Podhale (; ), sometimes referred to as the Polish Highlands, is

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

's southernmost region. The Podhale is located in the foothills of the Tatra range of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

. It is the most famous region of the Goral Lands which are a network of historical regions inhabited by

Gorals The Gorals (; Goral ethnolect: ''Górole''; ; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also anglicized as the Highlanders, are an ethnographic group with historical ties to the Vlachs. The Goral people are primarily found in thei ...

Local folklore

The region is characterized by its unique

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, which is distinct from other folk cultures in Poland. Its folklore was brought there mainly by settlers from the

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

region further north and partly by Wallachian (Vlach) settlers in the centuries during their migrations. The name Podhale literally translates as "below the mountains" in English. It is a combination of two words. In the Gorals dialect, the

Alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

is called hala (plural: hale), "pod" in Polish is the English "under". The Podhale dialect of Polish as well as standard Polish are spoken in the region.

Regional attractions

Among the region's attractions are the popular mountain resort of

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

and the lake known as Morskie Oko ("The Eye of the Sea"), which local legend claims, is connected to the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

by subterranean passageways. Nowy Targ along the

Dunajec The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...

River, located in the valley beneath the Gorce Mountains, is the capital of the region. Ludzmierz is home to the area's oldest shrine, Our Lady of Ludźmierz also known as the Hostess of Podhale or in Goral ''Gaździna Podholańsko''. The people in this region are particularly famous for their oscypek, a cheese made from a mix of cow's and sheep's milk, their music, and their ski slopes. In the winter, it is the number one tourist site in Poland.

References

{{Authority control Geography of Lesser Poland Voivodeship Highlands

Local folklore

Regional attractions

See also

References