FLI-01
Two raftsmen walk along the sandy bank of the Vistula: the older one, in a fur hat, plays the violin; the younger one raises a hand holding a pipe. On the right, a woman in a white headscarf, people by a fire and a shelter. In the background, a wide river under clouds.
Wilhelm August Stryowski, 1881. Public domain.

The Raftsmen · stop 1 of 9

Raftsmen by the Vistula

ListenCurator · 0:10 · AI voice

In 1881 the Gdańsk painter Wilhelm August Stryowski painted raftsmen resting by the Vistula. Floating goods downriver, known as flis, was one of the most important means of transport in Poland before the partitions. Most of the grain and timber travelled down the Vistula to Gdańsk. In the 19th century the number of raftsmen fell as the railways took over the goods.

Narration text

We begin on the sand by the Vistula. Stryowski painted the raftsmen at a time when the railway was taking their work away. Yet what he painted is a moment of rest.

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Next on this route

And 7 more: The pilot goes first, Toruń and the ice floes, The raftsmen's camp, The novice near Gniew, Gdańsk, journey's end…

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