In Jan Bułhak's photos, one can see archaic fishing boats, tourist bases under construction, and endless deserted beaches.
The book "Narocz. The Largest Lake in Poland" ("Narocz. Najwieksze jezioro w Polsce") with photographs by the outstanding photographer of Belarusian roots, Jan Bułhak, published in 1935 in Vilnius, can now be browsed by anyone interested. The Maldzis initiative has digitized a copy of the book.
Jan Bułhak was born near Novogrudok in 1876 and became interested in photography by accident. When he was almost 30 years old, he started taking photos with a simple camera given to his wife as a gift. After some time, Bułhak made an incredible career. He was the official photographer of Vilnius, taught artistic photography at Stephen Báthory University in Vilnius, participated in international exhibitions, and founded the Vilnius and Polish Photo Clubs. His photographs can be used to study what Novogrudok, Mir, Nesvizh, and Polesian settlements looked like at the beginning of the 20th century.
Jan Bułhak, known as the "father of Polish and Belarusian photography," was the creator of the concept of "homeland photography." He believed that a photographer should not just record reality, but convey the soul of the land, its identity through the landscape. For him, Narach was not just a body of water, but a sacred place, a symbol of revived statehood and untouched natural power.
The history of the book is inextricably linked to the moment of Narach's opening to the wider public. In the 1930s, this region was a borderland ("Kresy"), where Polish authorities were actively creating the country's main water resort. Bułhak came here to document this transition from primeval wilderness to civilized tourism.
The book was published by Stanisław Turski's Vilnius publishing house and became a landmark media product of its time: it is both a lyrical diary and a practical guide for those who dared to undertake an adventurous journey "to the end of the world."
The visual content of the book comprises 38 original photographs, which today hold immense historical value. They depict Narach before its shores were overgrown with typical Soviet architecture: here are archaic fishing boats, tourist bases under construction, and endless deserted beaches.
Bułhak describes the "American pace" of construction, unaware that in just a few years this world would change forever, and the borders would shift again.
For the modern reader, this is a rare opportunity to compare the current sanatorium glamour with that harsh, windy, and incredibly romantic Narach that the philosopher-photographer captured.
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А так справа добрая, вядома.