Polish Pottery Shopping Spree and an Escape from Bolesławiec
Bolesławiec is a town in Western Poland known for Polish Pottery. Some may even call it the “Mecca of Polish Pottery”. Upwards of 30 Polish Pottery factories, outlet stores, and shops are scattered around this town of fewer than 40,000 people. In the '90s, women's groups and wives clubs would rent busses from military bases in Germany and tour the "Polish Pottery Circuit". Today, busloads of women descending on Bolesławiec are less frequent, but many smaller groups take Polish Pottery shopping trips as “Girl’s Trips”.
When I describe trips, we’ve taken like the ones outlined in “A WWI Road Trip Across France and Belgium” or “Normandy D-Day Beaches” lots of guys ask me how I get my wife to go along on trips like that. While both of us are fairly easygoing and have a wide variety of interests, we try to balance out trips so we both enjoy the experience and learn a little something new, if not about the place we visit but each other. For example, while exploring WWI sites of the Ypres Salient, we created an escape for Priscilla to enjoy the lace and chocolate of Brugge. While exploring WWII sites in Normandy, we created an escape for Priscilla to enjoy Sweaters and Butter Cookies at Mont Saint Michel. I digress…
Back to Bolesławiec. While days of Polish Pottery shopping might make most men’s eyes glaze over and seeking an “Escape from Bolesławiec” we have a side trip made just for you! Just 40 minutes from Bolesławiec is the town Żagań, home of Prisoner of War (POW) Camp - Stalag Luft III, better known as “The Great Escape”, immortalized in the 1963 Steve McQueen classic.
Bolesławiec is located about 1 ½ hours east of Dresden, 2 ½ hours from Berlin, and is about 4 to 7 hours from any military installation in Germany.
Tip 1: Stay at the Blue Beetroot.
The Blue Beetroot is a quaint hotel converted from an 18th Century barn and farmhouse. Note: If you are tall, be sure to watch your head (for the exposed beams) walking down the upstairs hallway. The manager Jarek is a wealth of information and maintains an 8-page spreadsheet/map combo with the name, address, phone numbers, hours, descriptions, types of payment accepted, and languages spoken by the employees of every shop. He also has information on current sales, shipping services, and other local attractions.
We began this pottery adventure the day after we arrived in Boleslawiec from the Blue Beetroot boutique hotel. I cannot recommend staying here enough! The individualized service provided is second to none. The food is amazing, rustic, authentic Polish food and beer. The Pierogi sampler is a must try and I might add you get a generous portion for the price.
Why Polish Pottery?
I have to be honest the first time I was introduced to Polish Pottery in the early 2000's I wasn't interested in bold blue pattern dishes. End of story. I didn’t give them another thought. Fast forward to 2019 and Jason needed to go to Poland for work, so we decided to tack on some leave to explore all the rich history, culture, and landscape that is Poland. While researching things to do in the surrounding areas, of course, Polish Pottery kept popping up everywhere as a must-do. Being a little older and wiser I thought maybe I’ve missed something along the way and need to check this out.
Let me pause and give a little background, when Jason and I found out we were going to be in Germany for the next three years, we were newly married and needed to set up a home together. I told him I wanted the things in our home to tell the story of our lives, from the furniture, dishes, décor, art, pictures, etc… as much as possible the items ideally would be functional, unique, bring joy, and evoke a memory when used (I realize this is super idyllic and not necessarily practical, but a girl can dream). The more I learned about Polish Pottery, its durability, the individual artist hand-painted designs, and history I had a feeling that I found the dishes to fit the bill for our home.
History and Significance
Polish Pottery began as folk art hundreds of years ago in the 1500s in a German province of Silesia, which now encapsulates the Polish city of Boleslawiec (pronounced “bol-les-slavi-etz”).
Farmers would make the pottery during the winter months and personalize it using stamps made from potatoes. It has evolved over time and in the 1900s the "Peacock's Eye" became the universally accepted trademark decoration of the stoneware before WW2. Today there are many different patterns from traditional to very modern, special holiday prints, and an entire line dedicated to Texas.
The Polish Pottery of today is created from white clay that is only found in this area of Poland and still made by skilled artisans. Each piece is hand-crafted and painted by either hand-stamping technique or free-hand design. After many years of producing pottery, some artisans reach a level that they can create from start to finish their designs/patterns these “unikat” or “unique” pieces are usually more intricate and bear the name of the artist. When shopping, know these pieces are considered rarer and highly collectible.
Utility and Quality Characteristics
The durability and practicality of these beautiful pieces of art are quite remarkable. Polish Pottery distributes heat evenly and has a non-stick surface that naturally allows for perfect baking. They are freezer, microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe. While these dishes sound like they are indestructible they are still pottery so use care.
Tip 2: Know the differences in quality.
We purchased our Polish Pottery as our daily use dishes. If this is your intent, I would stick to Gat 1 and Gat 2 quality ratings. Gat 3 and Gat 4 with cracks in the glaze or chips will eventually break after multiple uses in the dishwasher or microwave. Gat 5 is decorative pieces only. Items you might hang on a wall or display on a hutch. There will be stickers on the pottery to indicate the quality ratings.
Gat 1: Top quality. Microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe. Best for daily use. Gat 2: Minor imperfections. Microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe. Gat 3: Imperfect (minor cracks in the glaze). Gat 4: Imperfect (possible chips). Gat 5: Decorative pieces only. Not microwave, oven, and dishwasher safe.
Manufacturers Information
While many shops in Boleslawiec and throughout Poland sell the pottery, here are the main ten manufactures in no particular order.
1. Ceramika Artstyczna - established in the 1950's it is a co-op of artists of whom 70% are women. They have both classical and unikat designs.
2. Zaklady Ceramiczne "Boleslawiec" - established in 1946 it is the largest and oldest manufacturer, and they also have traditional to unikat designs.
3. Cer-Maz, formally known as KM is a small family-run pottery business. They are known for their bisque and are also used by other pottery makers in the area. This manufacture is located right outside of Warta Boleslawiecka.
4. Ceramika Artysyczna “Wiza” known simply as “Wiza” – established in 1963, current status as the leading exporter of Polish Pottery.
5. WR Unikat - established in 1977 by Wladyslaw Rutyna, is different from the other Polish Pottery Manufactures in that they do not use the hand-stamped method, all their pieces are hand-painted with brushes by a single- artists.
6. Manufaktura - established in 1993 is one of the largest and fastest-growing manufactures of Polish Pottery frequently introducing new patterns, however, they offer a wide variety of traditional to unikat patterns. They also offer tours of the factory for a glimpse into the world of pottery creation.
7. Cregor – is a small manufacturer of Polish Pottery. Famous for cats and tea lighthouses. It is located just outside of Boleslawiecka and is in a small factory.
8. Ceramika Milena – established in 1998 this small family-owned factory in both floral and patterned designs.
9. Zaland Ceramiczny VENA - VENA established in 2003 is a small Polish Pottery manufacturer that is located in Brzeg, located about 100 miles east of Boleslawiec, and is known for its colorful and floral decorations.
10. Ceramika Artystyczna GD - established in 2004 is a small producer of Polish Pottery known for floral patterns and vibrant colors.
Needless to say, I bought an entire carload of pottery. I ended up purchasing all one pattern because I love it that much, however, most people buy an assortment of patterns. If you decided to buy an assortment each piece will be different and yet they all go beautifully together.
Side note: make sure you have a reliable vehicle. We loaded down Jason’s car (the shocks were screaming) with Polish Pottery and began the trek home to Germany. After some car trouble, we were left on the side of the road in Chemnitz with boxes of Polish Pottery waiting on a tow truck and a rental car. We ended up having to make another trip to retrieve the car in Chemnitz, which led to another trip and exploring the beautiful city of Erfurt (definitely will be featured in a future blog post).
Experiences to Involve the Whole Family
Tip 3: Live Museum of Pottery.
There is also a Live Museum of Pottery where you can experience for yourself the production of this usable art. They also have an interactive young potter tour that will help to introduce the art of pottery for kids as well as 2-hour, one-day, and three-day workshops, to create a work of art for yourself. Check out this website for times, pricing, and additional information.
Bonus Day Trip: “The Great Escape from Bolesławiec”
Just 40 minutes from Bolesławiec is the small Polish town of Żagań of about 25,000 inhabitants rich in military history. Now host to the Polish 11th Armored Cavalry Division and a rotational American tank brigade, Żagań was once home to Prisoner of War (POW) Camps Stalag VIIIC and Stalag Luft III. Stalag VIIIC was one of the largest POW camps within what was then Germany. Some of its first POWs were Polish soldiers captured in the Defense of Poland in September 1939. Stalag VIIIC eventually held 49,000 POWs captive. Just a short distance away was a separate camp, called Stalag Luft III (Luft – the German word for Air indicates that it was designated for officers of the Allied Air Forces. At the end of WWII, it held more than 10,000 Air Force Officers.
The POWs of Stalag Luft III prepared for one of the largest escapes of WWII in 1943, with 600 airmen digging a series of 3 tunnels named “Tom”, “Dick”, and “Harry”. “Harry” was the longest tunnel, measuring 110 meters long, and dug at a depth of 9 meters (almost 30 feet) below ground. The escape occurred on March 24th, 1944, with a total of 76 airmen escaping from the camp. Only 3 made it home. Of the 73 that were recaptured, 50 were executed at the personal order of Adolf Hitler.
The museum was founded in 1971 at the site of Stalag VIIIC. The museum includes a reconstructed sentry tower, POW Hut 104, and a model of the escape tunnel "Harry". It gives you an idea of how tight and claustrophobic the tunnel was. After touring the museum, the guides can give you instructions to the memorial dedicated to the 50 executed escapees (built by surviving POWs), and to Stalag Luft III where the actual “Great Escape” took place. Much of the camp is overgrown with brush, but a memorial runs the 100-meter length of the tunnel from start to finish. There is also a reconstructed guard tower with a vantage point of the exit (just short of the tree line – as depicted in the movie.
If you are spending more time in Poland, most of the 50 executed escapees are buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Poznań, Poland.
Interesting side note: If you are traveling from Ramstein Airbase, two of the escapees, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell RAF and Sous-Lieutenant Bernard Scheidhauer of the Free French Air Force were captured at the Saarbrücken Hauptbahnhof. After their capture, they were being transported by car via the autobahn (now the main road through Ramstein Airbase) to Mannheim. On March 29, 1944, they were pulled from the car (just off of the traffic circle entering the west gate of Ramstein Airbase) and executed. Two plaques are commemorating them. One at the site of their execution and one further out the Ramstein Airbase west gate (where there is a car pull-out and a path to the Flugtag 1988 memorial).
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