Zakopane

Encyclopedia : Z : ZA : ZAK : Zakopane

Zakopane (pronounce: [[zako'panε]]) is a town in southern Poland with approximately 28,000 inhabitants (2004), situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodship since 1999 (it was previously in Nowy Sacz Voivodship from 1975-1998). The town, called the Winter capital of Poland, lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the feet of the Tatra Mountains, which are (with the exception of the Karkonosze mountains) the only alpine mountain range in Central Europe.

Contents

1 Location and surroundings
2 History
3 Notable residents
4 Monuments
5 Twin cities
6 External links

Location and surroundings

It lies in a big glen between the Tatra Mountains and Gubalówka Hill. Zakopane is the most important Polish centre of mountaineering and skiing, and is visited by about two million tourists annually. The most important alpine skiing points are Kasprowy Wierch and Nosal.

Zakopane has the highest elevation of any town in Poland; within its municipal region there exists a variation of 750-1000 m of altitude. The central point of the town is at the crosssroads of Krupowki and Kosciuszki streets.

History

The earliest documents mentioning Zakopane date to the 17th century, describing a glade named Zakopisko. Its further history was connected with the development of the mining and metallurgy industries in the region, and later with the progress of tourism. Its growth has progressed greatly, from being a small village, into a climatic health resort.

Notable residents

Karol Szymanowski composer
Kornel Makuszyński childrens' writer
Jan Kasprowicz poet, playwright
Jerzy Żuławski poet, writer

Monuments

Zakopane Radio Tower
[Martyrs' Museum] to victims of the Gestapo at the Palace Hotel.

Twin cities

Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (France)

External links

[Dobranoc - Free English to Polish Translation Services]
[Zakopane Life]
[Zakopane]
[Symphony No. 3] of Henryk Górecki using text found in a Gestapo cell in Zakopane.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[Special]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.