Poland, Olsztynek, "Skansen" An Open-Air Museum
This is what I would call an organic journey . Timber and earth, a vast green expanse, warm interiors, quiet corridors, simplicity. Old ways of living, an architecture that grew naturally from land, climate, and need. The Skansen , formally known as the Muzeum Budownictwa Ludowego – Park Etnograficzny , stands as one of Europe’s early open-air museums , established in 1913 and inspired by Stockholm’s pioneering Skansen . Spread across 90 hectares, it preserves the architectural and cultural heritage of northeastern Poland , offering a living portrait of 19th- and early-20th-century village life. Wooden cottages, chapels, farmsteads, and mills are carefully arranged among meadows and forests, accompanied by over 14,000 artifacts. Visit in spring or summer, when the fields erupt in color, and the landscape itself becomes part of the exhibition. The Mills Watermill : wood, stone, and water are arranged with quiet intelligence, forming a system where labor meets natural f...