Hala Mała Łąka
{{Short description|Former mountain pasture in the Tatra Mountains}}
Hala Mała Łąka, commonly known as Mała Łąka, is a former mountain pasture in the {{Interlanguage link|Mała Łąka Valley|pl|Dolina Małej Łąki}} of the Western Tatras. Historically used for grazing by local highlanders, it was one of the largest pastures in the region, with its main clearing, {{Interlanguage link|Wielka Polana Małołącka|pl|Wielka Polana Małołącka}}, serving as a central area for shepherding activities. It was first documented in the 16th century and remained in use until the mid-20th century, when it was acquired by the Tatra National Park. Overgrazing led to significant environmental degradation, prompting conservation efforts following the cessation of pastoral activities. Today, Mała Łąka is an integral part of the protected landscape of the Tatra National Park, with its former pastures undergoing natural reforestation.
History
Hala Mała Łąka was historically referred to by local highlanders as "Małałąka" or "ku Małołące". The origin of the name remains unclear, possibly a playful or ironic twist, as its main clearing, {{Interlanguage link|Wielka Polana Małołącka|pl|Wielka Polana Małołącka}}, is one of the largest in the Tatra Mountains. This clearing once hosted shepherding structures. In 1885, {{Interlanguage link|Bronisław Gustawicz|pl|Bronisław Gustawicz}} wrote: "Hay sheds, cow barns, and huts give Mała Łąka the appearance of a small settlement amidst the Tatras".{{cite book |last=Nyka |first=Józef |title=Tatry polskie. Przewodnik |publisher=Trawers |year=2003 |isbn=83-915859-1-3 |location=Latchorzew |language=pl |trans-title=Polish Tatras: Guidebook}} Besides Wielka Polana, the pasture included the much smaller {{Interlanguage link|Mała Polanka Małołącka|pl|Mała Polanka Małołącka}}, located below {{Interlanguage link|Grzybowiec Pass|pl|Przełęcz w Grzybowcu}}, still marked on some maps, as well as Rówienki, adjacent to the lower part of Wielka Polana on a moraine ridge, and the {{Interlanguage link|Wyżnie|pl|Wyżnie}} flat, situated above Wielka Polana along the valley floor.{{cite book |title=Tatry. Zakopane i okolice. Mapa w skali 1:27 000 |date=2005 |publisher=ExpressMap Polska |isbn=83-88112-35-X |location=Warsaw |language=pl |trans-title=Tatras: Zakopane and Surroundings. Map at 1:27,000 Scale}}
The pasture spanned the middle and upper parts of Mała Łąka Valley, extending its grazing areas to the summits of Giewont, {{Interlanguage link|Kopa Kondracka|pl|Kopa Kondracka}}, and Małołączniak.{{cite book |last1=Radwańska-Paryska |first1=Zofia |last2=Paryski |first2=Witold Henryk |title=Wielka encyklopedia tatrzańska |trans-title=Great Tatra Encyclopedia |location=Poronin |publisher=Wyd. Górskie |year=2004 |isbn=83-7104-009-1 |language=pl}}{{cite book |title=Tatry Zachodnie. Mapa turystyczna 1:20 000 |publisher=Polskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych |year=2005 |isbn=83-7329-645-X |location=Warsaw |language=pl |trans-title=Western Tatras: Tourist Map 1:20,000}} Before its acquisition by the Tatra National Park, its total area was 248.14 hectares (613.2 acres), comprising 15.3 ha (37.8 acres) of pastures, 15.0 ha (37.1 acres) of scrubland, 101.56 ha (250.9 acres) of wastelands, 36.28 ha (89.6 acres) of forests, and 80 ha (197.7 acres) of dwarf pine. Wielka Polana covered 9.69 ha (23.9 acres), while Mała Polanka spanned about 1.2 ha (3.0 acres). Additional easement lands in "lordly" (later state) forests, used by Mała Łąka's shepherds, amounted to 129.79 ha (320.7 acres).{{cite book |last=Kopczyńska-Jaworska |first=Bronisława |title=Tradycyjna gospodarka sezonowa w Karpatach polskich |publisher=Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich |year=1969 |location=Wrocław |pages=53–58 |language=pl |trans-title=Traditional Seasonal Economy in the Polish Carpathians}}
According to easement agreements from the late 19th century, Mała Łąka could graze 600 sheep, 150 lambs, 50 cows, 25 heifers, 20 horses, and 8 oxen. Conversion rates allowed flexibility: 2 horses or oxen could be swapped for 3 cows, 2 heifers for 1 cow, 1 cow for 6 sheep, and 2 lambs for 1 sheep, totaling an equivalent of 1,195 sheep. Over time, as grazing lands depleted and were bought out, these numbers shrank. By the 1950s, it supported around 700 sheep, and in 1960, grazing (converted to sheep) was 550 head.{{cite book |last=Szafer |first=Władysław |author-link=Władysław Szafer |title=Tatrzański Park Narodowy |trans-title=Tatra National Park |year=1962 |publisher=Zakład Ochrony Przyrody PAN |language=pl}}
The earliest records mentioning the mountain pasture date to the 16th century, when Jan Pieniążek, leaseholder of Szaflary and Nowy Targ estates, granted "the Mała Łąka clearing for sheep grazing" to Krzysztof Stoch, headman of Pieniążkowice, in 1593. In 1701, Waligórski, a Pieniążkowice headman, sold it to the Budz family of Groń. By 1833, only Budz family members and a Jan Gąsienica (possibly a hired shepherd) grazed there. Over time, inheritance divisions made it a collective property of numerous highlander families, mainly from Groń and Murzasichle. By 1846, it belonged to eight owners: the western part to one Budz from Groń and two from Murzasichle, and the eastern part to Budz families from Groń and Zakopane plus the Walczak family from Zakopane. By 1873, there were 19 owners. This fragmentation slowed in the interwar period as some consolidated shares through buyouts, reaching 22 owners by the 1960s.
Wielka Polana ranks among the Tatras' most fertile clearings, formed on a former glacial lake bed filled with several alluvial fans, with sediment depths up to 65 meters (213 feet). Both Wielka and Mała Polana were mowed, with hay transported in winter by sled. Grazing occurred on surrounding slopes, gullies, scrublands, forests, and upper valley tiers – {{Interlanguage link|Niżnia Świstówka|pl|Niżnia Świstówka}} and {{Interlanguage link|Wyżnia Świstówka|pl|Wyżnia Świstówka}}. Pasture areas were used communally, while the two clearings were cadastrally and legally divided, with owners' shares dictating livestock quotas.
In the early 20th century, sheep numbers exceeded the pasture's capacity, scaring off marmots, damaging the rich alpine flora of the Czerwone Wierchy massif, and causing severe erosion on the eastern slopes. Grazing continued until 1961–1964, when the Tatra National Park acquired or expropriated the entire mountain pasture from the highlanders. After shepherding ceased, eroded slopes recovered, and treeless areas, including Wielka Polana, began naturally reforesting.
Hiking trails
File:Panorama Wielka Polana Zima 2008.jpg
The pasture hosts a junction of hiking trails.
- The black-marked {{Interlanguage link|Ścieżka nad Reglami|pl|Ścieżka nad Reglami}} from {{Interlanguage link|Strążyska Polana|pl|Strążyska Polana}} via Grzybowiec Pass to Wielka Polana Małołącka, continuing through {{Interlanguage link|Przysłop Miętusi|pl|Przysłop Miętusi}}, {{Interlanguage link|Miętusia Valley|pl|Dolina Miętusia}}, and {{Interlanguage link|Zahradziska|pl|Zahradziska}} to Kościeliska Valley.
- Time from Strążyska Polana to Wielka Polana Małołącka: 1 hour 10 minutes, return 1 hour 5 minutes
- Time from Wielka Polana Małołącka to Kościeliska Valley: 55 minutes, return 1 hour 5 minutes
- The yellow trail from {{Interlanguage link|Gronik|pl|Gronik (Kościelisko)}} through Wielka Polana Małołącka, Głazisty Żleb, and {{Interlanguage link|Kondracka Pass|pl|Kondracka Przełęcz}} to Kopa Kondracka.
- Time from Gronik to Wielka Polana Małołącka: 55 minutes, descent 45 minutes
- Time from Wielka Polana Małołącka to Kopa Kondracka: 2 hours 35 minutes, descent 1 hour 50 minutes