If boredom in tourism killed like a black mamba, how long would the average tourist who came to our town, lured by colorful brochures from the Municipal Office, survive? Not long.
After booking a room in any hotel and wanting to see the market square—the pearl of Bolesławiec—he would follow one of the routes marked by some famous person or another historical event. He might not even notice this if he did not read the brochure carefully, or, after walking the route, he might exclaim in surprise: Ah, so that was it—the trail of the famous Kutuzov! And I have already walked this route? Too bad.
Too bad—and time to die, we would exclaim, because the venom of boredom is beginning to seep slowly into the tourist. With a colorful leaflet in hand, the tourist notices the town hall, the little townhouses, some gate—the Piast Gate, a commemorative plaque, and a church. Whether he will see the Baroque interior depends on whether the church doors are open. But honestly, how many people in your company are interested in the Baroque? And do you think an ordinary person who has gone away for the weekend changes himself and his tastes, transforming from an average fan of TV series and entertainment shows into a connoisseur of the Baroque—and specifically Silesian Baroque at that? The answer is no! Perhaps you now think the ignorant tourist deserves to die? Take it easy, because after fifteen minutes, once he has managed to tour the market square, his condition begins to worsen.
But he does not know what is killing him, so he sets off on a tiny stroll through the town's tree-lined promenades toward the courthouse, the theater, and the Ceramics Museum… do not smile at human suffering! If, for some unexplained reason, the tourist realizes that the promenades described in the brochure are the few trees beneath which he is walking, and takes an interest in them, he may live a little longer. But he is already making his way toward the museum with its permanent collection and there, unfortunately, if he also realizes that an entire weekend in the town lies ahead of him, he will collapse.
Luckily, we have a place where we can revive him: the cinema. The good old, new Forum cinema and some film. Here the tourist, who had already been saying goodbye to the world and cursing the deceptive information brochures that brought him here, comes back to life. But the film lasts two hours at most, and after forty minutes of sightseeing and two hours in intensive care—that is, at the cinema—we release the defenseless tourist straight into the jaws of death.
Some little restaurant, a disco, perhaps a concert—but reading the information on one of the Bolesławiec portals, which always reports what is happening in town on weekends, the tourist could be unlucky, and the forecast for the days off might sound like this: “As many as 1 different attractions await Bolesławiec residents and visitors to our town next weekend (05–07.09.2008).” And what then? Perhaps someone would lend him a bicycle? He could go on some excursion. He might even make it to Kliczków or Chojnik, because we are a wonderful base for trips. For now, though, it is better to get out of here than to come here. Why?
Because those who write about attractions in the brochures do not spend attractive time in our town themselves, nor do they create any attractions.
So what is wrong with our town? A lack of historic monuments? We have them. True, one internet user suggested in a post that the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Basilica be brought here to solve the problem of the lack of tourists, but we have our own historic monuments—let Kraków be. There is, however, something we could have brought from Kraków: atmosphere, charm, Gałczyński's enchanted horse-drawn carriage, and Bracka Street, where Turnau's rain is always falling.
Tourists come to Verona to see a balcony. The funniest thing is that the balcony was invented by a poet. Romeo and Juliet did not actually exist, after all. Yet people come, marvel, and weep over their great but unhappy love.
Tourists come to St. Tropez to see the façade of the building in front of which the famous French comedy starring Louis de Funès, “The Troops of St. Tropez,” was filmed, or to spend time in the town where “And God Created Woman” and she was Brigitte Bardot.
You will say, do not make us laugh—St. Tropez and Verona compared with Bolesławiec? What a joke. But I will tell you that in the 1950s Brigitte lived in a backwater at the end of the world, well, perhaps she merely had a beautiful view of the sea, while Verona was—quite literally—Bolesławiec, only with the balcony from Shakespeare's drama. There were even times when the castles along the Loire were falling into ruin and not a soul would visit them. Today, few people believe this.
Our town has potential, people with ideas, historic monuments, and something more than an imaginary balcony. Films can even be made here. We only need to eliminate the brochures produced by the Promotion Department and start creating.
Grażyna Hanaf