During the days of communism, individual, foreign holiday trips were very difficult to come by, and it was only during the Gierek period (1970-1980) that the average Kowalski had an opportunity to leave the country. It was then, according to the authorities of the time, that "Poland opened up to the world". Due to the new opportunities for travel, thousands of Poles made efforts to obtain a passport and pursue such valuable and hard to get dollars, or any other convertible currency. They also tried to obtain foreign maps, road atlases and guides, without which independent travel was impossible.
In addition to their recreational value, trips abroad, whether to countries in the Soviet Bloc or the West, were in many cases economic in nature. Trade tourism of those times allowed one not only to pay for holidays, but could also be a significant source of income for a household budget. The most popular holiday destinations were Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
POLISH TOURISM: THE COMMUNIST PERIOD 1945-1989
Looking at Polish tourism and its various aspects in the 20th century, one should pay attention to the tradition and approach of the Polish society to spending free time. Before World War II, rest was usually taken by representatives of the upper class, intelligentsia and liberal professions. For the majority of labourers and farmers, there was only room for work and holyday celebrations in any one year.
The latter were mainly associated with feasting or other traditional activities associated with them, and not with rest from work, which makes it difficult to classify them as ways of spending one's free time. In addition, doing nothing was socially condemned, and leaving one's village or town to see "the world" or to contemplate the wonders of nature was a rarity for the representatives of the lower classes of the time. In addition to providing childcare during school holidays, this had a pragmatic effect, as children, apart from playing, also helped with various types of farm work.
According to the authorities, post-war Polish tourism was supposed to be of a general and mass character. It was strongly linked with ideology and state propaganda. Employee trips were to have a cultural and educational character and were to be combined with courses and training, such as holiday courses or social camps. Up to the 1960s, the majority of employee trips were highly centralised, partly financed from the Employee Holiday Fund (FWP) or from company funds. At that time, the main holiday destinations comprised FWP holiday resorts, which were characterised by a number of imposed unquestionable conditions concerning many elements, such as portions of prepared meals or the repertoire of attractions. Membership in the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society provided another form for enjoying tourism.
Employees often faced a problem of obtaining holiday leave at the same time as their spouses, or were sent on holiday with complete strangers. It should be noted that at that time, most people could only dream of a foreign holiday because of the high requirements placed on candidates, especially those relating to the possible threat of staying abroad. It was not until the 1960s that the international movement, directed mainly to the socialist countries, began to increase slightly, but it did not have such an important character for social awareness as the one during the Gierek period.
The 1970s saw a breakthrough in individual family tourism, when more and more people could afford to buy a car and annual holidays became a popular undertaking. The availability of own transport broadened the tourist horizons of Poles. Renting private accommodation became popular, as well as the use of a base of campsites to which families came in a Maluch (Fiat 126p) towing a trailer.
Camping Keszthely, 1975
During Gierek's times the domination of individual trips over group trips, including those organized by travel agencies such as Orbis, Gromada or Almatur was clear. The private leisure sector, wich allowed for the development of agrotourism, was also recognized.
In turn, the political opening of Poland translated into greater availability of passports and the possibility of travel not only to socialist states, but also to capitalist countries. Among the Soviet Bloc countries, only Poland and Hungary could boast such large foreign tourist traffic. Travel to communist countries was greatly facilitated by the abolition of passport requirements. In order to cross the border it was enough to have an identity card with an appropriate stamp, which was not difficult to obtain.
LAKE BALATON AND BUDAPEST
The main travel directions for Polish tourists in Hungary were the towns located on Lake Balaton and Budapest itself. Most tourists chose their own transport to get to Hungary (Maluch, Syrena, Trabant), hitchhiked or took the trains. Flights, although regular, were relatively expensive.
Keleti, Budapeszt, 1985
The Hungarian capital offered Poles beautiful architecture, including the monumental Parliament building, the Castle, the Fisherman's Bastion and the ruins of the Roman city of Aquincum in Buda, on the other side of the Danube. Mineral and thermal waters were amongst the popular attractions for tourists visiting the capital city. There is no doubt that on the topographical map of Budapest one of the most important points for Polish tourists was Budapest Keleti Station (= Eastern Budapest). in the 1970s and 1980s , this beautiful station built at the end of the 19th century was also the most important marketplace in the city, a place where Polish tourists could satisfy their mercantile needs.
Along the banks of the Balaton, sunbathing, swimming and sailing were popular. Among the wide range of resorts and private accommodation, campsites were particularly sought after.
Despite the fact that Polish tourists often came to Hungary equipped with enough canned food, many of them let themselves be enchanted by the local cuisine and delicious wines, which they tried to bring with them as souvenirs from their holidays. However, the famous Tokaji and salami were not the only delicacies in the luggage of holidaymakers returning home.
WHAT WAS TRADED AND WHAT WAS IMPORTED
The centrally planned socialist economy was famous for its constant shortages of products. The opportunity to come into contact with a foreign market, even within the same ideological bloc, was a huge chance to buy or exchange certain products. At the Keleti Station in Budapest, many Polish tourists sold, among others, tracksuits, fur products, Russian cameras and, after the end of their holidays, tourist equipment such as tourist kitchenettes, backpacks and tents.
Wines (including Tokaji), salami and modern cosmetics, such as deodorants in sticks, were brought from Hungary to Poland. Better quality clothes, especially women's clothing and shoes were also highly prized.
HUNGARIAN HOLIDAYS IN POLISH POP CULTURE
Holidays on the banks of Balaton became a subject of communist pop culture. In Poland many leisure centres and parks were named Balaton, whose inseparable element was a smaller or larger body of water. Reference to the Hungarian "sea" was also often taken up in the names of bars and cafes, such as the Balaton in Łódź, or Warsaw's Nad Balatonem park (Praga-South). Hungarian holidays were also an inspiration for artists, as exemplified by the song "Blue Balaton" by Jerzy Połomski.
Maria Jaworska
Z wykształcenia archeolog śródziemnomorski, absolwentka Instytutu Archeologii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Doktorantka na Wydziale Historycznym Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. Uczestniczka polskich badań archeologicznych, m.in. w Ptolemais (Libia), Novae (Bułgaria), Apsaros (Gruzja). Jedną z jej pasji jest popularyzacja historii.
LITERATURE
Głuchowski J., Na Saksy i do Bułgarii. Turystyka handlowa w PRL, Warsaw 2019
Kunicki K., Ławecki T., Kronika PRL 1944-1989 [vol. 14], Na wczasach i w delegacji, Warsaw 2015
Majowski M., Polska Ludowa zaprasza. Polityka turystyczna w czasach Edwarda Gierka, Warsaw 2008
Sowiński P., Wakacje w Polsce Ludowej. Polityka władz i ruch turystyczny (1945–1989), Warsaw 2005
ONLINE SOURCES
http://egykor.hu/balaton-to/balatoni-terkepek/677
https://en.mandadb.hu/cikk/992297/Lets_go_camping
https://www.forbes.pl/przywodztwo/jak-zarabiano-na-wakacjach-w-prl/5r8v7dp
https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/jak-polacy-spedzali-wakacje-w-czasach-prl-u/qfzzrq7
https://www.styl.pl/podroze/news-perly-demoludow,nId,64971