Carnival is under way—a time for good fun and relaxation. The iconic Rycerska Restaurant in Lwówek Śląski (at the Town Hall) invites you to the Magical Masquerade Ball, which will take place on Saturday (February 23). Why will the ball be magical? It will be thanks to a performance by the incredible illusionist and semi-finalist of Mam Talent – Roman Słomka. You cannot miss it. The cost is only PLN 130 per person. This includes a rich and delicious menu. The musical entertainment will be provided by the Revers band. More information and reservations by phone: 605 455 810.
See how Roman Słomka enchanted the judges on Mam Talent!
A little history
Masquerade balls at Rycerska
It has long been known that Rycerska Restaurant in Lwówek once enjoyed great popularity among residents of the lion city and the surrounding area. To this day, we can hear legends that a taxi would arrive at “the knight’s” from the other end of the voivodeship, carrying guests seeking “Lwówek’s distinctive atmosphere.” They came for the restaurant’s reputation, service or orchestra, which, for the appropriate fee, would play a requested song with a dedication. How much joy there was when loving Ryszard sent birthday wishes with a song to his beloved Grażynka. Personally, I will always associate Rycerska Restaurant with halberds hanging on the walls, my grandmother Bronia, who worked there as a cloakroom attendant, and whipped cream with raisins sprinkled with cocoa, which I always devoured with relish.
Interestingly, several family anecdotes are connected with this place. One is that my parents met precisely at Rycerska. My mother was a waitress and later the dining-room manager, while my father was the bassist in the restaurant orchestra. Later, their paths parted. A dozen or so years later, my stepfather worked at the same restaurant as a waiter; because of his rather substantial build, he was also employed as a doorman and security guard who admitted guests to the restaurant for a fee. As a small boy, I fell asleep to the sounds that filled the entire Lwówek market square and came from the restaurant hall. That was when I became familiar with the hits of the day drifting into my grandmother Bronia’s apartment by the town hall. According to my mother, these dances ran from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., and sometimes even until 3:00 a.m., depending on how and which guests were enjoying themselves in the hall. Guests came to dances at the knight’s from Wrocław, Legnica and even more distant parts of Poland. Taxi drivers sat at the bar, enjoying their ordered meat with fries and slowly sipping one symbolic Lwówek town-hall beer. The guests brought from far away, meanwhile, indulged in every available alcoholic drink, becoming the “kings of Lwówek’s dance floors.”
These dances took place on Saturdays and Sundays. Guests were usually served set meals consisting of tripe soup; pork chop, potatoes and a selection of salads; fries with a cutlet; Hungarian-style pancake; pierogi; pancakes; or potato pancakes. On Sundays, strawberry cream cakes served in glass goblets were very popular, with families coming for them after returning from church following Mass. Saturday guests would also often return for a Sunday meal, enjoying broth or roast chicken with fries and a selection of salads. This was known as the “Sunday hangover rescue meal.” The dances in Lwówek went down in history because of the many anecdotes and unusual behavior of various guests. There were fights, numerous affairs and acts of jealousy, striptease and shared joy at the birth of a child. There were also visits from the Citizens’ Militia, arriving to collect unruly guests who felt an overwhelming inner strength and self-admiration. Some people without driving licenses acquired vehicles won in card games. Others lost a cow at their table in a card game. There were adventurers, thrill-seekers and connoisseurs of fine spirits, always with herring on the side. “Mrs. Władziu, one herring!” could be heard in the distance. The bartender was Mrs. Jasia from Milików, a woman with unusual beauty and complexion, as well as the aforementioned Mrs. Władzia.
In addition to the dances, an annual tradition was the company balls organized by individual workplaces in Lwówek. There were balls for nurses and healthcare workers, parties for brewery employees and the factory of factories in Rakowice. Magnificent Barbórka celebrations were held for miners from Niwnice, who left generous tips. However, the Carnival Balls attracted the greatest interest, with many Lwówek residents arriving dressed as various characters. Men most often came as sailors, soldiers, musketeers, clowns, militiamen, doctors, hunters, hairdressers with scissors, railway workers and so on. It is known that one man came to a party with a shotgun; only toward the end of the event did it turn out that the weapon was actually real. Another arrived in a militiaman’s uniform and, toward the end of the event, proved to be rather uncivilized, which led to the militia being called. How surprised the staff were when, after checking the man’s identity, it turned out that he was a real militiaman from a neighboring precinct… Rycerska Restaurant provided income for many citizens. One of the privileged groups was taxi drivers, who merely waited for the dances to end and for the opportunity to make good money from “worked-over customers” or generous gentlemen eager to impress the ladies of their hearts by “having themselves driven around the area”… while the meter kept running regardless of how much champagne or strong liquor had been consumed.
A master of ceremonies always encouraged guests to enjoy themselves in the hall, catering even to their most sophisticated musical tastes. Hits by bands such as Niebiesko Czarni, Skaldowie and Filipinki, as well as songs by Paul Anka and Marino-Marini’s “Nie Płacz Kiedy Odjadę,” were especially popular. Women arrived dressed as princesses, countesses, maids and animals (cats, panthers and zebras). If the Lwówek hall could speak, it would surely be the cause of more than one divorce. Yet it was also a place where couples met and true love was born—whose offspring walk around the town hall without knowing the turbulent truth about their parents’ youth. The Lwówek hall was a place for family gatherings, weddings, First Communions and farewells. For me, however, it will always remain the place where Grandma Bronia sat behind a long wooden counter among the jackets and coats of people enjoying themselves in the hall. From the side room came my mother’s voice asking: “Are you hungry? Would you like some whipped cream?”
The text was written by Przemysław Popławski. You can read the article on the infolwowek24.pl