Why are the Vistula Żuławy and the Vistula Spit so different from the rest of Poland? What makes this region so captivating for lovers of history, nature, and cuisine? In the fourteenth episode of AmberPodcast, we set off on a journey with Łukasz Kępski and Marek Opitz through arcaded houses, remarkable hydrotechnical landmarks, and picturesque cycling routes. We also stop by the Mały Holender Inn, where the rediscovered cuisine of the Vistula Żuławy surprises with unique flavors—from sturgeon to fish soup without fish. Tune in to AmberPodcast and discover a different side of the Vistula Żuławy!
Anna Kordecka: Welcome to the new episode of the Amber Podcast. Today, together with the Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organization, we will take you on an extraordinary journey through Żuławy and the Vistula Spit. Regions that delight with a unique combination of nature, history, active recreation, and exceptional cuisine. Our guests will be Mr. Łukasz Kępski, a historian and guide in Żuławy and an employee of the Żuławy Museum, as well as Mr. Marek Opitz, the owner of the Mały Holender Inn, which is located in an arcaded house typical of this region, where we record this unique episode.
Hello. Let’s start a little perversely. Why come to a region that is as flat as a table, is almost devoid of forests, and in addition, 1/3 of the region is depressed? What is it about Żuławy that makes it worth visiting?
Łukasz Kępski: I think this is the advantage of Żuławy that they are different. Different from most regions in Poland.
The fact that they are flat is also a tourist attraction. The fact that they are crossed by canals. The fact that nearly 30% of this area is a geographical depression. The fact that this is an area where we can find all kinds of places, monuments that show us through a lens what the history of Polish looked like over the centuries.
This is an amazing story about peasants, for example. From my perspective, if someone is interested in folk culture, if someone is interested in the countryside, then Żuławy demolishes all the images that we have in our heads, those learned from school, from literature. When we hear the word peasants, we immediately associate them, for example, with Boryna in belles-lettres, in history with serfdom.
And suddenly, when we come to Żuławy, we will see – just like today, when we are in an arcaded house, that we have a huge house. A house that belonged to a peasant. Although he never called himself such a peasant, as we understand it today. Rather, the term hosts or neighbors was used. He was extremely wealthy, he was aware, he had the ability to read and write long before it became common in other regions of Polish.
Żuławy, precisely because they are different, not obvious, can attract tourists.
Anna Kordecka: You mentioned that Żuławy is historically an extremely interesting region. What can a history lover find in this region?
Łukasz Kępski: First of all, what we are talking about right now. But let’s start with history. This history is very diverse, because a person interested in the Middle Ages will find traces of settlement under German law, Teutonic settlement. We must remember that the largest wave of settlement in the Middle Ages was initiated by the Teutonic Order. If we compare modern maps, maps of the 16th-17th centuries, maps or projections from the Middle Ages, we will see that these villages have almost the same spatial layout.
Żuławy is a place where, even in a small town, you can find a magnificent Gothic church, if you just look through the window. We have the Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas. It is a temple erected after 1300. The village was founded in Tiegenhagen in 1352, the church itself is probably 10 or 20 years younger. The structure – as we can see, is Gothic. When we are in another region of Polish, we will see that there is one church for a dozen, sometimes even several dozen villages. This parish network was very dispersed. Here we have one church in our village, another one in the neighboring village – Tujsk, plus a church in Stegna, then in Lubieszewo… They all have this gothic metric and it’s something amazing. There are wonderful arcaded houses – now we are talking about this wealth of Żuławy peasants.
We have the Hollander settlement, which is often associated with Mennonites, i.e. newcomers associated primarily with the Netherlands. But in realitythey come to us from the northern areas of Germany, Holland, Belgium and also leaving a part of themselves here. In addition, the heritage that we discover in Żuławy today, such as cuisine, building a modern identity based on the settlement of post-war people who found themselves here after 1945.
Anna Kordecka: The arcaded houses you mentioned are buildings characteristic of Żuławy, associated with Dutch settlers. Could we try to describe what they look like? What makes them so special? And is it possible to visit them?
Łukasz Kępski: Let me start by saying that arcaded houses are a monument – a symbol of Żuławy, around which most stereotypes have grown.
This thread has already appeared: an arcaded house, a Dutch house. It is not related to this. If we look at whether there are such buildings in the Netherlands at all, we will not find them. The arcaded house was primarily the home of a wealthy farmer who could afford to build himself a building, which sometimes had more than a thousand square meters, whose characteristic element was this protruding, pole-supported part – the arcade, which initially served most often as a warehouse.
This is related to the fact that we are in depressed areas. During the flood, it was necessary to safely store grain to have it, even for sowing. Over time, this role of the arcade also changed. In the nineteenth century, many farmers decided to add arcades to old houses, but not to store agricultural products there, but also to use them to show their position, as an element of building their prestige. Travelers to Żuławy often complain – for example, the description of pastor Wedeke, who says that these new houses are not cool, because peasants, who should be peasants and concentrate on work, try to imitate the townspeople and nobility, and this should not be the case. This shows that this arcaded house was extremely rich and wonderfully decorated.
Such houses can be found, for example, in Marynowy or Orłowo, built by Peter Luven – one of the most outstanding builders of arcaded houses operating at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We can see there, for example, intersinated doors, classicist, magnificent Ionic columns. We are still talking about peasant houses. Where else did peasants know what classicist art looked like in those days? This is something that does not fit in Żuławy at all.
When it comes to sightseeing, we have the opportunity to visit the house – the Little Dutchman Inn. Life goes on here all the time. In addition to the inn, you can visit the house. There are cyclical tours, there are stories about how this house was moved, but Marek will certainly tell you about it soon.
We have a house in Marynowy, which gives a lot of opportunities to spend the night in such a space and you can also see it. More and more people, interestingly not residents of Żuławy, decide to buy this type of historic buildings, adapt them to modern tourist purposes. This is also worth observing, because they are then very active, for example in social media. They show these houses, show how they renovate them.
And they also have an idea for them.
Anna Kordecka: Żuławy is an area crossed by rivers and canals. Are there any hydrotechnical structures here that are worth visiting?
Łukasz Kępski: I’ll leave this question to my colleague.
Marek Opitz: Żuławy is created by man in cooperation with nature.
Since medieval times, a game between man and nature has been taking place here all the time, and hydrotechnical structures help in this game. The first most important hydrotechnical structure is the flood embankments, which protect Żuławy from flooding. As you mentioned, about a third of Żuławy is in depressed areas. This is fantastic, because you can’t really see this depression, it’s 2.2 meters below sea level. In fact, you have to measure it to see it, but for some time now there has been a marking in this place, a point. Sometimes you need a little perseverance to get it, because in spring it is flooded, it is a meadow.
The water is pumped out only in May and June. Certificates are issued, you can get such a certificate in various places in Żuławy, when you show a photo to a seller or a person who is authorized to issue this certificate. In our inn there is also such a point of issuing certificates. I have to say that it is slowly starting to work very nicely. Yes, it is difficult to climb mountains, but it is also difficult to find this point, although it is already marked.
We really have a lot of these hydrotechnical structures. These are, of course, the sluices, flood inlets on the Tuga River, which protect us from backwater, from high water. We have bridges here, the greatest saturation of drawbridges. There was also a new lifting bridge – the only such bridge, such a structure in Poland.
We also have the only narrow-gauge railway bridge in Europe. This is a swing bridge, so when you ride a narrow-gauge railway, you can see the entire procedure of turning this bridge so that the railway can pass. In fact, you can actually get four, or more, maybe five drawbridges in two hours – and lifted ones at that. They work all the time.
They operate as part of the Żuławy Loop, a route reconstructed with EU money, where marinas with good piers and slipways are built. In fact, I wouldn’t really want to advertise it, because the main advantage is that there is peace here. However, it is getting smaller. There are a lot of these water facilities and they are more and more often occupied throughout the summer, there is always someone standing there.
There are certainly much fewer water sports enthusiasts than in Masuria. Here you can safely moor in the reeds and no one will say a bad word to anyone.
Anna Kordecka: From what you say, Żuławy seems to be a perfect place for people who value active recreation. What can such a tourist who likes to spend his holidays actively do in Żuławy? You have already mentioned the Żuławy Loop, it is an ideal attraction for water sports enthusiasts, but what about cyclists and walkers?
Will they also find something for themselves here?
Marek Opitz: Żuławy can be visited in various ways, as we said. There are a lot of bicycle routes. We treat Żuławy as a delta of the Vistula, which means that we include the Vistula Spit in this whole series of attractions – there are also bicycle paths, there are reserves that can be reached, well marked. The Little Dutchman can also be reached by a bicycle path recently.
I would not fully agree with what you said about forests, that there are no forests here. When there are forests, it’s decent. Either reserves, or one that was established probably 20 years ago, which is a new forest. There is the Forest Establishment Office at the Ministry of Climate and Environment, through which the new forest was created. Hundreds, if not thousands, of cranes gather around it, which depart in August and September. It is an amazing sight. Thanks to this, an enclave was created after the former State Agricultural Farm on the Lagoon. It is not protected yet, there are only such ideas.
On the other side of the Nogat, the Nogat Estuary Reserve has been established quite recently. There are plenty of such places, such interesting natural places, where you can see white-tailed eagles and all our seagulls from spring. We should also mention the Drużno Reserve, where almost 80% of birds nest, 80% of birds that are in Poland breed there.
You can swim through this reserve, so when swimming there along the waterway, you will always notice a white-tailed eagle, somewhere on the outskirts also a buzzard, an osprey. I mainly wanted to talk about it, there are several nests there. This is truly a treat for ornithologists and beyond.
It starts as early as April, when the first broods are held, and in fact even faster. It’s all buzzing, really. All you need is binoculars – they provide a beautiful experience.
Anna Kordecka: So in the spring, it is necessary to observe birds in Żuławy and Mierzeja.
Łukasz Kępski: I’ll add something about active sightseeing in Żuławy. Bicycle routes that have been created in recent years show that Żuławy can be freely explored by bike. When tourists come to us, I sometimes guide cycling groups and ride with them too. Driving 100 kilometers a day in a mountain area would be extremely difficult. And here we are driving on a flat route. Even when we start our journey in Malbork, we travel all the time along the bicycle path. Wehave more nice buildings, examples of wooden architecture. We can easily get to Nowy Staw, to Nowy Dwór Gdański, visit the Żuławy Museum, then ride along the bicycle path along the bank of the Tuga River, which has a unique atmosphere. It has something magical about it – it is no coincidence that it is called the queen of Żuławy rivers. Then, no longer along the bicycle path, ride to the Spit – this is the only piece that has not yet been reached by a bicycle path. Later, on the Spit itself, there is the R10 bicycle path. Thanks to this, we can easily go, for example, to Mikoszewo, to the mouth of the Vistula, from where we can get all the way to Piaski. You can easily explore these areas by bike.
Anna Kordecka: That’s true, I know the path on the Spit. You can easily travel along it even with children, because it is a simple route with small and easy to overcome hills. And what if we are unlucky and have bad weather? What can you visit on Żuławy and the Vistula Spit then?
Łukasz Kępski: I’ll start with what to do at the beginning, when we get to Żuławy and the Spit.
The first such point we should go to is undoubtedly the Żuławy Museum. If we want to get to know the culture, history, learn as much as possible about the region we are in, the Żuławy Museum plays an important role here. It is also a phenomenon when it comes to Poland that the museum has been managed by an association for over 30 years.
Most museums are financed from the budgets of municipalities and districts. And here, a small association – the Nowodworski Club, for over 30 years has been making sure that the inhabitants of Żuławy and tourists find out what Żuławy is related to, what its geographical specificity is, who lived in this area. What is unique about this story is that each object, apart from its historical value, also has an amazing story – the hidden, emotional one. The story of where he came from, how people obtained him, is a completely different version of the story.
You can approach it from a completely different angle and go to the Stutthof Museum in Sztutowo on the Spit. However, this is a completely different story, a completely different thematic thread, definitely more difficult. You need to prepare for this properly so as not to go there treating this place only as a tourist attraction to, excuse me, “tick off”. It is a place that, above all, should evoke some kind of reflection, should be a bridge between the past and the present. These are the places that are definitely worth visiting during bad weather.
On the other hand, there are many cultural events in the towns themselves – in Nowy Staw or Nowy Dwór Gdański, so there is always something that a tourist can do when the weather is not good.
Anna Kordecka: Since we already know what to visit while in Żuławy or the Vistula Spit, it is worth mentioning that Żuławy is not only a tourist attraction, but also an extraordinary treat for gastrotourists who are interested in cuisine.
What are the characteristics of Żuławy cuisine and what is worth tasting while in Żuławy?
Marek Opitz: First of all, it must be said that this is a young kitchen. In fact, we are witnessing its birth, or the definition of this cuisine. If we take the cuisine of Kashubians and Silesians, it is always referred to as such and not another for centuries.
On the other hand, in Żuławy, due to the constant exchange of population, the periods when some dishes could be considered regional, those from here, the local ones, were short. Then a new nation came, which, like us – the new settlers after 1945, came with its customs. So can we talk about Żuławy cuisine only since 1945?
That’s a bit weak. That is why the idea of the Little Dutchman Inn is to draw various flavors from history. Literally. For example, from the Middle Ages, we like sturgeon the most. Of course, there were also various other interesting things cooked at the Malbork Castle, but the whole story could be told about how important the sturgeon was.
For guests who order it, we prepare roasted sturgeon. Then, when it comes to Mennonite times, it’s more cheese. Prussian times – meatball soup, which has gone down in history here and in many accounts of former inhabitants everyone talks about it. And a phenomenon – fish soup without fish. Ethnographers also talk about it, it is mentioned that it was eaten on Sundays. Indeed, she was without a fish. The right vegetables and preparation made it feel a delicate taste of fish. Interestingly, we once tried to experimentally build a fish soup on this basis, but it is impossible. If you add fish to it, the soup spoils completely. It is not so interesting anymore. You can read about it, several books on the cuisine of Żuławy have already been published.
Our adventure with cuisine, creating it, emerging it, these are also our inspirations. Sometimes completely new dishes are created that are inspired by history. It’s also fantastic – apart from the ones we got from some of our parents’ kitchen notebooks, or various notes, or from reports from parties that took place.
We are diligently collecting it, and there are already several researchers for whom this cuisine is something very interesting. This discovery is beautiful. It’s fantastic that you can still find something, whether in the archives or in stories – although there are fewer and fewer of these stories.
When composing our menu, we try to show the entire historical cross-section, including our Polish times after 1945, i.e. pierogi, babka ziemniaczana. We must also take into account the Ukrainian part, where all the wealth is also located. These are dishes that are eaten on holidays, or on holidays, or remembered or liked by children who say: “Grandma, make this babka, because we like it very much”. You can get it all here in the Little Dutchman.
Anna Kordecka: Sounds extremely tasty, but what would you suggest for dessert?
Marek Opitz: The dessert that breaks all records is the dessert that was just invented, but it is very historically grounded, mainly in the story. The dessert is called the Dessert of the Żuławy Railwaymen, it is a kind of cream foam with inka coffee. Therefore, butter, cream, milk, cheese.
Günter Grass mentions in “Dog Years” that Żuławy smelled of buttermilk. When you entered the village, each farmer either made cheese or had some cows. There were also large, as they say today, dairy farms. So there must be something to it. Former residents also say that butter was added to everything.
Cream was an element from which something was made every now and then. Hence the inspiration with this cream. However, to make it more interesting and tasty, a wafer poured with molasses is added to it. Molasses, in turn, is associated with many things, mainly sugar beets, which have been grown here in abundance since the nineteenth century.
When the sugar industry developed, sugar factories were also established in Żuławy. Most of them are no longer there, but in order to improve the delivery of beets to the sugar factory, a narrow-gauge railway was built, part of which remained, probably 10%. It runs between Nowy Dwór and Mierzeja and carries thousands of tourists. I will also add that this cuisine is not so obvious. A lot of our guests come to us looking for flavors from their childhood, such as potato babka. We also have vegetable pound cake, a bit of a nod to vegetarians. But when it comes to Königsberg meatballs, which are with anchovies and capers, or other dishes, our guests often say that this is something they have not eaten anywhere else. And that’s what we care about, too. We are looking for such dishes, this is the kind of cuisine we want to have, so that it is an experience for them, something new.
Yes, we have great dumplings, I have to admit that and we will be happy to take part in some national competitions one day. I have to boast a little that they are very often mentioned as a model of dumplings. However, we also have other dishes that are not obvious, for example, the Mennonite cauldron, which is beef with red wine. So you can experience something for the first time with us.
Anna Kordecka: So all gourmets interested in trying Żuławy cuisine are invited to the Mały Holender Inn. And are there any other festivals during which you can taste the specialties of Żuławy cuisine?
Łukasz Kępski: It is different with these festivals. Itmust also be said that this folk culture of Żuławy is a completely different culture than the one we are dealing with, for example, in Mazovia, Podlasie, and Wielkopolska. Historically, it had a completely different form than those from those regions.
First of all, because the peasants who lived here went more towards the city. This is perfectly visible in such documents as luxury acts. If we look at the fact that the peasants of Żuławy often wore silk, velvet clothes, they did not develop such a thing as a folk costume.
Of course, they had their customs, but unfortunately they did not survive due to the fact that after 1945 new inhabitants of Żuławy appeared, post-war settlers who are still building this culture. Of course, there are various competitions devoted to traditional dishes, and last year I had the pleasure to be on the jury of one of such competitions.
These dishes are different. Last year, the meatloaf soup won and it was completely different from the one that is served, for example, here in the Inn. A rather old lady from one of the rural housewives’ associations in Żuławy Gdańskie told me that her grandmother cooked “at the German’s” and this recipe was from the times when she was still cooking there. An amazing taste experience indeed.
In addition, if we are to think about something that builds this awareness, such festivals, events, we have been organizing the Open Days of Żuławy Monuments for several years. We show people Żuławy from the side of often inaccessible, non-obvious places. The role of guides to monuments, to their houses, to churches, to farm buildings is played by their owners, who tell amazing stories.
This year it will be the last weekend of June. In addition, we always have strongly themed and regionally set museum nights, we focus very much on the region. This year we will talk about great anniversaries. In general, in Poland this year is a year marked by great anniversaries. We have the coronation of Bolesław Chrobry, the Prussian Homage, and in Nowy Dwór we have the 500th anniversary of the first Anabaptist baptism, a theme related to the Mennonites.
We have the 445th anniversary of the settlement founding, in 1570 the Loitz family built a castle that gave rise to Nowy Dwór Gdański. We have the 145th anniversary of granting city rights. These are also amazing threads. We have one more event that shows the building of post-war awareness and probably the most famous in recent years of Żuławy, the Museum, the Nowy Dwór Club – the Settler’s Day.
It is a presentation of the history of post-war people who came here after 1945. The role of actors, the most important role, is played by the inhabitants of our region. They are the ones who start the meeting at the narrow-gauge railway station dressed in period costumes, so they look like they did 80 years ago.
These are often whole families. There is a solemn march, laying flowers at the monument to the settlers, genre scenes, stories, and the cuisine is also important.This is something amazing. Thisis an event created entirely from the bottom up. Sometimes 700, 1000 people participate in it, who come and dress up in costumes. This is something amazing.
Anna Kordecka: Very interesting. Do I need to register somewhere to take part in these events? Is participation in them free? And, above all, where to look for information about these events?
Łukasz Kępski: When it comes to all the events that the Nowy Dwór Club organizes, which are carried out in Żuławy, the best place today are either the pages of the Nowy Dwór Club, the Żuławy Historical Park, or our Facebook – the Facebook of the Nowy Dwór Club and the Żuławy Historical Park – where we keep informing all the time.
All these events are free of charge. Even if there are registrations somewhere, it is still done completely differently. We get an e-mail and it’s not like someone won’t get to us, there’s no way. We are also always happy when the media are interested in us, because we have a chance to reach other regions and show our uniqueness there.
For centuries, Poland consisted of various types of microregions. Each of them created culture, each of them had their own story, their own specificity. We want to show those Żuławy which, as Marek said, are not obvious. They are a little different, they don’t fit most of the history, geography we know from lessons.
It is something amazing that we have a chance to tell people, tourists, what these Żuławy look like.
Anna Kordecka: Thank you very much for participating in the recording and for such interesting stories about Żuławy, definitely encouraging you to visit this non-obvious, little-known corner of Pomerania. Our guides, who encouraged us to visit this unique, not only in terms of history, but also culinary region, which is Żuławy, were Mr. Łukasz Kępski and Marek Opitz.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Łukasz Kępski: Thank you very much.
Marek Opitz: Thank you.
Anna Kordecka: We invite you to the Vistula Żuławy. And you, dear listeners, I invite you to the next episode of the Amber Podcast from the series Discovering the Pomeranian Region.
