Community Highlights Europe January Vibes in Siedlce

January Vibes in Siedlce

Published 27 Jan 2026 · Poland · Comments

The sunset over Lake Mukhavka, Siedce

There are days that remind you that winter can really be photogenic. After a solid dose of snow, the Siedlce cityscapes look completely different. My wife and I go for a walk about the city in any weather. In snowy weather, you can see familiar places, yet something new. I always have my camera with me to catch some special moments.

Aleksandria Park view in Siedlce

We had read about the alpacas farm in Siedlce and had seen its photographs on Facebook, where they have their own fun page. We found out that the alpacas farm in Siedlce in not unique in Poland. There are plenty of places with alpacas, that are called alpakarnias in Polish, in Poland. We have an opportunity of visiting such a wonderful place in our area and not only see these cute animals, but also pet them, go for a walk with them in a fenced area in the warm season or even feed them, but only with the specially cooked food given to you by the farm keeper. Therefore, we decided we should pay a visit to that farm some day, even though the weather was snowy and windy.
On the way to the alpacas farm, we visited the newly-built St.Maximilian Kolbe Church and saw the city's best Nativity Scene there.

Inside St.Maximilian Kolbe Church, Siedlce

The Nativity Scene inside St.Maximilian Kolbe Church, Siedlce

The old roadside chapels on the way to the Merry Alpacas Farm

inside the Merry Alpacas Farm / The Nativity Scene inside the Merry Alpacas Farm

Mateusz Łęczycki runs the "Merry Alpacas" farm with his sister at 19 Owocowa Street in Żabokliki-Kolonia located in the suburbs of Siedlce. It’s 5 km away from our hostel, where we are staying. Mateusz Łęczycki and his sister run the "Merry Alpacas" and own a herd of alpacas and other animals: sheep, a donkey, goats, a pony, and rabbits. This farm is an educational establishment where you can organize birthday parties for children or workshops for schools and preschools. We saw the donkey, eight alpacas and rabbits. Practically all the families visiting the farm were the families with children. The young children are happy to meet a donkey and the increasingly popular alpacas.

Inside Merry Alpacas Farm, Siedlce

We went to see Merry Alpacas near Siedlce at weekend. There was a live nativity scene that was open from Christmas until Ephiphany for free. The founders did not sell tickets during the presentation of the living Nativity Scene. On Christmas days, there was a donation box for those who visit the farm, where you could drop off your donations for Merry Alpacas. According to the farm owners, this money will be used for feeding the animals and maintaining that unique place.

Inside Merry Alpacas Farm, Siedlce

An inscription at the fence. "Attention! I can bite you! I have no ill intentions but I like draying attention to myself"

Anyone could come and feed the animals (alpacas, donkeys, sheep, rabbits), but only with pieces of vegetables prepared at the farm. Nobody can bring his/her own food and feed the farm animals. The visitors enjoy taking beautiful photos under the Christmas lights in the evening (the farm is open until 8.p.m.) .

At the entrance to the farm

Three Kings celebration

For the thirteenth time, on January 6, 2026, the streets of Siedlce were filled with the joyful singing of Christmas carols, colorful costumes, and thousands of participants in the procession. At 11:45 a.m., Bishop Kazimierz Gurda presided over the solemn Eucharist at the Church of St. Stanislaus the Martyr Bishop. After the Mass, the faithful marched together in the Three Kings' Procession toward the cathedral, where the Adoration of the Magi took place.

The motto of this year's Procession was: "They are filled with hope." The participants received symbolic paper crowns and songbooks. We joined the joyful Procession, even though the temperature was well below zero. Next time we do have to wear warmer boots…

11:45 – Holy Mass at the Church of St. Stanislaus the Martyr Bishop in Siedlce.
1:00 PM – Gathering of the participants of the procession in front of the Church of St. Stanislaus:
(Scene I – The Revelation of the Magi).
1:20 PM – March along Piłsudski Street to the Municipal Library:
(Scene II – The Shepherds).
1:30 PM – March along Piłsudski Street to the City Hall:
(Scene III – Herod's Court).

1:45 PM – March to the intersection of Piłsudski Street and Army Street:
(Scene IV – The Tavern).
2:00 PM – March along Piłsudski Street and Army Street to the square in front of the cathedral:
(Scene V – Adoration of the Shepherds, Adoration of the Kings).
2:30 PM – Wishes from Bishop Kazimierz Gurda and Mayor Tomasz Hapunowicz,
followed by refreshments (a bowl of the field soup) and the conclusion of the Procession.

Bishop Kazimierz Gurda pronounced a sermon during the liturgy at the church and said, “I am delighted to see when someone is young and already wants to live with Lord Jesus. And now, in the solitude of church, we remember that we have different church holidays that should be written in your dairies. And there are even more: anniversaries, birthdays, your holy patron days, etc.
And they show us how to live our daily lives coping with difficulties and making the year we have begun glorious and successful, to give thanks to the One who was born for us, led His life for us and gave us Light . This great light is for all the people, so that the world is for me and for you. Where is the child who is born again, I’d better ask you today. Where is the newly-born born child for you? We have recently His birth. Where will He live again today? Have we met Him before?..”

After the liturgy, the Three Kings celebration

The start of the Three Kings celebration, Siedlce

After the liturgy, gathering for the start of the Three Kings procession

Three Kings celebration_the Merry Alpacas at the end point of the procession, Siedlce

Three Kings celebration_the Holy Family on te way to the cradle at the end point of the procession, Siedlce

Three Kings celebration_the Holy Family at the end point of the procession, Siedlce

Three Kings celebration_sheep (from the Merry Alpacas Farm) at the end point of the procession, Siedlce

Three Kings celebration_the "camel" at the end point of the procession, Siedlce

Tomasz Hapunowicz, the Mayor of Siedlce (who is called City President here), addressed the participants of the Three Kings' March and said, "On the occasion of the Feast of the Epiphany, I extend my heartfelt wishes for peace, prosperity, and all good. May the radiance of the Star of Bethlehem guide you to wise decisions, mutual understanding, and unwavering hope. I wish that the coming time will bring much strength, harmony, and satisfaction from your actions."

The Sunny Song of Songs exhibition, Siedlce

We visited a very special arts exhibition at A-Gallery attached to Siedlce University. The exhibition was called "The Sunny Song of Songs". It was a cycle of paintings that combined the biblical Song of Songs and the Franciscan Canticle of the Sun. Brother Marcin brings these texts into dialogue with his own iconographic imagination as a living tool of vision. His works incorporate episodes from the life of St. Francis, fragments of liturgical spousal love, and natural landscapes that are not merely a backdrop but participants in a religious conversation.

The Sunny Song of Songs exhibition, Siedlce

Brother Marcin explaining about his paintings

The Sunny Song of Songs exhibition, Siedlce

Świąder's paintings employ the language of icons: simplified figures, concentrated gestures, and sparse perspective. At the same time, they are not "old style" in the sense of reconstruction - they introduce a contemporary rhythm of composition, layered narrative, and an emphasis on light as a carrier of meaning. The sun becomes a metaphor and presence here - not only a source of light, but also a voice that intertwines God's love, the glory of nature, and human longing. This fusion of the Song of Songs with the Song of the Sun reveals images that can be read both as spiritual texts and as images of the universal human need for rapture.

The exhibition, which was created in the context of the Franciscan celebrations of the anniversary of the creation of the Canticle of the Sun, gives this series a communal dimension: the works sound like a prayer, but also like an invitation to conversation - about nature, the body, transience, and joy. The key to understanding many of the compositions lies in symbols rooted in tradition, yet used here with simplicity and sensitivity. This leaves the works open - they do not impose interpretations, but offer points of reference for personal reflection. The painter used tempera, iconic material, and focused palette – the things that demand a close look - just like a song that must be heard.

The Sunny Song of Songs exhibition, Siedlce

The artist depicted Adam and Eve in this way.

The Sunny Song of Songs exhibition, Siedlce

The artist was introduced by a representative of the City Cultural Center and spoke about his works and himself. Brother Marcin Świąder (born in 1976) is an icon painter and author of nearly a thousand of paintings and icons. He has been a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin since 1995. He made his perpetual profession in 2001 and was ordained a priest in 2002. He learned tempera techniques, among others, during workshops led by Iryna Bołdyna-Styczeń. He worked in houses of prayer and evangelization circles, runs his own icon painting studio and offers painting workshops. He is also the author of the album "Po szlakach" (Following the Traces). He is inspired by the artists such as Theophan the Greek, Andrey Rubliov, Dionisiy, and contemporary artists such as Jerzy Nowosielski and Kiko Argüello. According to Brother Marcin, “Last year was, for us, brothers, the year of St. Francis, a very important moment, because 800 years after the creation of the Sunny Songs by St. Francis. I thought it was a very good moment to try to capture the Sunny Songs somehow in a meaningful, painterly way.”

We heard and witnessed the 479th city birthday. 15 January 1547 is the date when the settlers of Siedlce were given the urban rights based on the privilege of Sigmund I Stary — that was the beginning of the city’s urban history. That day is an occasion, when the residents, mass media and neighbors wish each other further successful development, great initiatives and pride in the local community.
We visited the photo exhibition in Sikorski Square called «To tu, to tam...” ("Here and there..." in English.) The Siedlce-based photography creative group called Fotogram was founded in 2001 and operates actively under the auspices of the Siedlce Municipal Cultural Center.

Visiting the exhibition of the Fotogram photography creative group in the central square, Siedlce

According to Piotr Tołwiński, the Curator of the Focus Gallery and the Chairman of the Fotogram Group, Andrzej Ruciński was the founder and initiator of this creative group. This year the group celebrates the 25th anniversary of its artistic activities. Currently, the group consists of approximately thirty active individuals of various ages, who have held solo exhibitions and won prestigious awards.

Visiting the exhibition of the Fotogram photography creative group in the central square, Siedlce

In addition to broadly defined creativities in the field of photography, the group is actively involved in organizing events to promote the art of photography. One of its main goals is the International Photographic Plein Air exhibition "The Podlasie Bug River Gorge." This plein air event has been held for 30 years and is currently the longest-running, ongoing photography project of its kind in Poland. The group also organizes their own exhibitions, publications, meetings, and field trips. Also in 2025, at the turn of April and May, a photography plein air took place in Klaipėda, Lithuania, which will culminate in a group exhibition.

Visiting the exhibition of the Fotogram photography creative group in the central square, Siedlce

The group also has a professional photography gallery in Siedlce, named Focus, where they organize ten individual exhibitions each year.

We visited another photo exhibition that was open in Aleksandria Park. It consisted of the photographs of Artur Klepacki, who is an electronics engineer by training, and has for years navigated the world of precise digital technology and the analog and digital alchemy of imagery. His experience as a lighting technician and projectionist has taught him to listen to light, and in his shots he captures both the charm and the fissures of everyday life. He passionately intertwines history, art, and technology, uncovering stories from a regional perspective that usually escape our gaze. In his shots, he doesn't idealize the world but tries to capture it in an unusual way.

Viewing the exhibition of photographs of Artur Klepacki in Aleksandria Park, Siedlce

Piotr Tolwiński, the Curator of the Focus Gallery and the Chairman of the Fotogram Group, dedicated an article to Artur Klepacki named Our Heavens
Each of us carries a small mobile camera these days and naturally, with better or worse results, tries to take photographs. This is undoubtedly a hallmark of our times. We use innovative inventions and conveniences primarily to please ourselves, to develop various interests, or to cultivate our valuable needs.
Electronics, which, with the precise alchemy of the camera operator, tracks the changing nature of our frames.
Clearly, one of these is the sphere of broadly defined photography. Commercial photography, documentary, outdoor photography, reportage photography, portrait photography, macro photography, etc., offers many creative, empirical, and technical possibilities.
Artur Klepacki is undoubtedly an expert in street and walk photography, whose main artistic interest is the ordinary, everyday, unceremonious Siedlce. Reflections, foreshortenings, and tightly framed, often sun-kissed urban motifs become quite characteristic features of Artur's individual perception. The very choice of framing, i.e., the horizontal vertical, presents a certain difficulty, as everyone's natural field of vision is the horizontal horizon. Perhaps these vertical frames are also a kind of individual, free, and somewhat nonchalant artistic expression, which, in my opinion, is an interesting form of interpretation of the Siedlce landscape.

The presentation of Artur Klepacki's works seems to be proof that the art of photography, in the context of the everyday, usually monotonous space surrounding us, can be interesting, striking, and diverse. The author himself tells the person that he is looking for traces of the relationship between man and the space that surrounds him, traces "suspended" in the passing time.
In today's world, characterized by a multitude of visual stimuli, photography appears to be the technically easiest visual art. However, in my opinion, this is certainly a paradox, as it is easy to create something trivial and banal in this context. Therefore, I heartily encourage you to pursue an individual, insightful, and bold interpretation of the world around us, while wishing you consistency in your artistic endeavors and many inspiring inspirations.
Piotr Tolwiński

During an afternoon walk in Aleksandria Park, Siedlce

The Aleksandra Tree (the leaning one on the right) is attached to the neighboring tree by a metal rope. The tree belongs to the species of surmia/catalpa. This tree was chosen by Aleksandra Oginska for its numerous merits:

the beautiful leaves, which decorate the tree throughout the summer;
the flowers, which are compared to orchids in shape;
the fruits are also attractive;
the smell of the tree is useful as mosquitoes and ticks repellant.

During an afternoon walk in Polish Foresters' Park, Siedlce

Children's Hill is almost never empty in winter

Children's Hill, a popular place among kids in winter

At the Horsing Farm located next to Nove Kino Movie Theater, Siedlce

This is where you can pet the horses, but not feed them. They have their own food at the farm.

Every week we walked to Lake Mukhavka (5 km), where we has a walk around the lake (3 km) and fed the ducks, who stayed there over the winter. Those walks are something not to be missed!

Approaching Lake Mukhavka