Sixty The ethnographic park in Torun, situated in the city centre next to the historic old town is an open air museum that is unique in Europe. Exhibits of folk architecture are distributed over nearly two hectares and include buildings from the 18^th, 19^th and early 20^th century. Transferred to the Museum from the regions of Kashubia, Tuchola Forest, Kociewie, Kuyavia, and the lands of Chełmno and Dobrzyń. The spatial arrangement of individual villages was not recreated. Instead, the Museum presents historic rural architecture in its large variety.  Cottages and outbuildings are arranged in a way that recreates the layout and shape of homesteads. Some exhibits consist of individual buildings: residential, public, service, industrial and landscape architecture: Wayside shrines, dugout cellars, wells and fences. The Museum grounds, surrounded by greenery, flowers and vegetable gardens recreate the atmosphere of villages at the turn of the 20^th century. Most of the architectural exhibits are original buildings which were disassembled, transported, preserved and reconstructed in the park. Where this was not possible, faithful copies of the original buildings were erected.  The farms have been furnished outside and inside to recreate their appearance in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, Allowing for diversity resulting from the different social and monetary standing of their inhabitants. The interiors are adorned with everyday necessities and tools, furniture specific to particular regions And equipment necessary for farm work related to animal husbandry, land cultivation, cooking, all handicraft. Other exhibits include artefacts connected to religion, rituals, magic and other beliefs as well as family heirlooms, pilgrimage mementos, trinkets and family photographs. Interior decorations change to reflect the atmosphere of seasonal festivities and various family events. In the summer, the park organises demonstrations of traditional crafts and household and farming activities.

Sixty-one Wayside shrine from Młyniec, Chełmno Land with a statue of st. John of Nepomuk. It was built around 1880. The artist is unknown. These types of shrines with figures of saints or the Virgin Mary were frequently placed at crossroads. Statues of st. John of Nepomuk could often be found near bridges and on river banks, due to the belief that the saint protected from floods.

Sixty-two Farmhouse from Skępe, Dobrzyń Land. It was built at the turn of the 19^th century. The entrance is shaded by a gable arcade supported by posts. It was the perfect spot, sheltered from the rain and wind to perform household and farm chores.

Sixty-three Farmhouse from Granowo, Kashubia. It was built in the early 19^th century, originally with a thatched roof.  It has been adapted to house the inn “u Damroki”. The inn was named after the legendary kashubian princess Damroka.

Sixty-four Farmhouse from Laski, Tuchola Forest. Built around the mid-19^th century, it is a chimneyless house. Smoke from the open hearth escaped through the attic and vents in the rooftop. The window opening is covered by a membrane made of beef bladders. The interior presents the living conditions of a two generation landless family, Who only farmed a small house garden and kept chickens and a goat. Another source of their livelihood was hired work at larger farms, picking berries and mushrooms for sale, as well as seasonal work in the forest – felling trees. The interior is equipped with simple homemade objects, including benches, stools and a baby-walker.

Sixty-five Manor granary from Bronisław, Kujawia. It was built in 1767 as indicated by the inscription above the entrance. Part of a manor farm complex, this wooden building was used for storing grain stocks. The granary has been adapted to serve as an exhibition hall.

Sixty-six Volunteer fire brigade station from Pływaczewo, Chełmno Land. Built in the early 20^th century, the interior holds a display of firefighting and signaling equipment and various related objects. The centerpiece is a fully equipped, horse-drawn firefighting wagon with a water box dating from the turn of the 20^th century. A photograph on the wall shows the founders and first members of the Pływaczewo volunteer fire brigade. The station building’s extensions houses a wooden water cart. Close by, there is a belltower with a cast-iron bell used to alert the community in the event of a fire.

Sixty-seven Kuyavian farmstead. A typical, 19^th century farmstead, part of a large and wealthy holding, whose owners cultivated land and raised animals.

Farmhouse from Rakutowo. Dates back to the mid-19^th century. It was built using a square log construction. In the corners, the walls are connected with dovetail joints. The interior of the house is fitted with furnishings  from the turn of the 20^th century. The house was inhabited by two-generation family. Daily life was conducted in the kitchen, the main room and the small room. The latter also served as a bedroom. The large chamber was the best room and was used for special celebrations such as holidays or family events. It is worth noting the characteristic Kuyavian decorations: garlands and flower buckets made of colored tissue paper adorning religious images And a straw ornament over the table, known as the spider.

Sixty-eight/ Outbuildings in the yard. To the left there is a barn. It is a reconstruction of an original building from the second half of the 19^th century. The walls are covered with clay and whitewashed. Inside, apart from an area designated for cows and pigs, there is a kitchen coop and stable and an oil mill, demonstrating the production of homemade oil. Straight ahead there is a hay barn from the early 19^th century. The interior is divided into three sections. On the hard packed clay floor, grain was threshed and agricultural machinery was kept. The two bays at the side contained grain for threshing, straw and hay. On the right – a small granary from Rakutowo from the second half of the 19^th century. Such buildings were common in wealthy farms and provided additional storage space. They held seed for sowing and grain for flour. This one was also used to keep farming equipment and food products such as preserved meat, dairy and bread.

Sixty-nine. Forge from Jastrzębie, Michałowo Land. Built in the second half of the 19^th century, the centre is occupied by a large, two-horned anvil used to work small objects. Directly behind it, there is a hearth where fire was kept hot with a help of a large bellows. Metalworking was done at the table equipped with vices, where various forge tools are presented. Other tools hang in the walls. Much of the work was performed outside the building. There you can find the cage used to restrain nervous horses for shoeing. Besides from horseshoes, the blacksmith made various craft tools and farming implements, as well as architectural details and crosses for graves and wayside shrines.

Seventy. Reconstructed bread oven from Kashubia from the late 19^th century. Such ovens were usually built close to the farmhouse and outbuildings, in the fields or in the garden. They were used by several families or one wealthy farm.

Seventy-one. Kashubian homestead. This farm illustrates the living conditions of a three-generation family of small holders, who leased their piece of land from a wealthy landowner. In addition, the family earned their livelihood through fishing and seasonal hired work for wealthy farmers. The grandparents occupied themselves with handicraft. The man with basket weaving and beekeeping and his wife with herb medicine.

Farmhouse from Męcikał. Built in the early 19^th century, its two entrances are shaded by an unsupported arcade, running along the entire width of the wall and formed by the extended roof. The cottage had separate rooms for the grandparents and the young couple. The living space on the left, used by the older farmers is fitted with furniture and implements characteristic for the late 19^th century, While the younger couple’s room on the right holds more modern 20^th century furnishings. There are two hallways with entrances to the white chimney from where one could access the hearth which provided heat for the two rooms.

Seventy-two In the yard there is a barn from Kłodawa. It was built in the early 19^th century. Its roof, unlike the thatched roof of the house, is covered with straw. Along the ridge it is secured by criss crossing bows, while the top of the house is finished with decorative sheeves. The barn has three separate rooms for the animals. Hay for the feed was stored in the attic. On the right, there is a coach house. In front of the barn, there is a cesspool, where manure was kept. Beside the fence, opposite the house, you can see a cellar and a dovecot.

Seventy-three. Windmill from Wójtówka in Kuyavia. It was built in the late 19^th century and used by three generations of millers of the Salamoński family. Today, still fully operational, it is used at events organised at the park. The body of the mill is supported by an immobile post in the centre, which is an axis around which the building can spin 360 degrees. Before the grinding could start, the miller used a winch to turn the building towards the wind. The sails, when set in motion, powered the machinery inside. The main grinding machine can be found on the second floor. The process started with grain being poured from the basket into the space between the milling stones, where it was ground. The brake wheels turning the upper stone are very prominent – the miller could regulate the gap between the stones, adjusting it to the type of grain and the desired type of flour. The flour poured into the flour chest located on the first floor of the windmill. On the first floor, flour was separated from bran with a special sieve. Finally, it was scooped out, stored in sacks, Weighed and loaded with a lift onto a weighting cart through the flour door. This floor also contains a room for the miller to rest in.

Seventy-four Reconstructed tar kiln from the second half of the 19^th century. Such constructions were common throughout the Tuchola Forest, Built close to the woods which provided the raw material. Tar was produced by peasants. To them it was often the source of additional income. There were also tar makers’ settlements, consisting of several kilns and used by professional tar makers. Tar obtained from wood required very high temperatures. It was used, among others, for sealing boats, greasing wheels, insulating the foundations of buildings, sealing barrels and impregnating different materials. From birch bark the tar makers manufactured birch tar. It had antiseptic properties and was used as a remedy for skin diseases and for hoof care in cattle and horses.

Seventy-five Pearl shrine from Prądzona in Kashubia with a figure of Our Lady of the Rosary. It is a replica of a shrine from the mid-19^th century. The artist and founder are unknown. Such shrines were erected in house gardens and believed to bring protection and safety to the inhabitants of the house.

Seventy-six. Tuchola homestead. This exhibit illustrates the living conditions of a prosperous family in the first quarter of the 20^th century – grandparents, parents and four children. Beside from farming their 20 hectares of unfertile fields, they worked in the forest. This is why the homestead was equipped with implements used for felling trees, transporting wood and woodworking, as well as tools necessary for gathering berries and mushrooms for trapping.

Farmhouse and barn from Sucha, built in the early 19^th century. The entrance is shaded by a corner gable arcade with a decorative carved ornaments. The largest room belonged to the younger couple and their children and is fitted with early 20^th century furniture. The walls are hung with religious images and a photograph – an army memento. The kitchen and the small room hold 19^th century painted furniture. The hallway served as a storage room for food and essential farming implements.

Seventy-seven In the yard, opposite the house, you can see a barn from Mikołajskie. It was built in the early 19^th century. The interior is divided into enclosures for cattle and for pigs, and a coach room. On the left, there is a hay barn from Mikołajskie built in the early 18^th century. It is one of the oldest preserved farm buildings from the Tuchola Forest. At the gable wall, there is an extension containing an oil room. Both buildings are covered with board roofs.

Seventy-eight Behind the barn you can find a horse mill from Wierzchucin Królewski in Krajna. The machine was constructed in the mid-19^th century.  The pulling power of a horse pacing around the treadmill caused the rotation of the wheel, whose force in turn was transmitted to the mechanisms of various farm devices. Further on, you can see the peatpress from Łąk, in the Tuchola Forest. It was constructed in the late 19^th century. Peat was used as fuel and fertiliser for fields and gardens. First, barrels were filled with peat mud, which was then stirred with a cast-iron paddled screw. From the opening at the bottom of the machine, lumps of peat slid out to be cut and formed into bricks, which were then dried. The machine was powered by a horse walking in circles around it on the platform of poles.

Seventy-nine. Farmhouse from Skórzenno, Kociewie. It was built around the mid-19^th century. It is distinguished by exceptionally rich decorations: Shutters with cut-outs in the form of tulips, carved window ornaments and a boarded door. The entrance to the cottage is shaded by a recessed arcade. The cottage was home to a set of grandparents, parents and the four children. They farmed a small piece of land and picked mushrooms and berries from the forest. To the right, there is the young couple’s room fitted with furniture from the early 20^th century. The pantry, which also served as a bedroom, was used to store kitchen equipment and utensils, as well as food. Entering the grandparents’ room from the hallway, one can see that it is equipped with older style furnishings. Close to the entrance there is a presentation of tools for making small items from bovine horns, such as the popular snuff boxes.

Eighty Pole shrine with the figure of Our Lady of Żurawino from Bierzgło, Dobrzyń Land. It is a replica of the original shrine, created in  the late 19^th century, as indicated by the date on the vein. The artist and founder are unknown. It served as a roadside chapel. Shrines of this type were erected as an expression of devotion or thanksgiving, For ceremonial purposes, or to commemorate religious revelations or important events.

Eighty-one. Watermill from Strzygi, Dobrzyń Land. It was built in the early 20^th century. The mill was initially powered by an overshot water wheel. In 1936 the building was modernised and the water wheel was replaced with a turbine. A transmission system allowed it to power other machines as well. Grain transported to the top of the machine with a lift was poured into the hopper of the huller, where it was cleaned of chaff and transported through a wooden shoot to the elevator. This in turn conveyed the material to the upper floor, Where it was deposited into a moving trough inclined towards the hopper of the grinder, located on the middle floor. Finally, a wooden shoot transported the ground grain to the elevator, which conveyed it to the upper floor, to the flour bin with a sieve. Currently the mill exhibits both original and modernised machinery.

Eighty-two. Fishing barge from Toruń, Chełmno Land. Constructed in the 1930s it served as a floating house for people whose work was connected with the waters of the Vistula river: Fishing, boatbuilding or extraction of sand and gravel from the river bed. The wooden hall is mounted on a steel pontoon. The interior is fitted with furniture and equipment typical for the historic period.

Eighty-three. Reconstructed pottery kiln and drying chamber from Kuyavia. The kiln was used for firing red clay, sometimes glazed, and black pottery. Beside it, there is a drying chamber and a trough for storing and working clay. Pottery was a common activity in rural areas. Every village boasted one or several pottery workshops. At the end of a 19^th century, due to the development of industrial ceramics, the popularity of the craft began to decline.

Eighty-four. Cross from Sucha, Tuchola Forest. This is an example of a roadside cross, which were commonly erected at the outskirts of villages, at crossroads or at cemeteries. On the cross there is a replica of a sculpture of Christ Crucified, whose prototype had been created in the late 19^th century by the sculptor Mikołaj Kępa. The recess in the cross contains a copy of the statue of saint Roch, patron saint believed to grant safety to farm animals and protection from plague.