Pillars of Peace - Poland
Poland's serene Roztocze range of hills, rolling between Poland and Ukraine, through Lubelskie voivodeship, emerges the Pillar of Peace, bridging nations in harmony
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Peace Park, the City of Messines has prepared an art installation, 'Pillars of Peace', which is made up of stones from different countries around the world, including a stone from Poland, specifically Józefów in Roztocze. Roztocze (Ukrainian: Розточчя, Roztochchia) is a range of hills in east-central Poland and western Ukraine which rises from the Lublin Upland and extends southeastward through Solska Forest and across the border into Ukrainian Podolia.
The largest quarry in the Roztocze area, Babia Dolina, with a rich mining history, is located in Józefów. It contains limestone rocks dating back to the Miocene epoch, 20 million years ago. Tertiary limestone has been quarried here since the 18th century. The stone was primarily used as a local building material to create distinctive architectural accents in the area. Some blocks were also suitable for use as material for local stonemasons. Their work can be found in Jozefow and the surrounding area.
The rocks from this quarry are characterised by a layered structure, i.e. individual layers of different thicknesses are separated by thin coverings of clay, loose sediments or cracks. Cracks also occur vertically. The extraction of such material, due to the fragility of the rock, is usually carried out by traditional mining methods. This means using a method of splitting the rock using a wooden or iron wedge technique. Special plates are placed in special grooves, followed by wedges. The extraction is carried out by striking against the placed wedges until the rock block is split and separated.
It is limestone from the Babia Dolina quarry in Józefów that presents the Lublin part of the art installation. The author of the limestone block from Roztocze is Jan Pastuszek, a local sculptor. He has created more than a hundred sculptural works from the stones excavated from the Jozefów quarry, and they can be found not only in Poland, but also in many European countries. More information about the author and his works can be found in a video available at:
