Tatar village Krushinyany in Poland will be taken under special protection of the state
20.07.2020
The Tatar village of Krushinyany in the east of the Republic of Poland will be taken under the special protection of the state. Krushinyany is a village where Tatars live compactly. It is one of two Tatar Muslim cultural centers in the Podlaskie Voivodeship.
“The village of Krushinyany, where the historic mosque and the mizar, that is, the Muslim cemetery, are located, is a unique place,” said Magdalena Gawin, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland, during a meeting on the fate of Krushinyan, which took place on July 15 in Bialystok.
Magdalena Gavin informed about two possible forms of protection of this place: a cultural or landscape park, which should protect not only historical monuments, but also the territory around them.
Krushinyany is a village located in the Podlaskie Voivodeship with a population of 160 people. It is located in a very picturesque place by the Netupa River, near which there are many forests and meadows with wildflowers.
As the date of the settlement of the Tatars in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth, Polish historian of the 15th century Jan Dlugosh cites 1397. The Tatars brought Islam with them. However, today they have lost their language and many customs, and the surnames have been polonized.
The first mention of Krushinyany dates back to the 16th century, when the Polish king Jan III Sobieski presented this village to the Tatars living in those days in Poland. It was this event that played a major role in the history and development of Krushinyan’s culture.
After the Tatars settled here in the 16th century, mosques were built, religious books were written, and Muslim scriptures were translated. In 1915, most of the villagers emigrated to the very heart of Russia, where they were in exile for many years. At the end of the 20th century, the number of local residents was 289 people, only 33 of them were representatives of the Muslim religion. In those days, the language spoken by the locals was “familiar” – a mixture of Polish, Belarusian and Russian words.
The Tatar spirit of the village has survived to this day. Krushinyany has its own attractions: a wooden Muslim mosque of the end of the 17th century, built by the Tatars, and a well-known manor – a guest yard “Tatarska Jurta” (Tatar yurt), where you can taste delicious dishes of Tatar national cuisine and spend the night. The estate also offers to visit a master class of Tatar cuisine, listen to an excursion about the history of the inhabitants of this village, and in winter – ride a sleigh along forest roads. And you can find out all the information of interest, book a room and participate in the master class on the estate’s website.
tatarlar.info
