Stay at Pietrusza Wola 50: Log cabin holidays in Poland, beautifully restored in traditional style and set in 20 acres of private woodland and mountain pasture.

“This house is my idea of heaven - falling asleep to the sound of the stream outside the window, waking to birdsong, watching rainstorms from the porch, wading out into the meadow in mid-day sun. It's the perfect place to read and write and dream and just be a human being on earth again. I'm convinced the house is inhabited by the sweetest spirits. I feel overwhelmed by an almost ridiculous happiness every time I cross the threshold.”

Cecilia Woloch - poet, and regular guest at the log cabin, in whose last collection, Carpathia, the influence of the area may be felt.

Pietrusza Wola 50 is a traditional log cabin situated in Pietrusza Wola, a small village set in the Czarnorzecko-Strzyzowski Landscape Park in the Carpathian Mountains of south-east Poland.

This holiday let lays in a private, secluded setting adjacent to a mountain stream, yet less than a minute's walk from the local bus stop (where buses run regularly to the regional town of Krosno 7.5 miles away).

Exterior features include 20 acres of private woodland to walk in, a secluded garden stream, and a porch large enough to sit and relax in the sun.

The timber barn houses firewood and a number of mountain bikes for your use. Ample parking is available within the grounds of the log cabin for several cars.


The Czarnorzecko-Strzyzowski Park is an extensively wooded and semi-mountainous area, in which species-rich wild flower meadows have been conserved, along with many species of butterfly, birds from storks to eagles, and other animals such as wild boar and numerous wild deer, making it an ideal place for hill walking, mountain biking and enjoying nature.

Tailor-made foraging trails and nature walks can be arranged with botanist and renowned wild food expert Łukasz Łuczaj, who lives and runs workshops in the village itself. 

The log cabin is an ideal place to write or concentrate on creative work. Poet Cecilia Woloch has been a regular guest and has produced work associated with the area, including her latest collection “Carpathia”. She also co-authored the a bi-lingual collection “This Line on the Map” with local poet Waclaw Turek and English poet and translator Sarah Luczaj who lives and works in the same village.

The log cabin has been renovated to a top standard with natural wood exposed throughout.

Special features of the log cabin include a traditional stone made wood-burning stove, with bread oven, and a bathroom decorated with mosaics by a local artist.

There is also a beautiful staircase sculpted in wood.

The log cabin houses a huge master bedroom upstairs, and one twin. Downstairs comprises a further double bedroom, a living room, kitchen/diner, large hallway, bathroom, and cellar. See the log cabin holiday gallery for more pictures.

Facilities within the log cabin include washing machine, powerful shower and gas-fired stove. The log cabin is cosily and efficiently warmed by the wood burning stove, with heat circulated around the house by radiators. This system also easily heats the water.

This log cabin can be rented on a holiday basis at a standard rate of £350 per week / £50 per night.

A "writer's concession" reduces the rate to £200 p/w for single/couple occupancy of three weeks or more.

The nearest international airport to the log cabin is in the provincial capital of Rzeszow (right), a 40 mile scenic drive away. You can fly here direct with Ryanair from cities in the UK and Ireland, including London (Luton/Stanstead), Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, East Midlands and Dublin.

You can also fly direct from New York (JFK/Newark), Warsaw & Gdansk. Car hire is readily available at the airport, where there are also good bus and train connections to Krosno.

Alternatively, fly to the beautiful and historic city of Krakow (left), only 90 miles away, to combine a city break with this stunning getaway holiday. Again, car hire is readily available at the airport, where there are also good bus services to Krosno.

The log cabin is situated conveniently close to Krosno – the regional capital – which is only a 10 mile drive away. This charming medieval town features a large, cobbled market square, ancient tenement houses and medieval churches, as well as restaurants, bars, shopping, cinema, supermarkets etc. There are numerous special events in the summer.

The nearby town of Frysztak (7.5 miles) has an open air swimming pool, which can be used in summer. This attractive small former Jewish town also has a range of small specialist shops, a large market every Thursday, a hotel and restaurant with a balcony where you can sit and enjoy a drink and look down on the terraced landscape.

The local area has a complex history, which should appeal to both interested visitors and anyone with roots in South East Poland. There are ample opportunities to explore the traces of its rich cultural traditions.

The village itself was inhabited before the Second World War by Carpatho-Rusyns - a little-known ethnic minority, related to Ukarianians, and in the adjacent village of Rzepnik, an Orthodox Church remains, with a beautifully decorated interior.

During the Second World War these populations, were removed from the area. However, the traces of these cultures remain in museums, summer festivals including music and crafts and beautiful wooden churches (see left). Scattered, small communities also continue to live and worship according to their cultures.

The area also had a large Jewish population before the war, and a strong Jewish influence prevails in some of the local towns. The nearby small town of Rymanów, 30 km away, was an important Hassidic centre. A Jewish cemetery, and a restored synagogue remain. The area around Pietrusza Wola is also the birthplace of the oil trade, there is a fascinating oil industry museum in Bóbrka (approx. 18 miles away) while in Węglówka, only 5 miles away, is the probably the oldest still working oil plant in the world.

Iwonicz Zdrój (30 km away) is one of Poland's oldest and most picturesque spa towns, dating from 1578. Surrounded by forests on all sides, the town has mineral waters, moor mud, and extremely refreshing air as well as beautiful wooden architecture.

The Bieszczady mountain range (pictured right) starts about 40 miles to the east.

This heavily forested area, where wolves and bear still thrive, is much visited by outdoor enthusiasts, and is excellent for hiking, mountain biking, horse riding and water rafting.

The town of Sanok ("gateway" to the Bieszczady) is 40 miles away. The town has an open air museum (or “skansen”) in which local wooden architecture has been preserved as a village. You can walk around both the village and the interiors of the houses, accompanied by a knowledgeable, English speaking guide.

Heading south, the town of Dukla (35 km away) has a Historical Museum, housed in a former 18th century Palace which was rebuilt after the Second World War. Dukla was the site of particularly bloody battles in both the First and Second World Wars, with huge loss of life. Hence the museum contains a display of military equipment and a military heritage park.

There are also military cemeteries, a Jewish cemetery (the population was largely Jewish before the war), and the ruins of a synagogue. The town is also important for Christians, as it houses the hermitage of St Jan of Dukla, a contemplative monk born in 1414 in Dukla. The hermitage is a peaceful place, set in woodland. Svidnik, approx 44 miles away in Slovakia (there are no border restrictions) also has a war museum and a skansen, or open air wooden architecture museum. On the road to Świdnik you can stop to visit numerous beautiful wooden Orthodox churches and see war memorabilia, such as tanks and planes, by the roadside.

From here, travel on to the Slovakian medieval spa town of Bardejov (top left) - a UNESCO world heritage site, with a perfectly preserved market square and open air bathing pools nearby (70 miles).