Jurgow Local Custom Tips by evaanna

How they dressed

The local people of Jurgow can boast their own national dress. For men, it does not differ much from that of the Podhale region, only the colours and some details are different, e.g. the best man would wear a hat with a large 'feather', made of straw, wire and cloth (see the link). For women, the dress differs more. The local woman would wear a red dress with a golden stripe at the hem, a white blouse with wide embroidered sleeves, a white apron and a white shawl. A married woman would be expected to wear a coif, with a white scarf over it to church on Sunday. She would also wear 'kierpce' - a kind of Polish highlanders' home-made moccasins.
More pictures of the characteristic Jurgow folk dress can be found, using the link given below. You can click on some of the elements of the men's dress to magnify the picture and see the embroidery on his breeches or his sleeveless jacket. The same webpage presents samples of the lively Jurgow folk music, which should give you an idea what their music is like. As the dress is worn only for major summer religious holidays and nowadays not even for weddings, to see it and see them perform, try to attend a concert given by the local folk ensemble 'Jurgow'.

Website: http://www.jurgow.pl/jurgow-stroj-ludowy.html

The cemetery at Jurgow

The cemetery at Jurgow is situated to the north of the church on the other side of the road. Looking at the tombs you can't help wondering at the Polish, Slovak and a few Hungarian names all in one cemetery, which reflects the history of the village. During the partitions of Poland, which lasted from the end of the 18th century up to the Treaty of Versailles, Jurgow was part of Austro-Hungary, hence the Hungarian names, although most of the population were Polish. In 1938 the village became a part of Slovakia, which was then allied with Nazi Germany. That is why Jurgow did not suffer any damage during WWII and quite a few of the villagers are of Slovak nationality.
Apart from modern tombs, which look very similar, you will find a few interesting ones, like the wooden shrine in the Zakopane style on one of the graves or the Hungarian grave with the wrought iron cross protected from the elements by the metal roof.
The cemetery commands a nice view of the hills to the east of the village, which looked lovely just before sunset.