Forest Hive

Tree and log hives tended in the forests of Poland and Belarus, a shared living tradition shaped around bees, woodland and inherited tools.

Community: Polish and Belarusian tree beekeepers

Sources

1. UNESCO Representative List: Tree beekeeping culture, Poland and Belarus (2020). Read 2026-09-26.
2. Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage: Tree beekeepers receive the UNESCO certificate (2021). Read 2026-09-26.
3. Ethnographic Museum in Rzeszów (Muzeum Etnograficzne im. Franciszka Kotuli): Inga Kunysz, Bartnictwo. Read 2026-09-27.
4. Agata Kwaśnicka-Janowicz, Staropolska terminologia bartnicza (na tle porównawczym), Kraków: LEXIS (2018), published with Jagiellonian University Faculty of Polish Studies funding, accession ISBN 978-83-89425-95-9, section 9.1, pp. 202-207. Read 2026-09-27.
5. Związek Kurpiów (Kurpie Association): Adam Kazimierz Bakuła, Dawne bartnictwo kurpiowskie. Read 2026-09-27.

Style

The look of this scene follows a neighbouring folk art. These sources are for that style, not for the facts above.

1. Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage: Entries on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, first quarter of 2020 (Kurpie paper cutting from the Green Forest). Read 2026-09-27.
2. Museum of Kurpie Culture in Ostrołęka (Muzeum Kultury Kurpiowskiej): exhibition Wycinanka kurpiowska, curator Maria Samsel (2018-2023). Read 2026-09-27.
3. Związek Kurpiów (Kurpie Association): Wycinanka kurpiowska. Read 2026-09-27.

This scene is our own artwork, inspired by the tradition named here. It does not reproduce any particular object.

Know this tradition and see something we got wrong? Tell us, and we will correct, explain or credit as the case needs.

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