The vitality of the idea of the „ukrainian Kresy” in polish culture : fieldwork announcement

The paper attempts to characterize the stereotype of former Polish „Kresy” which seems to be vital in Polish literature in a historical view and in popular image of contemporary Ukraine. The first part of the article concentrates on the process of forming the „Kresy” mythology from historical experiences which were taken on the borderline between two nations – Poles and Ukrainians over the centuries. The landscapes of „Kresy”, the myths of heroes and the Bulwark of Christianity idea decided of the shape of the image of „Kresy” that was current till the beginning of 20. century, when many historical facts occurred in that region (Ukrainian struggle for independence, I World War, Polish–Bolshevik War 1920). To a certain extent those facts destructed the idyllic „Kresy” image. Nevertheless, the myth was supported by the tourism that was expanding from the 1870s, especially in the Eastern Carpathian region. In the second part of the article the author presents the results of her fieldwork, that was conducted among the Polish and Ukrainian students in Poland. The historically constructed stereotype is being compared with the stereotype that is actual in a touristic experience of Ukraine which belongs to young people who define themselves as „interested in” Eastern Europe culture and history.