Application includes 15 virtual 3D models of historic towns from Poland, Belarus and Ukraine
Keyword "Wielkie Oczy"
The beginnings of photography in Poland date back to 1839 when the news of the daguerreotype reached the country. Photography quickly got popular, and near the end of the 19th century professional photography salons grew in numbers fast. In some towns there were even several of them. It is worthwhile to pay attention to the fact, that the photographer's profession was usually taken up by Jews. The activity of itinerant photographers was an extraordinary social phenomenon of the break of the 19th and 20th century in Poland. They travelled the province and offered their services as photographers. No documents on the topic remain, which is why their photos are the only evidence of their activity. Currently the memory of these photographers is being brought back, but many of them remain unknown or forgotten. Because of the aura of mystery and uniqueness surrounding the black-and-white prewar photographs, it is worth it to learn something about them. We kindly invite you for a journey in the footsteps of local photographers.
Wielkie Oczy, Beлиki Oчi, וויעלקאטשי
According to local legend, the name of the village—Wielkie Oczy meaning "Big Eyes" in Polish—was derived from two lakes that no longer exist and that looked from a neighboring hill like two big eyes with the first houses of Wielkie Oczy situated between them.
Wielkie Oczy is a small township of about 800 residents. Before the war the town was in the Lviv voivodeship, after the war it had been first in the Rzeszów and then in Przemyśl voivodeships. Currently it is a village (since 1935) in the Podkarpackie voivodeship, lubaczowski powiat, near the Ukrainian border (about 2 kilometres away). Geographically Wielkie Oczy lies on Garb Jaworowski, which in turn is a part of the Tarnnogród Plateau.
Ukr. Велькі Очи, Rus. Вельке-Очи, Yid. ויילקה אוצ'י, צ'י
Every Friday, the shammes of the synagogue announced a wake up call at five o’clock, in complete darkness, to wake up Jews for the morning prayer, shouting: “Get up, come to pray to the Creator.”