History

The Orava Ethnographic Park in Zubrzyca Górna was created following a gift made in 1937 by the siblings Joanna Wilczkowa and her brother Sandor Lattyak (Łaciak), the last heirs of the local Moniak family, to the State Treasury, thanks to the efforts of the then regional conservator of historical monuments, Bohdan Treter. As a result, the State Treasury became the owner of the property of over four hectares, including a historical manor house with old farm buildings surrounded by a park. The donors’ last will read, “It is our wish to preserve the ancient character of this estate as a museum for the future generations. The museum should exhibit the movable property belonging to the family while recounting the history of the manor house and this land.” After the death in 1951 of the last of the Moniak family, Joanna Wilczkowa, who had the right to occupy the old family home for an indefinite period of time, the neglected manor house with the complex of farm buildings were carefully renovated by the then regional conservator of monuments. The valuable monument and a large area of land inspired the establishment of an open-air museum for the Orava region. The official opening of the site took place in 1955. It was the first open-air museum in post-war Poland.

Description

The most valuable monument in the ethnographic park is the manor house of the Moniak family, ennobled village leaders, originally from Zubrzyca. The ennoblement of the Moniaks was related to an armed religious conflict between the Catholics and Protestants that spread across Orava after the village was founded. The Polish peasants supported Catholicism, while the lords from the Orava castles backed Protestantism. The peasants, led by their village leaders, took up arms and resisted. In 1674 Mateusz Moniak, the leader of Zubrzyca Górna, and several other village leaders of Orava who took credit for the Catholics’ victory in Upper Orava were ennobled. The ennobled Moniaks built a manor house that has survived to the present day. It was to become the family nest for the successive generations of the family. The manor house and farm buildings provide a great image of the life of petty nobility. The house was not built in a single historical period: its left wing is probably older and, according to family tradition, goes back to the 17th century, while the right wing is from 1784. In 1951, the house was renovated, and in 1955 the first open-air museum in post-war Poland was opened in the estate. The Orava Ethnographic Park Museum is located in the upper part of Zubrzyca Górna, by the road from Nowy Targ to Zawoja. The manor house is not far from the entrance to the museum. The architecture of the manor was inspired by the local style, its typical representative being the so-called mezzanine cottage. The Moniak manor resembles a double mezzanine cottage. Its most characteristic feature is an upper, protruding gallery installed on the mezzanine. It combines residential features and traditional qualities of Orava architecture. The single-storey building has a rectangular plan and an upper gallery installed on the mezzanine. The gallery opens to non-residential chambers which would serve as storage rooms. The house is a single-bay structure with the vestibule on the axis. The roof is similar to a hipped construction. There are smoke holes in the roof planes that would take away smoke outside; in other words, the house, which makes it really unique, had no chimney. A wooden log building covered with shingles. The entrance, which is typical of the old Orava architecture, has arched door leading to the vestibule. The authentic interior equipment has been preserved. The living room, i.e. the most representative chamber of the manor house, boasts Biedermeier and Louis Philippe style furniture. The design of the right wing of the house corresponds to the 19th-century interiors of more modest manor houses of landed gentry. The “black” (utility) room features a stove. The preserved farm buildings, slightly younger than the manor house, are arranged in an irregular quadrilateral north of the house. Today, they are used as exhibition pavilions showcasing items of various sectors of the Orava economy.

The building is accessible during the opening hours of the museum.

Author of the note Olga Dyba, 16/07/2014

Bibliography

• Dyba O., Gaczoł A., Dwory. Kraków 2004.
• Treter B., Dwór Moniaków w Zubrzycy Górnej - przyszłe orawskie muzeum regionalne. “Wierchy”, vol. 16, 1938, pp. 62-70
• Jostowa W., Muzeum Orawski Park w Zubrzycy Górnej. Zubrzyca Górna 1977.
• Pilch J., Dwustulecie dworu Moniaków. “Wierchy”, vol. 53, 1984, pp. 254-255
• Balazs K., Roszkowski J. M., Materiały źródłowe do dziejów rodziny Moniaków (XVI-XX w.). Part 1. Zubrzyca Górna 2007.