PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Witamy Górale!

ShannonCreedon — Tue Jul 14, 2026 11:31 am

Author: ShannonCreedon

Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2026 11:31 am

Bill Rushin wrote:

(Please click on the "Yes" bar above if you have Highlander relatives).

Welcome, this forum is only for anyone who has connections with the extreme Southern area of Poland at the foothills the Tatra Mountains. This is the magical land of the Highlanders, the Góral.

Polish: Górale; Slovak: Gorali; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole; literally "Highlanders"

The Górale are a group of indigenous people found along southern Poland, northern Slovakia, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.

"The flatland's grow onions, the mountains grow men."

Hi Bill! Nice to "meet" you!

I'm curious how far east this indigenous group goes. My grandfather's family came from Niebieszczany, about 15 km southwest of Sanok in the Subcarpathian Voivodoship. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Shannon

Goralskie Genealogy Sources?

Zmbubs — Sun Jan 11, 2026 1:51 pm

Author: Zmbubs

Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2026 1:51 pm

Thanks Barb form letting my know,
I will check that out!

Goralewicz in Zalczoiwie, Rohetyn, Galicia, Poland

TOMGOR — Wed Jul 31, 2024 2:07 pm

Author: TOMGOR

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 2:07 pm

I was hoping there would be a connection! Maybe if we can go back far enough....???

Chicago Gorals in "The Back of the Yards"

Speck — Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:50 pm

Author: Speck

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:50 pm

Hi again Bill
My grandparents apartment buiding was 963 west 36th street Chgo il beween 36th Morgan and 36th Sanagmon. Married at a St Michaels . Grandfather buried out of Pomerski Funeral home which is still standing and still open

JoanSpeck

Help finding records from Kościelisko/Zakopane region

Agnieszka Pawlus — Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:43 am

Author: Agnieszka Pawlus

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:43 am

Hello,

Yes, Kościelisko belonged to the parish in Zakopane.
Unfortunately the records are not indexed online (except the marriages from one single year: 1868).
The vital records from Zakopane are stored in the parish office, and in the Archidiocese Archive in Kraków. Currently this archive is closed due to the epidemic, but we hope they will open again for genealogists later this year.

If you would be interested in the assistance in the research by PolishOrigins, you can fill out the research request form: https://polishorigins.com/genealogy-services-request or contact us to genealogy@polishorigins.com

Sheep's milk cheese making in Podhale

SSA — Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:21 am

Author: SSA

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 8:21 am

Aga,

Thank you so much for the information, it is very much appreciated!

Village Lesnica, Family Las

myonick — Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:50 am

Author: myonick

Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 6:50 am

Thanks Aga. I will check them out.
Mary

What does the Góral dialect sound to a Polish speaker?

MissPlumPudding — Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:16 pm

Author: MissPlumPudding

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 10:16 pm

couldn't really expand on the question in the subject, but I'm writing a YA fantasy book featuring the Góral people, and I'd like to know what makes the gwara Góralska different from the standard Polish language. (and then . . . somehow? translate that into the English language. this . . . might be impossible, haha!

But . . . can anyone help me out? What does gwara Góralska sound like to a non-speaker? any trademark things? slang? etc.?

If you need me to expand on this, I can definitely do that too.
thanks!

Goral Area Map

mie121 — Mon Nov 14, 2016 4:31 am

Author: mie121

Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 4:31 am

Bill Rushin wrote:

You are confusing this map with something altogether different. This is a new forum, since it started several
persons asked if they were considered a Goral by using the location of their home town or village. I don't have time to look up each members town.(I tried that) I only used this map to give them an idea of where the Polish Goral are located by this nice color coded chart-via their music. The Best Wooden lake maps reads: "obszary góralszczyzna etnograficznych" which is the "ethnographic areas of folk music".

hi
I am confused in the bar notation of this map.

Men and Women Dancing in the Remembered Past of Podhale

Ute — Thu Aug 18, 2016 6:03 am

Author: Ute

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 6:03 am

I would like to share the link to a paper written by Louise Wrazen named "Men and Women Dancing
in the Remembered Past of Podhale Poland" that might be interesting to those of us who have Podhale ancestry.
https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/aeer/article/viewFile/334/409

Meet me in Chicago on Sunday Dec 6, 2015?

Zenon — Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:20 am

Author: Zenon

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 6:20 am

Shellie and Joe and All,

I am very curious how was the meeting of our friends outside the virtual space of our Forum A few cousins of descendants from Odrowaz and Zaluczne meeting in Chicago. I think that although you have many people from Podhale there it doesn't happened every day .

It is too bad that we live so faraway (especially we in Europe) because I think it might be a good idea to organize such events more often, on regular basis...

Best Regards from Poland, Pruszków

Goral Photography Surprise

Cheri Vanden Berg — Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:57 pm

Author: Cheri Vanden Berg

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 1:57 pm

Interesting, Bill. This photo that belonged to my grandmother has the E. Morawetz Nowy Targ stamp on it. She said it was of her sisters, the daughters of Klemens Lenart and Magdalena Babicz Lenart, from Załuczne.

"Highlander, don't you feel sad to leave your native la

Ute — Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:46 am

Author: Ute

Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:46 am

BobK wrote:

I remembered this discussion of "How they lived" as it gave me a better understanding of how far we've come in a little over 100 years.

I was reminded of this again as I translated and read the following article (written in Polish.. Google gets just enough to get the sense)

http://www.szpejankowski.eu/index.php/ciekawostki-genealogiczne/198-powiat-rypiski-czi.html

It's a recent posting from a very useful website.

He also has a list of Parishes that have been indexed with birth/marriage/deaths on another page.

Bob,
Thank you for sharing the link to this article with us. It's interesting (and shocking at the same time) to read about how life was like at the time. And, yes, it gives us a better understanding of how far we've come in a little over 100 years, thanks to our ancestors who had the courage and strength to leave their home country in search for a better life.
Ute

Nowy Targ and Waksmund During WWII

Bill Rushin — Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:12 pm

Author: Bill Rushin

Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 11:12 pm

Thanks for the correction.

Sort of Like Gorale ~~"Lachy" ?

PolishLibrarian — Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:16 pm

Author: PolishLibrarian

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 5:16 pm

MA~ Sorry I didn't notice that when i posted the live link underling stopped when it reached the "a" with the tail. If you copy & paste the entire link into your browser address bar, it does work. Because the link doesn't appear live in preview, I couldn't click there to test it, so I copied & pasted it to make sure it was good. Hope it helps. ~PL

Development of rural settlement in Podhale

rjaremus — Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:29 pm

Author: rjaremus

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:29 pm

Ute,

Just came across this today, printed it out and immediately read it. Fascinating reading. Just the kind of information that many of us are interested in knowing about. When the Podhale region was settled, by whom. The patterns of migration; Romanian and German influences that helped to create the unique Gorale' culture and I assume language. This is really good stuff.

The one thing I would wish for is a better translation. It's almost as if a machine was used in the translation. With a careful reading, we can get a good idea about what the authors probably mean, however in many cases we are guessing. In discussing the Spatial patterns of Podhale villages for example, the authors describe how the villages were laid out along the river valleys and the three field crop rotation system was used. /they discuss "chain farms" and "hamlets" located on the outside of villages, however without greater depth of discussion, sample maps or diagrams, it's hard to understand what they mean. Would love to get a good translation of this document.

thanks though, this is great.

Góralskie Ubrania - Highland Clothes

Loveriot — Mon Oct 06, 2014 3:01 pm

Author: Loveriot

Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 3:01 pm

That's an awesome picture

Oh, I agree the props were part of the studio, I just didn't think the outfit would be. Usually they wear their own clothes, I would have thought.
???

Parishes in Gronkow and Ostrowsko

zamagurie — Mon Aug 12, 2013 4:15 pm

Author: zamagurie

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 4:15 pm

I have been doing research in the Podhale Region for almost 18 years. Records never seem to be where they should be; access has been QUITE costly. I have had considerable success only after MULTIPLE TRIPS, MULTIPLE GIFTS etc.. etc. See my profile. Priests often fein they know know English; but have forgotten I've visited in the past! DO NOT SEND MONEY is wise advice. You rarely will see anything. See my profile. I do have records.

Another rare Tatra book (listed on amazon.com)

zamagurie — Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:03 pm

Author: zamagurie

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2013 4:03 pm

I was able to purchase this book years ago as one of the first cultural books translated to English. I agree it is very good. KAM

Rusinowa Polana

Bill Rushin — Wed May 01, 2013 1:14 pm

Author: Bill Rushin

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 1:14 pm

My cousin Zbigniew Zarębczan from Groń sent a few pics taken from Rusinowa Polana last Sunday April 28, 2013 . (click on last 2 pics to enlarge)