Kargul and Pawlak Statues in Susiec

Kargul and Pawlak, the heroes of the cult Polish comedy "Sami swoi" ("All Friends Here"), stand in Susiec for a reason. This is where Sylwester Chęciński, director of the comedy trilogy about two feuding neighbours from beyond the Bug river, was born on 21 May 1930. The wooden figures stand shoulder to shoulder under a small wooden roof with a sign that reads "Kargul i Pawlak witają w Suścu" – Kargul and Pawlak welcome you to Susiec.

The monument

The monument was unveiled on 5 July 2009. The statues stand on a traffic island on ulica Tomaszowska, opposite the Susiec municipal office, and are among the most photographed spots in the village. It is a modest but instantly recognisable tribute to the director who went from Susiec into the history of Polish cinema.

A trilogy all of Poland knows

"Sami swoi" (1967) tells the story of the neighbourly war between the Pawlak and Kargul families, resettled after the Second World War from Poland's former eastern lands beyond the Bug to the formerly German territories in the west. It was followed by "Nie ma mocnych" ("Take It Easy", 1974) and "Kochaj albo rzuć" ("Love or Leave", 1977). The lead roles were played by Wacław Kowalski as Kazimierz Pawlak and Władysław Hańcza as Władysław Kargul. Chęciński also directed films such as "Wielki Szu" and "Rozmowy kontrolowane". He died in Wrocław on 8 December 2021.

Did you know?

There are other monuments to the trilogy's heroes in Poland. In Toruń, bronze figures of Kargul and Pawlak have stood in front of a cinema since 2006, and in Lubomierz in Lower Silesia there is a Kargul and Pawlak Museum. Susiec, however, has an argument nobody else can match – it is the director's home village.

Tripto tips

A photo and a short stop take 10–15 minutes. The statues stand on the main road through the village, so it is easy to stop on the way to the Nad Tanwią reserve or the observation tower on Góra Grabowicka. Susiec railway station, where the blue Szlak Szumów trail begins, is a few hundred metres away. The centre of Susiec is liveliest around the turn of April and May, during the Jarmark Susiecki fair and the Bieg nad Tanwią run, and on the third Sunday of July, when the Cross-Border Festival of Songs about Roztocze takes place.