Highlanders carrying building materials in wooden wheelbarrows, 1935.
MOUNTAIN EXPLORERS / STORIES FROM THE TATRAS · 01

Tatra stories.
Mountains remember.

Before the first passengers arrived, people climbed into the mountains with tools and building materials. Return to 1935 and discover how a symbol of Zakopane took shape.

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Photograph: cableway construction, 1935 · National Digital Archives, Poland · public domain

The Tatras hold human stories too. Stories of people who ventured out on skis, built high in the mountains and changed Zakopane. Here, dates lead to faces, places and authentic archive photographs.

K2 in August 2006. A view of the mountain, not a photograph of Bargiel’s 2018 expedition.
K2 in August 2006. A view of the mountain, not a photograph of Bargiel’s 2018 expedition.
Svy123 · CC BY 3.0 · photograph source
05 / NEW STORY

From Tatra couloirs to the roof of the world.

Malinowski, Cywiński and the steep-skiing community. Women on the world championship stage. Bargiel on K2 and Everest. A mountain passion that travelled far beyond the Tatras.

9 chapters · 8 photographs · K2 film · timeline

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The Hala Pyszna hut after its 1936 reconstruction. Photograph dated 1936–1939.
The Hala Pyszna hut after its 1936 reconstruction. Photograph dated 1936–1939.
Józef Oppenheim / Muzeum Tatrzańskie · AFN_131_B · Public domain · archival record
04 / NEW STORY · SKI MOUNTAINEERING

Following the trail towards Pyszna.

Mariusz Zaruski, Stanisław Zdyb, Józef Oppenheim and the people who explored the mountains on skis. A story of journeys, friendships and a hut that became a legend.

9 chapters · 10 archival illustrations · timeline

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Helena Marusarzówna, 1938. Portrait published in Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny.
Helena Marusarzówna, 1938. Portrait published in Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny.
IKC 1938 · public domain
03 / ALPINE SKIING

Families, champions
and a personal line.

From Helena Marusarzówna to the Bachleda-Curuś family and the Tlałka sisters. Meet Katarzyna Bachleda-Curuś too — a five-time Olympian and two-time Olympic medallist in speed skating.

10 chapters · 10 photographs · families and generations

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Bronisława Staszel-Polankowa and Bronisław Czech at a competition in Zakopane, 1931.
Bronisława Staszel-Polankowa and Bronisław Czech at a competition in Zakopane, 1931.
NAC / IKC · public domain
02 / THE HISTORY OF SKIING IN POLAND

The people behind the first tracks.

Barabasz, Zaruski, Karłowicz, Staszel-Polankowa, Czech and Marusarz. From wooden skis to international competition: meet the people who shaped Polish skiing.

7 chapters · 7 archival photographs · a timeline

MEET THE SKIING PIONEERS →
Carrying a gear wheel for the construction cableway winch, 1935. Giewont in the background.
Carrying a gear wheel for the construction cableway winch, 1935. Giewont in the background.
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe · autor nieznany / unknown photographer · domena publiczna / public domain · archive record
01 / KASPROWY WIERCH · 1935–1936

A cableway that first had to be carried uphill.

Wooden wheelbarrows, heavy machine parts and work through the approaching winter. Follow the cableway from the first work in August 1935 to the passenger ascent in March 1936.

7 archive photographs · 7 chapters · a timeline

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FROM THE ARCHIVE

From a construction site
to the first passengers.

The photographs are part of the story. They show the builders’ work, the opening and everyday life at Kuźnice. The full article takes you through those images, step by step.

Aleksander Kodelski speaking at the opening of the cableway, 1936.
Aleksander Kodelski speaking at the opening of the cableway, 1936.
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe · domena publiczna / public domain · archive record
A cabin and passengers at Kuźnice. Archive date range: 1935–1939.
A cabin and passengers at Kuźnice. Archive date range: 1935–1939.
Henryk Poddębski / Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe · 131-G-34-12 · domena publiczna / public domain · archive record
READ THE CABLEWAY CONSTRUCTION STORY →