A couple from Bronowice.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
Cracow and its surrounding villages were the centre of historical Cracovian region. Its inhabitants differed markedly from their neighbours. It was clear to notice in clothes, the way they built their houses, customs and local language. Those people who (from the name of the town) were called Krakowiacy or Krakusi, lived on the both sides of the Vistula river. On the south they had Polish highlanders, on the east - the inhabitants of Sandomierz region (Laskowiacy), on the west - Silesia inhabitants and the north the border was constituted by the line Częstochowa - Kielce. The old-time researchers were very fond of those people, considering them being beautiful, patriotic, enjoying both work and fun, sensible, witty and hospitable. Those depictions were marked with exaggeration and exaltation.
Ethnographic type of photographs was being taken by the majority of Polish photographers from the second half of the 19th century. Ignacy Krieger was one of the first to document the Galician and Cracovian folklore. He photographed people from around Cracow, Jews from Kazimierz, Gypsies (whose train used to travel through Cracow) and highlanders from Poldhale, Pieniny and Cieszyn Silesia. These photographs were often hand-coloured.
A couple from Tonie.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1904
The characteristic Cracovian attire was formed in the end of the 18th century and soon had a lot of varieties. The history of the region influenced the development of the attire, its representative character and the role it used to play - army uniform or national attire. In the 19th century it aroused enchantment of both artists and folk-experts. It became the synonym of folk attire and wearing it became the demonstration of patriotic feelings.
A man from Czyżyny.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
A traditional element of men's attire was a white peasants' russet overcoat, decorated with trimmings and fringes - on the west from Zielonki they were red and on the east - black. On the right side of the Vistula men wore the russet overcoats decorated with black string, knotted into characteristic crosses. Under the overcoats men used to wear usually sleeveless jackets, made of navy-blue cloth, trimmed with red tape and fringes and decorated with rows of sequins. It was fitted and knee-long. The russet overcoat was accompanied by wide, linen, white, blue- or red-striped trousers, let into high knee-boots. A typical hat was a red hat made of cloth with a feather, often of a peacock (so called rogatywka) or the one made of wool - so called magierka. An important part of the attire was the belt - wide, made of leather, studded with brass 'nails', with several decorative buckles.
The above-presented Cracovian attire was naturally the Sunday's best dress. Attention is also attracted by the decorative bag on the right arm, which is decorated with brass sequins and dark fringes.
A man from Wola Zacharaszewska.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
In some regions near Cracow men used to wear dark doublets made of cloth, with hardly any decorations, with standing collar and folded densely at the back. It had a belt made of soft leather, decorated with appliqués, colourful cloth pads and brass plates. The dandies used to wear high hats, reminding of top hats, decorated with wide colourful tape with a golden clasp and a bouquet of flowers and feathers.
A man in the russet overcoat from Skalbmierz.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
In the region of Skalbmierz, Brzesko, Dąbrowa and Proszowice the men used to wear brown (more rarely navy-blue or grey) russet overcoats - so called kierezje or karazje. They had triangular hoods on the back, which were richly decorated with trimmings and embroidery.
A young man from Kościelniki in krakuska-type hat.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
At the whole region inhibited by Krakusi krakuska was a popular type of headgear. It was made of red cloth and trimmed with black mutton's fur. It was decorated with peacocks' feathers, arranged into a fan with artificial flowers and colourful ribbons.
A boy from Bronowice.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1885
A second type of hat that was worn by Krakowiacy was magierka. It was knitted from white wool into a form similar to a stocking. It was a 70 -cm-long, egg-shaped sack, whose one end was let inside and lower edge was pulled outside, forming a wide batten. It was made on a special wooden form.
A woman from around Cracow.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1900
Cracovian women commonly wore blouses embroidered with white flowers and leafs, tied under the neck with colourful ribbons and plain or flowered skirts. These skirts were covered with linen or tulle aprons, decorated with embroidery. The women wore
corsets made of cloth or velvet, with deep cleavages and decorated with sequins and embroidery. Their shoes were black, with a heel. Maids wore long braids, ornamented with tiny bouquets and flower wreaths. Married women wore kerchiefs, so called caps (czepce), which were richly ornamented with embroidery. The necks of Cracow women were decorated with strings of beads (the number of strings indicated the wealth of the owner), tied with decorative ribbons that were loosely let on the back.
A woman from Modlnica.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
The ethnographer Seweryn Udziela wrote: 'The thing that decorates a Cracovian woman the best is her corset. It is the case as during sewing this part of the attire her mind works especially hard - to decorate it in the richest possible way'. The corsets for everyday use were made of linen or muslin, the gala ones - of cloth or velvet. The women from villages surrounding Cracow used to wear fancy cloth corsets, with cleavages. The bottom of the corset was made of separate pieces of cloth partially put on one another. Those pieces had a shape of pockets. The corsets that were additionally decorated with impressive embroidery, trimmed with colourful haberdashery with silver tapes and sequins, added rich colours to women's attire.
A woman from Pleszów.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
Cracovian women put small doublets (a type of a corset with sleeves) on the top of their corsets. These were decorated with rich embroidery, trimmed with colourful haberdashery with silver tapes and sequins. The doublets for everyday use were made of cheaper fabric and without decorations. The women used to put on two or even three skirts to make their shape look fuller. The top skirts were made of wool or muslin, often in bright colours and with painted flowers. They were folded in the waist and tied at the back and covered with aprons that prevented the skirts from getting damaged or stained. While working at home women wore muslin or linen aprons. The gala ones were made of thin white linen or tulle and were embroidered. As the were spacious, they covered the front and the sides of a skirt. The women covered their backs with colourful shawls - checked or with oriental patterns, imported from as far as Turkey.
A woman from Zabierzów.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
Rich women had dresses made for them. These were sawn from navy-blue or black cloth, fitted and knee-long. They were folded at the back, padded with white mutton's fur beneath the waist and with red cloth at the bottom. They had a standing collar, decorated with golden galloons, which sometimes also decorated the front, side seams and folds at the back. The ends of the galloons were sometimes ornamented with golden fringes, in the waist (above the folds) sewing also a line of purple fringes. Such dresses called 'girl-friends' were gala attires for winter.
Women from Bronowice.
Photo Ignacy Krieger, around 1880
The married women decorated their heads with kerchiefs, so called caps (czepce). For everyday use they wore a colourful, flower-painted muslin kerchief, or a Turkish one with oriental pattern. The gala ones were linen, white, stiff and richly embroidered. Both kerchiefs were permanently knotted and put on as a hat, after taking it off it was put in a casket. The technique of knotting them differed according to the region.
