"Podlachia is underestimated by new emigrants." A Belarusian creates a photo project dedicated to house shutters on the Polish border
Almost every weekend, Siarhiej Pechtsiarau travels by train from Warsaw to Białystok, and then switches to a bicycle to ride through the villages of Podlachia. All this to photograph the windows and shutters of houses standing on the Polish-Belarusian border. He already has over a hundred such shutters in his archive. The Most publication found out from Siarhiej why he needs these shots.
"As a Belarusian, I feel responsible for the fence built on the border"
In winter, Siarhiej applied for international protection – during the case review, he is not allowed to leave Poland. This did not upset the Belarusian: he knew that old wooden architecture, different from what can be seen in other parts of the country but partly similar to Belarusian architecture, has been preserved in Podlachia. Siarhiej also knew about the "Land of Open Shutters" – villages that attract tourists with picturesque facades.
"I decided that I want to explore all of Podlachia — thereby sublimating the lack of my native village, nature. Plus, I wanted to do something useful for this region, because as a Belarusian, I feel a little responsible for the fence built on the border and because of that, the [Polish] tourism business declined," says Siarhiej.
It saddened the man that tourists choose mountains or the sea, but do not pay attention to the border region.
"There's a lot to see there: bison, a primeval forest that is the only one on the UNESCO list, truly interesting villages with friendly people who might offer you pears," Siarhiej explains his interest in Podlachia.
He took the list of villages from the state register
Initially, the Belarusian simply wanted to get to know the region better. But then he came up with a mission — to make an expedition dedicated to shutters. The deeper he delved into the theme of rural Podlachian houses, the more the idea of the future project scaled up.
"First, I took a list of villages from the state register website, then I reviewed each of them on Google Maps. It turned out that more than 300 villages have similar shutters. I became curious: what types and colors they are, what condition the houses are in," says Siarhiej.
It took him two months to review the village photos on Google Maps. Siarhiej recorded each house with shutters and entered it into a special table. With the onset of warm weather, he moved on to actually conducting expeditions.
"Essentially, I made two big trips. The first one online, and the second one physically, because I want to ride almost everywhere," smiles the interlocutor.
"That's it, I won't go anymore"
Before each trip, the young man develops a route – he strives to cover as many villages as possible in one trip. The process is not quick, as he needs to consider train schedules, road repairs, and the condition of the route – this takes Siarhiej about an hour.
Afterwards, most often on weekends, the Belarusian travels from Warsaw to Białystok or Siedlce by train. From there, depending on the route, he goes to the necessary points by bicycle or regional train. In a few months of working on the project, the young man has managed to make 14 expeditions.
"I did two of them by car, because when you're cycling, it's very important to catch the train. But in Podlachia, there are villages with many houses – I just realized I wouldn't have enough time."
Initially, the Belarusian planned routes of 50-60 kilometers, but later their length increased to 100 kilometers.
"Sometimes, to get to the villages, you have to go through a forest – and there's sand instead of a road. It's very difficult to ride, you get tired. It's also a region where there isn't always internet. You arrive at the railway station and think: 'That's it, I'm not going anymore,'" admits the interlocutor.
"I'm inspired by the story of Napoleon Orda"
An essential condition of every trip for Siarhiej is to photograph houses with shutters.
"I'm inspired by the story of Napoleon Orda, who traveled around drawing castles and manors. At some point, I thought: why am I worse? Because when you create something, life is more interesting," he reflects.
From each trip, the young man creates a separate online album – it includes photos of shutters, general village landscapes, and the nature of Podlachia.
"For each house, I have a marked location, a photo from Google Maps, and a photo I took. Later, I plan to classify the houses by shutter colors, so that geographically it will be possible to understand which master worked on them."
Unexpected things happen during trips. Sometimes, a house has already been demolished, or the owners have replaced original shutters with more modern ones. But pleasant surprises also occur.
"You arrive in a village and see that shutters have been added. And so it is on every trip: I bring back 10-15 more photos than I planned. So the story with the shutters is alive," says Siarhiej.
"I've definitely covered more than half of what I planned"
Siarhiej maintains a special visualized record of villages with shutters. Analyzing it, the Belarusian concluded that most of these houses are concentrated in the area between the Białowieża Forest and Bielsk Podlaski.
So far, the young man has not yet managed to visit the Suwałki region, but hopes to get there. He plans two more trips of 100 kilometers each.
"I've definitely already covered more than half of what I planned. When I fill the database with photos, I think how great my ride was," says Siarhiej.
The expeditions will finally end in November – after that, it will be uncomfortable to cycle.
"Podlachia is underestimated by new emigrants"
Siarhiej's project will not end there. The Belarusian plans to create a special online map with routes and photos for travelers, where the marked information will be duplicated in Polish, Belarusian, and Ukrainian.
The second part of the project will be implemented offline – Siarhiej wants to publish an album with photos of Podlachian shutters. He also plans to add infographics to the collection.
"In the album, I don't want to draw any conclusions, but simply want to show how it was before, how it is now, and what awaits in the future," adds Siarhiej.
Reflecting on the fate of small towns, he recalls his native village in the Homel region. When Siarhiej was still a teenager, it was still alive, but it rapidly disappeared within five years.
"And I am very glad that the history of Podlachia is alive, that people continue to buy houses here, and some build businesses on it – I would like to preserve that. I believe that the region is still a bit underestimated by new emigrants, and I hope they will also learn about the history of Podlachia."
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