REINFUSS Roman - In the Footsteps of the Lemkos

Today there is no longer, neither in Poland nor in the whole of Europe, a corner where traditional folk culture would be maintained in its full, unchanged context. Everywhere there have been greater or lesser changes and losses, and what can still be seen "live" are only preserved traces of what has been irrevocably swept away by the steamroller of modern civilization. The changes that have taken place in Lemkivshchyna, however, are of a different nature. They were not the result of a smooth receding of yesterday before today, but of a one-time total shock that broke the natural chain of transformations and destroyed the cultural heritage of the Lemkos in a profound way. Wandering along the paths of the Beskid Niski or the neighboring Beskid Krynicki to the west, we find very few traces of the Lemko past. Occasionally there will be an Orthodox church magnificent in its shape, an orphaned cottage, sometimes a shrine without a saint or picture, or an overgrown cemetery with stone crosses. Even the landscape is not the same as it used to be, as the forest has taken over the fields and the ridge paths have turned into dark tunnels. The Lemkos themselves, the former inhabitants of this land, who lost much of their traditional state in the cultural realm during their long sojourn among strangers, have also changed. (Excerpt from the introduction by Roman Reinfuss)

On the cover, Lemko from Gorlice according to a photograph taken at Maliszewski's photographic establishment (Krakow, Maly Rynek 430) in 1860. - ret., R. Reinfuss.

Published by PTTK Publishing House "Kraj", 1990.
FIRST EDITION
Format: 200 x 145 mm, 148 pages.

Piece in very nice condition, with delicate scuffs.