Footbridge to the Narew — crossing the footbridge to meet the Narew river.
• Regional lunch (for those interested, payable extra 55 zł/person).
• Trześcianka — a section of the Podlasie Stork Trail and the Cultural Trail “Tree and Sacrum”; we will see window decorations and visit the Church of St. Michael the Archangel.
• Odrynki — a visit to the skete (hermitage) dedicated to St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves; a story about Archimandrite Gabriel, a master herbalist and founder of the skete.

The trip is led by: Ania Kraśnicka — historian, guide, blogger.

Price: 240 zł/person + possible cost of lunch (55 zł).

REGISTRATION: see the organizer's offer (Poludnik21 website)