PARTNERS

POLAND

Dobków

CZECH REPUBLIC

Veselá

GALICIA / SPAIN

Fontao

Dobkow is a small village in south-west part of Poland under administration of Borough of Świerzawa and Złotoryja County about 100 km south from Wroclaw (in the Kaczawskie Mountains) and about 40 km north from Karkonosze Mountains. It's located along Bukownica River on the attitude of 230-295 meters.
The population it's a mix of after war imigrants from Ukraine and east and central part of Poland.

Short history:
The village is over 800 years old. The first written information about Dobków comes from 1203 under the latin name of Villa Helmerici after the name of it's first locator - Helmerich.
Until 1810 the village belonged to the Lubiaz monastery. It's ownership was the reason the Reformation never happened in Dobków. It was one of the very few pure Catholic villages in the Silesia. Also having monastery as a owner was the reason the village never had a palace like so many other villages around.
The II World War didn't cause and damages in the village. Right after the war, polish settlers and German inhabitants lived together in quiet a harmony until July 1946 when all the Germans (except one, who married a polish soldier and stayed) were deported to West and East Germany.

Main challenges:
The main challenges refer to employment and improvement of village itself. Also, the investment in wind farming and mink farming brought by outside businessmen caused unrest among the villagers and was dropped.

About orgnization:
Stowarzyszenie Dobków was established in 2002 by group of people from the village. The main reason was to stimulate small and big initiatives in the village like water supply and to keep history of the village and bring alive forgotten traditions. Association members are working together to improve the quality of life and sustainable development of the village. Young people working with older, they learn together photography, filming, organizing exhibitions, Kaczawskie Art Workshops.
Main projects organized so far:
Ecomuseum - established in 2005. Its is not a building not the organization its "living museum". This is a few places in the village where is oportunity to meet "face to face" local farmers and local craftsmens. We belive this is the best way to learn about how the some people in village work.
Chapel's Trail - established in 2010. It is a result of cooperation between the association and the community. The Association has developed the content of the trail. Community renewed several chapels and has marked trail.
Fairy Tale Bus Stops, - children with the adults painted three bus stops in the village, and then took part in two education tours, 2009.
The Beauty Spot above the village, 2011.
Three decades of the Vulcanism: education notice board located on the beauty spot, 2010.
Yoga Project - we bought the accesorries for yoga classes. The project was to encourage especially the seniors from the village to spent their free time in the active way, 2011.
Exibition of the photography during the Kaczawskie Warsztaty Artystyczne Festival in 2011. The photographies were collected by teenagers from the old people which arrived to Dobków in 1945 after Second World War to star their new life.

Local heritage:
The Chapels
St Giles Church
Monument of St Nepomucen
Ruins of the Old Manor House
Almost all the houses in the village are monuments, because are old and for hundreds years they change not a lot, same like stones bridges on the river. A monument is also well-preserved village settlement system.
Local product:
Hand made and painted ceramic and pottery etc
honey and bee products
home made pickles, jams and juices etc
paper flowers
all artisans, owners of accommodation and beekeepers in the village create together local tourism product - Ekomuzeum Rzemiosła in Dobkow. Guest can participate in workshops of ceramic, making paper flower , cutting agate stones and purchase the local products from the area, such as, honey, pottery, home made food, etc.

Traditions:
Summer Harvest Festival - celebrated each year at the end of August.
Kaczawskie Warsztaty Artystyczne Festival - celebrated each year along the Summer Harvest Festival. This is the time when we invaite craftsmens from the area specialized in the ceramic, embroidery, crochet, stone mosaic, papercrafts ,woodcraft, painting, drawing, glazing. Etc.
Corpus Christi Procession - celebrated each year on the streets of the village.
Indulgence on St. Giles.

Vesela is a small Czech village (589 persons) situated very close to Czech Paradise (https://www.cesky-raj.info/en/), under administration of town called: Mnichovo Hradiste. It is located 60 km from Prague, and 40 km from Liberec. It is relatively close to polish border: 70 km.

Short history:
First written info about the village is from 1345.
Many families in the village live here since generations, what means that they remember the Austro - Hungarian times, communism, change into democracy in 1989, the divorce of Czech Republic and Slovakia, moment of joining European Union..

main challenges
- Many trucks going through the village each day (mainly due to the factories around), problem: noise + their speed
- The village is by administration a part of a town next by and this brings a long term low interest and support of our area.
- Lack of space for common meeting

About organisation
Vesela Vesnice o.s. is was established by group of inhabitants of Vesela and officially registered on 2.01.2012. The main reasons for establishing it were to support and stimulate initiatives of inhabitants, to create space in which people from the village can work together and bring alive forgotten traditions (festival, carnival).
Main activities we organised so far:
- Festival of humour (festival of the village organised after 31 years of break)
- Happy cake (cooking competition)
- Happy Vesela, happy Dobkow - project connecting our festival and festival organised in Dobkow
- Eastern traditions meeting
- International youth meeting
- 2 theatres
Members of association:
Teachers, trainers, people interested in history, carpenters, mothers,

Local heritage
We have:
- 3 statues
- 1 chapel
- Some beautiful houses
- Czech Paradise nearby
- Many interesting stories

Traditions
February - traditional carnival - will be organise for the first time after many years in Feb 2013
April, 30th - the witches day
May, 1st - the love day ;)
June - Festival of humour - was organised in almost the same time as was traditionally the festival of the village (end of June, saint Paul & Petr), and we are planning to organise it again next year.

Poboado Fontao Mineiro is a small village of 200 inhabitants near other small communities of similar characteristics. It belongs to the Vila de Cruces Ayuntmiento. Is located 45 km from Santiago de Compostela, capital of Galicia and 150 km from Portugal with whom he shares traditions. We have two official languages, Galician and Spanish, but we communicate on a daily basis in Galician.

Short history

Fontao is a mining town whose activities date back to antiquity, connecting with the myth of Greek and Phoenician sites of Casitérides islands, some authors placed in Galicia. In this long period of instability characterized the operation, through boom times and moments with little activity. It will be between the end of s. Nineteenth and early twentieth when we will see a new momentum. In the thirties, tungsten German demand was so intense that the price of the mineral rose esfuero requiring greater. It is at this time when their lives Fontao splendor, muhco work, money and fun ... although poor working conditions. After the war the tungsten falls into oblivion, no longer useful ... however the Korean War opens a window of hope for a new era of splendor ... here is part of the construction of the mining town of Fontao, exquisite piece of architecture, which failed to be functional at the time because the expectations were not met. He spent 40 years of neglect by the cessation of mining until finally in 2004 we live we new ...

Fontao The mining town was built between 1955 and 1958. It was soon abandoned in the time of economic decline of mining. 40years later was restored by the Institute of Housing and Galicia, putting homes for rent. In January 2005 79 families started living here. In recent years this number was growing.

Main challenges
- Lack of public transport, we need to using own vehicle, high economic and environmental cost
- Need for greater investment by our municipality
- Difficulties in social integration, the town is made up of public housing, people living in very different socioeconomic and there is difficulty in the relationship between the people who have always lived here and newcomers

Local heritage
We have:
1 chapel
1 Film
1 restored mining town
Recreational Areas
People who are living treasures (pametnicy)
1 abandoned mine and 1 mining museum

About organisation
The neighbourhood association Brea Mines, was created in the mining town of Fontao in 2005 by 50 families of approx 79 that had just arrived to repopulate the newly refurbished town.
Our main objectives were for instance to solve logistical problems that arose but mainly to contribute to social integration through training and also recover the historical memory of our environment as far as possible.

Main activities we organised so far:
- Romería Minas da Brea Celebrated every year on December 6
- San Xoan (traditional festival to celebrate the summer solstice 6/24)
- training courses throughout the year

Members of association:
Teachers, trainers, people interested in history, carpenters, mothers, house wifes...
We are planning to..
continue with the activity so far and add the creation of an oral history archive for the mining museum and creating organic gardens that serve as training for local farmers.