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KONTRAST 
The open-air museum – park have been established to promote the local cultural heritage, which has its roots in the ethnographic region of Kurpie Białe. Around the Kurpie style cottage (Kurpiowska chata), which stands at the heart of the proposal, special space has been provided for some commercial stands for the local craftsmen with their handicrafts and for the manufacturers of the local specialities. The project is being complemented by the local community initiative called the Przystanek Rękodzieło w Długosiodle (Długosiodło Handicrafts Stop).
The Open-air Museum in Długosiodło consists of the village cottage, characteristic for the Kurpie Białe region, built of pine logs assembled with a kind of dovetail corner joints, and with the typical gable, straw thatched roof. It is located at the central part of the Dłogosiodło village, near Church and not far from an oak tree called “Jan”. Outside, under the shed, some agricultural machines and a hayrack cart are exhibited. Next to the cottage, there is an old wooden water well. On the gate leading to the Museum a pair, wearing the traditional Kurpie region clothing, has been depicted. Inside the cottage you will find many items which had been in everyday use, but also those intended for special occasions and holidays. There are bowls, cradles, reels, churns, sculptures, sacred paintings, clothes, tools and agricultural machinery.
The project has been launched as a remarkable initiative of the Długosiodło residents. It constitutes a presentation of history from the local point of view – people show what has survived, what their ancestors have left in their attic or in some other “out of the way spot” – a corridor, granary, barn.
All has began in 2006, when the organization Stowarzyszenie na Rzecz Rozwoju Gminy Długosiodło (Association for the Municipality of Długosiodło Development) purchased the old Kurpie Cottage. The idea of turning it into the open-air museum appealed to both the municipality authorities and to its residents. In the process have been involved the community activists, both senior and young residents. They have dug up the pond, cleared and levelled the site, planted trees and decorative bushes. With great passion, they have collected items to equip and to decorate the cottage interior. Around the cottage they have set up the area for commercial stands with handicraft objects, local food and agricultural products.
Since May 2007, it is here where the official tourism season opening event takes place. The function is always accompanied by handicrafts exhibitions, agricultural produce fairs and sampling of the regional dishes.
To help you fully appreciate the unique character of this place, we must tell you a little about the history of Dłogosiodło – municipality currently inhabited by some 1400 residents. It has flourished thanks to its location on the roadway which, at least until the end of the thirteenth century, had been the major route linking regions of Jaćwierz (Yotvingia), Żmudź (Samogitia) and Auksztota (Aukštaitija) with the Mazowsze (Mazovia) region. In 1556 a town had been located here, and the place still maintains its small-town character.
The open-air museum is being taken care of by volunteers, members of the association and the municipal cultural centre.
