Events 2026 May 1, 2026

Studzionki 2026. The 13th Gathering of Folk Artists of the Carpathian Arc in Ochotnica Górna

Name: XIII Spotkanie Twórców Ludowych i Artystów na Łuku Karpat
Start: 2026-05-01T14:00:00+02:00
Location: Studzionki, Ochotnica Górna

The 13th Gathering of Folk Artists of the Carpathian Arc at Studzionki, Ochotnica Górna, 1 May 2026: a photo story and the history of the open-air museum.

Words and photos: Sebastian Bogdanik

Dozens of people in highland costume, children and adults with instruments, in front of the door of a wooden chapel. — The Ochotni and Mali Ochotni folk groups in front of the chapel door at Studzionki.

Studzionki is a mountain hamlet of Ochotnica Górna in the Gorce, with a wooden chapel, a small open-air museum and a view of the Tatras. Since 2012, usually on 1 May, the feast of St Joseph the Worker, patron of the local chapel, folk artists, craftspeople, musicians and visitors gather here. On Friday 1 May 2026 they met for the thirteenth time.

Studzionki below Majcherek

The hamlet lies in the Lubań Range, on the gentle southern slope of Majcherek, a 927 m hill. A red hiking trail runs through Studzionki. From here you can see the Tatras, the Spiš Magura and the Gorce, including the Lubań Range, Magurki and Gorc.

I arrived early, at quarter to one. Heavy clouds hung over the Gorce, but to the south the Tatras stood out clearly, with snow on the ridges.

Wooden buildings on a green slope under clouds, the snow-capped Tatras on the horizon. — Studzionki before noon. Wooden buildings on the slope, the snow-capped Tatras behind.

Snow-capped Tatra peaks under dark clouds, forests in the foreground. — The Tatras seen from Studzionki. Plenty of snow still on the ridges.

The Studzionki open-air museum: from a Kraków violinist to the Mulet family

The story of this place began in the 1950s, when Zygmunt Stypa, a violinist from Kraków, came to Ochotnica as a tourist. He was captivated by the culture of the Gorce highlanders. He began buying old objects from local people and kept them in a regional house that he designed and built himself at Studzionki, just below the top of Majcherek. The collection grew until the house became a small private museum that visitors came to see.

Stypa dreamed of a highland chapel, but there was no money. In 1994 the house passed to his nephew, Wojciech Mulet. At the end of the 1990s work on the chapel began, funded by Wojciech’s father, Jerzy Mulet. Two neighbouring plots were bought, along with an old 1929 house from Dębno whose fir planks were to be used in the building. Zygmunt Stypa died in August 2002, before the work was finished. In April 2013 the chapel received a small bell turret designed by Dr Krzysztof Wielgus and made by Piotr Kapłaniak.

A wooden chapel with a small bell turret and cross on a meadow, vertical frame. — The wooden chapel at Studzionki, where Mass began at 2 pm.

In 2008 an old smithy was bought from the Królczyk family of Ochotnica Górna-Jaszcze and moved to Studzionki with almost all of its original equipment. Today the open-air museum has the chapel, a granary, a working peasant smithy from the mid-19th century and a poor peasant cottage from the late 18th century. It is privately owned and can be visited with the owners’ permission.

Guests arrive

At around half past one the meadow began to fill. First one by one, then whole families: in jackets and in costume, with children and with instruments.

A group in highland costume standing on a slope, a village and mountains behind. — The first guests in regional costume on the slope above the village.

People walking across a meadow between wooden cottages. — Guests gathering between the cottages.

A man in highland costume and hat holding a bow by his basy. — A bass player from the Ochotni group before Mass. The basy is the highland version of the double bass, usually with three strings.

A musician in a waistcoat and hat playing the basy, an audience behind him. — A bass player from the Ochotni group before Mass. The basy is the highland version of the double bass, usually with three strings.

Two priests in vestments in front of the chapel, musicians and girls in regional costume beside them. — Outside the chapel: priests in vestments, with musicians and girls in costume beside them.

Two musicians in highland hats and waistcoats, one with a fiddle. — Musicians in hats trimmed with shells, waiting for the cue to play.

Mass in the chapel of St Joseph the Worker

The gathering began at 2 pm with Mass in the chapel, celebrated by the parish priest Fr Stanisław Kowalik and the catechist Fr Paweł Tokarczyk. The chapel was made available by Wojciech and Natalia Mulet. It was crowded inside, and the music for the Mass was played by the Ochotni and Mali Ochotni folk groups.

A priest in an embroidered chasuble at the altar of a wooden chapel, a second priest and a painting beside him. — Mass was celebrated by Fr Stanisław Kowalik and Fr Paweł Tokarczyk.

A highland hat with shells and a grey moustache.

Not everyone fitted in. The rest stood by the door or sat on the meadow.

Children in regional costume and adults on a meadow in front of wooden cottages. — Those who did not fit in the chapel waited on the meadow. The children in costume did not wait quietly.

Smithy, pegs and anemones

During Mass I walked round the open-air museum. In the smithy there was an anvil on a stump and a stone forge, with tools hanging on the wall. Next door stood wooden machinery in which pegs did the work of bolts.

Close-up of wooden pegs in the beam of an old mechanism. — Wooden pegs of an old mechanism, worn smooth by years of work.

A white wood anemone flower close up against grass. — A wood anemone by the path. At the beginning of May it flowers along the forest edge.

A wide panorama of the snow-capped Tatras under clouds. — A panorama of the Tatras in a break between the clouds.

Folk artists, music and food

After Mass the guests moved over to the open-air museum. Folk artists and craftspeople showed sculptures, paintings, embroidery, woodwork and ceramics. The women of the Rural Housewives’ Association in Ochotnica Górna prepared regional dishes and home baking. People settled on the grass, and a horse in festive harness walked among them.

People sitting on a grassy slope below a wooden hut with a large roof. — Guests sat down on the grass below a wooden hut.

A horse with a pale mane in harness with red tassels, a man beside it. — A horse in festive harness with red tassels, its owner beside it.

Close-up of embroidery on the back of a white coat: green, red and white patterns. — Embroidery on the back of a highland cucha coat: green, red and white patterns.

Ochotni and Mali Ochotni

Then it was time for the Ochotni and Mali Ochotni folk groups to perform. Adult musicians stood in one circle with children who are only just learning to play and dance. The youngest dancers barely reached the adults’ waists.

Musicians in highland costume playing basy and fiddles on a meadow. — The performance after Mass: basy, fiddles and costumes. Next to it, fiddlers of the Ochotni group.

Female fiddlers and a male fiddler in regional costume playing in front of an audience. — The performance after Mass: basy, fiddles and costumes. Next to it, fiddlers of the Ochotni group.

Little girls in red bodices and flowered scarves standing side by side. — The youngest dancers of Mali Ochotni in red bodices and flowered scarves.

Two young girls playing fiddles, an older musician blurred in the foreground. — Young fiddlers playing beside an older musician.

To the clearing

A group of musicians and children in regional costume walking down a meadow, playing. — The group walks down the meadow, playing.

After three the group set off down the meadow, playing, followed by scouts of the 9th Scout Troop and the standard bearers. In the clearing by the forest the children danced once more before everyone lined up for a group photo.

Thirteen gatherings since 2012

The first gathering took place on 1 May 2012 as the 1st Gathering on the Trail of Folk Artists of the Polish Carpathian Arc. Even then it began at 2 pm with Mass in the Studzionki chapel, offered for artists, craftspeople and people of culture. The name has changed slightly over the years, but the core has stayed the same: Mass, artists with their work, music and a meeting of mountain people. This year’s was prepared by the Village Cultural Centre in Ochotnica Górna, in the Ochotnica Dolna municipality. As Pieniny24 put it, the gathering “brings together people from all sides of the mountains”. The municipality thanked the head and staff of the centre for the preparations and the Mulet family for their hospitality and the venue.

More photos are in the Studzionki gallery. Two frames also appear in 2026 in Frames. Another corner of the Carpathians, the Pieniny in autumn, is in Praise Be to God: Autumn on the Three Crowns.

The history of the open-air museum follows the Ochotnica Dolna municipality website, the location of Studzionki the municipal tourism site, and the beginnings of the gathering the announcement of the first edition on the Watra portal.

Words and photos: Sebastian Bogdanik. Studzionki, Ochotnica Górna, 1 May 2026, 12:44 to 15:17.