The Raftsmen · stop 6 of 9
The novice near Gniew
Sebastian Fabian Klonowic's poem “Flis, to jest spuszczanie statków Wisłą” (“Rafting, that is, floating vessels down the Vistula”) was first published in 1595. It describes the journey to Gdańsk and the initiation of newcomers: below Gniew, at a river island the raftsmen called the Kitchen, the novices, known as fryce, were struck with a blunt wooden sabre. They were to remember that to the left the Vistula leads to Gdańsk, and to the right the Nogat leads to Elbląg. After that they were called brothers. The photograph shows the title page of an edition from 1603–1635.
Narration text
Klonowic described the initiation as a joke, though a painful one. A new raftsman was beaten with a wooden sabre at the spot where the Nogat branches off from the Vistula. There was no blood, only a lesson in the route.
In the app, this place sounds fuller
Next on this route
And 2 more: The Crane on the Motława, Walking home
Vernissio is free
- The whole The Raftsmen exhibition: 9 stops, 6 voices
- The sound of the place and music, not just a voice
- Works offline, in your language
