News: Culture: Lifestyle: Business: Krakow & Events, film, theatre, music, Shopping, eating, fashion, The great, the good and the Małopolska reviews + more cutting edge Dec 15 > Jan 15 Edition 97 ISSN 1898-4762 www.krakowpost.com A NEW, NEW YEAR’S EVE Local talent to headline 20 FROM CRISIS TO KRAKOW Italians, Spaniards flock to Poland 9 Illustration John by Mann The bootleg vodka that Krakow’s wannabe A tall tale for conquered the world Guy Fawkes Christmas Photos: David McGirr The Bootleg Vodka that Conquered the World 4 News 5 Krakow Post is a monthly publication Krakow’s Wannabe Guy Fawkes 6 owned by Lifeboat Ltd. and published News cont. 7 under license by Krakow Media ISSN: 1898-4762 From Crisis to Krakow 9-10 www.krakowpost.com Topical Polish 11 Tales from the Chalkface 11 Managing Director: David McGirr [email protected] Dear Luiza Ovlowska 11 Posted: The Month’s Events 12-13 Managing Editor: Jamie Stokes [email protected] Drop In: Zielona Kuchnia 14 The Krak: Music and Gigs 15-18 Design: Darren Wilde Kino Mania 19 [email protected] A New, New Year’s Eve 20-21 Printers: www.polskapresse.pl Fashion: Filip Roth 22 Phoebe Ryrko: Designs on Poland 24 For advertising inquiries, please contact: Robert C. Alston Set in Stone: Ludwik Teichmann 25 [email protected] Tech: WebMuses 26 +48 519 714 474 From Hollywood to Krakow: John Mann 27 A Tall Tale for Christmas 28-29 Warhol: Context 30 4 The bootleg vodka that conquered the world ■ Grażyna Zawada renowned Polish moon- single distillery in the region. This is a big A shine has been struggling no-no for local farmers – each one has their to achieve legal status for 20 own secret recipe for śliwowica and they years. Now, one local fruit pro- want the government to approve home- ducer has made it through the made production, supervised by the tax legislative minefield. office. “We like the solution used in Austria, Śliwowica, the 70-plus percent plum vodka where fruiters produce śliwowica under a made in the vicinity of Łącko, near Nowy 50 percent excise tax, as long as state lim- Sącz, is a liquid metaphor of Polish history. its are kept to,” said Janusz Klag, the new It is a traditional Polish Highlander’s tipple Łącko district head, adding that all other perfected by a Jew who was killed by Nazis EU countries have managed to regulate and had his distillery closed by Soviets. It this area. is officially illegal, but known and praised There is one man in the Łącko area who across the country and beyond. need not be afraid of making and selling According to reliable sources, śliwowica plum vodka. In November 2012, local fruit is the fourth strongest alcoholic drink in producer Krzysztof Maurer was granted a the world, coming after rectified spirit, has not yet been constituted. A legal limbo Ministries of Treasury, Health, Economics permit to produce fruit distillates, includ- Everclear and Absinthe. Plum vodkas are persists, and śliwowica distillers are carry- and Agriculture, and would have to com- ing from plums. popular right across Central Europe, but ing on as normal. ply with excise tax law and anti-alcoholism “I wanted to do everything legally, the variety produced in Łącko is the one Oddly enough, being an illegal product legislation. but the reluctance of the politicians has that wins the international awards, despite hasn’t prevented forgers from copying it. “We need to finalize legalisation. In the forced me to launch sales on general being illegal. False śliwowica is sold across the region, current situation, all parties lose: the pro- terms. Because I had to comply with strict Traditionally, the region’s śliwowica especially in tourist hot spots such as Za- ducers, the customers and the state,” said regulations, my production is not as cost- (Śliwowica łącka – ‘śliwowica from Łącko’) kopane. It is made from cheap spirit with former Łącko district head, Franciszek effective,” said Maurer, who went through has been distilled in small quantities by added plum flavouring, which means it is Młynarczyk, who has been pleading a complicated, three-year legalisation pro- hundreds of ‘home producers.’ This is, un- potentially deadly. According to Zakopane śliwowica’s case to politicians for decades. cedure. A bottle of his plum vodka costs surprisingly, frowned upon by the authori- police, there has been at least one death “Legal production could be combined about 70 zloty, because it is liable to 100 ties, but has been impossible to stamp out. from fake śliwowica in the last year. Buying with agro-tourism. We could open up a percent excise tax. Maurer’s product is Since 2011, the term ‘Śliwowica łącka’ genuine plum vodka requires time and ef- local store, under our society’s auspices, called ‘Vodka from Łącko plums,’ since the has been registered as a trademark by a lo- fort since locals are reluctant to reveal their and local manufacturers would compete name ‘Śliwowica łącka’ is restricted. cal association of fruit farmers, and police sources. with the quality of their products,” added “My name is enough to guarantee the have largely stopped pestering producers, Attempts to legalise the production and Młynarczyk’s deputy, Stanisław Myjak. quality of the product,” said Maurer. “I’m though its manufacture and sale remain sale of śliwowica have been going on for National authorities and local producers a local man and my family has known technically illegal. Farmers are now entitled 20 years. According to the press office of disagree about the future of their famed the recipe for generations. Perhaps, if the to apply to a board for permission to use the Ministry of Agriculture, the decision firewater. If the government did agree to regulations change, I’ll apply for the name the name, but, unfortunately, the board would require a consensus between the legal production, it would have to be at a ‘Śliwowica łącka,’” he muses. ■ Anthony Casey christmas and new year’s news party in Krakow 50° 03' 11" N Krakow’s city centre population halves said: “We cannot require that the entrepre- 19° 57' 32" E in a decade neurs running these activities are focused Krakow’s city centre is becoming a play- in one place, because there is freedom of ground for tourists and party-goers, as resi- economic activity. Even if we set up such dents move to outlying areas in search of a district, we do not know if anyone will go check our lower rents. there. special christmas package The residential population of the Old Town has fallen by almost half in just over a de- Polish universities seek foreign staff cade – from 70,000 in 2000 to just under Polish universities need more foreign staff new year’s 40,000 this year. Rents in the city are rising, to help attract students from abroad, ac- and in place of domestic properties, bars cording to the head of an influential edu- party and clubs are opening. Those apartments cation foundation. with DJ 4Fun that remain are often let by owners to tour- Waldemar Siwiński, of the education & DJ EkiM ists. foundation Perspektywy, said the country Bogusław Krzeczkowski, chairman of the needed more foreign students, but that a Old Town District, told local press that key obstacle to achieving that goal was the noise was also driving people out of the lack of English-speaking teachers. city centre – and warned that the area He told the Polish news agency PAP: “We around the historic Rynek Główny could are still learning to operate English lan- soon resemble an ‘open air museum’ if the guage teaching programmes, and the restaurant hotel conferences wellness trend continued. number of schools with bilingual instruc- Mr Krzeczkowski suggested that an ‘enter- tion – in Polish and English – can be count- Galaxy Hotel & Andromeda Restaurant tainment district’ should be created away ed on the fingers of one hand.” Gęsia 22a, 31-535 Kraków T: +48 12 342 81 00, F: +48 12 342 81 10 from the main square, but the city council A new report by Perspektywy found that [email protected], www.galaxyhotel.pl www.jordan.pl has turned down his plan. more than 24,000 foreign students >7 Elżbieta Koterba, deputy mayor of Krakow, are studying at universities around 6 Krakow’s wannabe Guy Fawkes The mild-mannered lecturer who tried to blow up parliament ■ Nissan Tzur he spectre of violent political extremism After graduating from high school, Brun- Tintruded into Krakow’s quiet, academic on K. studied Chemical technology at the world in November when Polish security Krakow University of Technology (Politechni- services announced they had arrested a ka Krakowska) and later specialised in ‘highly chemistry lecturer who had been planning energetic materials’ at the Warsaw University to detonate a massive bomb outside the of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska). country’s parliament building, intended to A spokesperson for the Krakow prison kill as many senior government figures as service told the Krakow Post: “Brunon K. was possible. arrested on November 11 and is currently Brunon K., a 45-year-old researcher at the incarcerated in a Krakow prison where he Agricultural University of Krakow (Uniwer- will stay for the next three months. He is sytet Rolniczy w Krakowie), was arrested considered a danger to public safety and on November 11, although news of his is under 24-hour surveillance – high secu- detention was not announced until Novem- rity measures have been implemented. His ber 20. phone calls and correspondence are also As a member of staff at the university, being monitored.” Brunon K. had ready access to chemicals and other materials used in bomb making.