Lemko embroidery

The Lemkos are a small but interesting bunch. They can be found on the periphery of the western Ukrainian border in the Beskids, a series of mountain ranges in the Carpathians, which stretch from the Czech Republic, along the length of western Poland and Slovakia, up to Ukraine. Their name is derived from the word “lem”, meaning “only”, and is a term they use often in the Lemko dialect. Though many Lemkos consider themselves ethnic Ukrainians, some believe there should be a distinct…

Hello all, I have already written an article about this costume, but I have learned much since that time, and so I will write a more complete article now. The Eastern Lemko region consists of the valleys of the Wislok and Oslava rivers. Both are tributaries of the Sian or San river. The Boiko region begins east of that point. Here is a map of this area. Some maps mistakenly show the Lemko region extending further east, even to the current border of Ukraine. Although this region is rather…

LEMKO embroidery

Hello all, Ideally you should have read parts 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of my overview of the costumes of the Lemkos / Rusyns to appreciate this. If you remember, the Chimera was a creature from Greek Mythology which was part lion, part goat, and part snake. One reason I was moved to write this series because there is insufficient published material on Lemko costumes. One result of this is that people too often will put anything that is Lemko together in the same outfit without thinking about it…

Hello all, Ideally you should have read parts 1, 4, 6, 7, and 8 of my overview of the costumes of the Lemkos / Rusyns to appreciate this. If you remember, the Chimera was a creature from Greek Mythology which was part lion, part goat, and part snake. One reason I was moved to write this series because there is insufficient published material on Lemko costumes. One result of this is that people too often will put anything that is Lemko together in the same outfit without thinking about it…

` Hello all, Today I am continuing my article with the men's costume of this area. The men's costume underscores the fact that this re...

Hello all, Today I will talk about the folk costume of the middle Poprad region. The Poprad river is a bit of a geographical anomaly. ...

Lemko folk dress from the village of Hrab