When hiking through the Carpathians we cannot resist the feeling that these areas have a lot of magic. At every step we feel the Carpathian mystical space, full of secrets and remarkable places, which hide the turbulent stories. The Carpathia brand tries to show exactly such character of the region, based on what is the most important in the Carpathians. Let’s listen to the tales from the old times and former beliefs, to get to know the region a bit better; let’s look into the times, when the light was ruled by the kings and extraordinary creatures lived in the forests and in the mountains…
When hiking through the Carpathian paths sometimes we have a feeling that at any time on our way we can meet a forest puck, which closely watches us from behind the tree and when we dip our hands in a cool stream we can almost hear the whispers of the nixie. Meeting a bugaj (known as forestall old man) – the guardian of the forests – face to face would be rather impossible as these creatures operated (or maybe they still do…?) in hiding. It happens that they help the lost hikers to find their path through the woods or help the shepherd to find the herd. The home of these peculiar creatures were also streams and lakes – here one could find nixies, which were deluding handsome young men. It was difficult to defend oneself from their charm and meeting them couldn’t end well, but that’s a story for a different occasion…
The forest pucks, mountain pucks and nixies – it’s impossible to name them all, but it’s worth to remember that they exist, for we never know who helped us find the right path when it was hidden in the mists…
We already know who has lived in the Carpathian forests and streams, but we don’t know yet, where do these remarkable mountains come from? To find the answer to this question we have to dig much deeper, into the even more mysterious past… It was happening in the border region of the Vistulans’ land, which was adjacent to the broad land of milk and honey. It was reigned by the king Karpus, and inhabited by the Giants. There were seventy-seven of them, and each one was taking care of seventy-seven settlements. The Giants were very wise creatures, who had the knowledge of hunting, fishing, astronomy and also had the magic power: every time they said the word “yes” the mountains were created, while saying the word “no” created chasms. The Giants, however, could control their powers – they settled that one hit against the table would mean the approval and two would mean objection. They reigned well, everyone lived in happiness, until one summer the land was struck by a drought. The rivers dried up, the crops withered and the inhabitants started to starve. King Karpus and the Giants were powerless. The king convened the meeting and proposed to raid the Vistulans’ land as it was rich and productive and the inhabitants did not have a great army. Among the gathered there was one young Giant, who had just come into power. He had little experience in reigning, but he was very fond of the idea of a battle and in great excitement he shouted: “yes!”. At this moment the mountains should have been created, but nothing had happened, so the eager Giants started to outshout each other: “Yes!”, “Yes!”, “Yes!” – they couldn’t get enough. The decision was unanimous and the Giants headed out on their mission. When they reached the border of the Vistulans’ land they came across the huge mountains, which they couldn’t cross. The angry Giants started to shout “No, no!” and the ground under their feet came apart creating huge chasms. This is how the Carpathians, with their hills and valleys, which we can admire today, were created. The name of the mountains, obviously, comes from the name of the Giants’ king – Karpus.
CARPATHIA is something more than a territorial brand – it is a way of thinking about the Carpathians. Join us to contribute to the economic quality mark of the Carpathians, which accumulates the best products, attractions and services unique for the Carpathians.
More information about the CARPATHIA brand:
The Association of the Carpathian Euroregion Poland:
www.wedrowaniebezplecaka.visitcarpathia.com
