We are still in Sandomierz, in a city on seven hills that I briefly introduced to you a week ago. I think I miss the holidays, that's why I am so eager to come back to these memories. 🙂
Today I want to take you on a small cruise on a one-of-a-kind riverboat. Hundreds of years ago, there used to be many such boats on the Vistula and other rivers. Let's move back to those times for a moment.
The Vistula was once the main transport artery of the Kingdom of Poland - the transport of goods by water was faster, cheaper, and more effective than by land using horses.
The rafting boats transported this way mainly grain, which was Poland's export product. The grain was transported first to Gdańsk and then further to the German and Dutch cities of the Hanseatic League (it was a union of Northern European trading cities). On the way back, the raftsmen were taken from Gdańsk, among others, herring, cloth, and vodka.
Sandomierz was situated at the crossroads of the leading trade routes and had the absolute storage right, so passing merchants had to put their goods on the market there. The city developed and got richer for hundreds of years. Goods purchased from merchants were stored underground, in cellars connected by a net of tunnels. Some of them were even 15 meters underground! The inhabitants also used them to hide from the Tatars who invaded these lands in the 13th century. In the 1960s, the disused old cellars almost led to the collapse of the old town. Fortunately, scientists from the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków developed a plan to save Sandomierz - but I will tell you about it later.
Let's go back to the Vistula and the raftsmen who tirelessly transported goods up and down the river for hundreds of years. The last old riverboats were seen here over a hundred years ago, but the rafting traditions have not died. Some people try to recreate and nurture them. Four years ago, they built a replica of an authentic riverboat that sailed these waters in the Middle Ages. They named it "Sandomierka" in honor of the city.
I found it by accident - while walking around Sandomierz, I noticed a small advertisement on the fence about cruises on the Vistula by a historic boat. I called immediately and made a reservation. And this is how I found myself in the Old Port - a small marina in the oxbow lake of the Vistula. It is a wild and charming corner.
Below, on the right, we can see the royal castle, or its fragment after blowing it up by the Swedes in the 17th century - that's also a good story! On the left - the oldest vineyard in Poland, founded in the 13th century by the Dominicans.
I found the boat at the end of a wooden pier - it did not seem like a boat capable of transporting large amounts of grain! It later turned out that the replica was built to scale - it is about 12 meters long and rather unsuitable for transport. It can, however, take twelve adventurers on board. It is inconspicuous but solid - it has many thousands of kilometers of sailing on the Vistula, a problematic and mostly wild river.
I got on the boat with the other passengers, and we went on a short trip. The boat owner and cruise guide in one person turned out to be a man full of passion. He was a keen traveler and storyteller. He immediately started a story about the life and work of raftsmen several hundred years ago, about the town's history and what wrecks we could find at the bottom of the Vistula River. He also talked about the river itself and the surrounding nature, which made me look at the Vistula with a different eye. The river was always around somewhere, so ordinary and boring. It turned out that it has many faces and can be fascinating.
As I found out, raftsmen were a highly respected and privileged professional group in Poland. They had their culture and folklore. They traveled with various goods on all rivers between the cities. Their work was not easy - they started the season right after the ice floes were gone, and it lasted until late autumn. After reaching their destination and unloading the goods, they often returned upstream on foot - pulling a boat or going upstream using sail or oars. To this day, rafting traditions are cultivated, and their customs and secrets are passed down from generation to generation.
It was so lovely to ride on the boat and listening to a tale of olden times...
On the way, we pass a historic granary from the 17th century - here, the inhabitants stored the goods straight from the boats. Today it seems unlikely because the building stands far from the water. It used to be different - the water was higher, and the lower half of the building is now underground.
Last year the building was put up for sale; I wonder if someone bought it.
We set sail from the oxbow lake to the mainstream of the Vistula, and we can finally see the city from the river.
The charming facades of tenement houses and churches slowly pass before my eyes.
In the photo below, on the right, we can see the impressive building of the Jesuit College - now it houses a high school. The next building made of red brick is a house funded by the famous chronicler Jan Długosz, built in the 15th century. Then the tower of the cathedral basilica, and on the left - a fragment of the royal castle. Both were erected in the 14th century. Sandomierz is a beautiful, historic city.
I don't even know when the cruise hours were up. I had the feeling that we took a journey far back in time. And although I have never liked water travel, I felt that I could go on voyage right to Gdańsk. True passion is contagious!
I was happy that "by accident" (I do not believe in coincidences!) I came across a small advertisement for a cruise on "Sandomierka." If it weren't for that, I would probably have sailed on a typical large tourist ship. Fortunately, that afternoon I was able to get to know the romantic image of Sandomierz, a city full of history and legends, with underground tunnels full of secrets, old vineyards, and wrecks resting on the bottom of the river.
As I said a week ago - you can come here for the weekend and have time to see "everything." I was in Sandomierz for six days, and I felt that I did not discover even a tiny part of its secrets.
Today I would like to end the way the owner of "Sandomierka", a modern rafter, said goodbye to me, but I'm not sure how to translate it into English.
He said: Dobrej Wody!
The exact translation will be "Good Water!" which means: have good water, have conducive (favorable) water, have good sailing conditions - something like that.
Well, I tried :)
I'm the only author of the text and photos