Mapa Scotland
Tuesday: 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday: 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday: 08:00 - 16:00
Friday: 08:00 - 16:00
Saturday: 08:00 - 16:00
Sunday: 08:00 - 16:00
About Mapa Scotland
Promotes the heritage and cultural links between Poland and Scotland. Guardians of the Great Polish Map of Scotland at Barony Castle, Scottish Borders.
Mapa Scotland Description
Please support us by becoming a member of Mapa Scotland for £10. You can obtain a membership form here:
http://www. mapascotland.org
MAPA Scotland is an initiative set up by a group of enthusiasts to restore the Great Polish Map of Scotland located in grounds of Black Barony Castle in Peeblesshire (Scotland, UK). During the 2nd World War, the Hotel was used as a Staff College for officers from the Polish forces and would have been visited by Generall Stanisław Maczek, Commander of the 1st Polish Armoured Division.
The map was conceived and commissioned by Jan Stanislaw Tomasik, the owner of the Barony Castle Hotel in the mid 1970s. It was possibly constructed to recognise the hospitality given to the Polish troops by the Scottish nation. The coastline and relief of Scotland were laid out precisely in 1975 by Kasimierz Trafas, a young Polish student geographer-cartographer from the Jagiellonian University at Krakow, with a few of his Polish student colleagues. There was much local labour input, particularly from a Mr Roberts, whom we have not been able to trace.
You could play an active role working with us on the team. Every bit of help counts. You may also join Mapa Scotland as a subscriber to our mission, or simply make a donation to help secure the funds we need to further our heritage objectives.
Mapa Scotland was established to restore and repair the Great Polish Map of Scotland from its derelict and abandoned state in 2009. Restoration was completed in October 2017. The map is a magnificent memorial to the cultural links between two nations, Poland and Scotland, and as a model for educational purposes. Mapa Scotland will continue for care and maintenance purposes.
The restoration was carried out by a very small group of volunteers along with help from mainly local contractors. Funding was secured from Heritage Lottery Fund, Scottish Borders Council, Landfill Communities Fund through Entrust, Polish Connections, Polish Foreign Ministry, Polish Consulate in Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland and the Mercure Barony Castle Hotel group. Further funding was provided by membership subscriptions and generous donations from the public. .
Officials:
Acting Chairman, Dave Peck
Secretary and Project Manager, Keith Burns
Treasurer, Gordon Cameron
Membership Secretary, Nigel Rose
For further information please contact: mapascotland@gmail.com
Tel: 01620 860257
Reviews
Jan Tomasik - the man who built Scotland.
On the first anniversary of the completion of the 2018 restoration of the Great Map, we are indebted to Wojciech Szczerek for translating this account of Tomasik's great project in the late 1970s:
😀 http://tinyurl.com/y53klo8w 😀 © Wojciech Szczerek
Spring cleaning with our Polish junior team.
An article from 1981
We would welcome a translation of this interesting article, which could reveal new information about the early days of the great map:
https://tinyurl.com/y4fkvutg
New path up the embankment. Acknowledgements Traquair Paving Ltd.
Light and shade over the map;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DD_As0obaBc
Some criticise the uniform grey surface of the map as dull. This video shows how the map interprets the prevailing weather and allows the mountains to reflect the mood of the skies overhead. Come again and you will always see a different map.
... Copyright: Matthew Cassidy, with thanks for a thoughtful piece.
See More
Google Earth updates their view of the Great Polish Map from space;
CLICK HERE: https://tinyurl.com/y8yqzttz
The Herald features the Great Polish Map: https://tinyurl.com/ybh622n4
BBC Scotland's Douglas Fraser talks about the Scottish housing crisis at the Great Polish Map.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/…/uk-scotland-sco tland-business-46954…
Winter landscape at Barony Castle
Chris Bartholomew captures the Great Polish Map under a rare heavy snowfall with frozen seas.
https://goo.gl/maps/2tWHLqN3cRk
Frost on the hills and frozen sea at the Great Polish Map. Season's Greetings to all our supporters in Poland's centenary year of independence.
The work you can't see any more.
Early clear-up work in 2012 as we waited for funds to begin restoration
Polish Ambassador explains the importance of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jme1JbE5 Hc
Unveiling of General Maczek's statue at the Edinburgh City Chambers on November 3rd 2018. General Maczek regularly visited his friend Jan Tomasik at Barony Castle Hotel when the Great Polish Map of Scotland was being built in the 1970s.
Edukacyjne Centrum Polonijne junior team help out at the Autumn Great Map clean up and show their great team skills.
General Stanislaw Maczek arrived back in Edinburgh in time for the 100th anniversary of Polish independence. Unveiling on Saturday, 3rd November at 2pm: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/…/video-st atue-of-war-hero-ge…/
Leaf and algae free Scotland after Autumn storm.
Sea level back to normal - with leaf fall concentrating off Aberdeen awaiting collection.
Reflood starts at 10th October after summer repairs. After sealing seabed leaks and repairing spalled paintwork.
More about Mapa Scotland
Tuesday: 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday: 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday: 08:00 - 16:00
Friday: 08:00 - 16:00
Saturday: 08:00 - 16:00
Sunday: 08:00 - 16:00