Bronisław Piłsudski: Contributions to the Tatra Museum and Ethnographic Research in the Podhale Region

Abstract

Bronisław Piłsudski was the first to initiate comprehensive ethnographic research in the Podhale region. In 1911, he established the Folklore Section at the Tatra Society and drafted the memorandum In the Matter of the Tatra Museum (On the Organisation of a Folklore Section). A key figure in the Section’s activities was Bronisława Giżycka, who conducted both ethnographic fieldwork and collection efforts, as well as handled administrative tasks during Piłsudski’s absences. She shared her findings with Piłsudski through letters, which he later used to guide his own research in the areas she had explored. Giżycka’s contributions to the ethnography of the Podtatrze region were significant, though they have often been unfairly overshadowed by Piłsudski’s achievements. Without her determination, the Folklore Section might have ceased to exist. Piłsudski also encouraged Juliusz Zborowski, a linguistics graduate from Jagiellonian University and then a gymnasium teacher in Nowy Targ, to get involved in the Section. Zborowski, who later became the first director of the Tatra Museum in 1922, gradually shifted his focus to ethnography, a field he pursued with great dedication. He referred to the recommendations of Piłsudski, whom he regarded as “the first modern ethnographer and museologist in Podhale, a pioneer of modern folklore and museum work in and for Podhale”. Zborowski became a leading expert and scientific authority on highland culture, and his efforts helped transform the Tatra Museum into an important hub for the exchange of scientific ideas. The museum became a key institution for collecting, field exploration, and the dissemination of knowledge about the region.