Studies and sketches
The residents of Zakopane are the group of permanent inhabitants who were not born in the Podhale region, but it was their choice to connect themselves to it. The formation of this group is the result of the social-demographic changes in the Tatra mountains at the beginning of the 20th century and in the interwar period. It is a group that is diversified and therefore difficult to define. It figures as a link between the highlanders who are ingrained into the space of Podhale and those who treat it in a pragmatic and utilitarian way. The residents constitute the cultural phenomenon present in literary works as well as in the cultural life of Zakopane during the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The main subject of the article is a portrayal of the residents — historical figures and literary heroines — taking into account their functions in the society of Zakopane of those times: the groups which have been highlighted are schoolgirls, the women who provide accommodation to the tourists, and the organizers of literary saloons.