French
DeutschPolish playing cards
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| Leaves (Wino) | Hearts (Czerwień) | Acorns (Żołądź) | Bells (Dzwonek) | |
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| O |  |  |  |  |
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| 9 |  |  |  |  |
| 8 |  |  |  |  |
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| 6 |  |  |  |  |
Polish playing cards (Polish: Karty polskie) have been manufactured since the 15th century and include both French- and German-suited cards. Polish playing cards may also refer more narrowly to the Polish pattern: traditional packs of 36 German-suited playing cards produced in Poland to local designs.
Description
[edit]Polish pattern cards comprise the four suits of Leaves (Wino), Hearts (Czerwień), Acorns (Żołądź) and Bells (Dzwonek) and five picture cards: the Ace or Deuce (Tuz), Ten (Kralka) or Banner, King (Król), Ober (Wyżnik) and Unter (Niżnik) and four pip cards: the Nine (Dziewiątka), Eight (Ósemka), Seven (Siódemka) and Six (Szóstka). Sometimes there are additional cards such as the: Five (Piątka), Four (Czwórka) and Three (Trójka).
History
[edit]The first cards of this type were imported from Germany and appeared in Polish towns and cities as early as the 15th century. Soon thereafter, domestic production began.[1] In the 16th century, playing card manufacture had begun at Lemberg, Breslau, Poznań, Olkusz and Kraków.[1]
According to Łukasz Gołębiowski, German-suited Polish cards were used to played, among others, the games of Kupiec,[a] Kasztelan, Wózek,[b] Skrzetułka, Drużbart, Pamfil, Chapanka, Tryszak, Mariasz, Piquet (Pikieta) and Cwik.[2]
From the 18th century, French-suited cards and French terminology began to gradually dominate, while traditional Polish cards gradually lost popularity throughout the 19th century. Currently, cards of this pattern (32-piece pack) are still used in Silesia for the game of Skat. Tarot playing cards are also produced for Polish Taroki.[1]
Notable Polish cardmakers in the late 19th and 20th centuries include Willink of Warsaw, Pierswsza and Karpalit of Lvov, the Kraków Playing Card Factory and state-owned KZWP. The latter dominates the market and has recently been renamed Trefl.[1]
Cards in fiction
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Łukasz Gołębiowski, Gry i zabawy różnych stanów w kraju całym lub niektórych tylko prowincyach, Warsaw 1831.
- Zygmunt Gloger, Old Polish Illustrated Encyclopedia.
External links
[edit]- Cyfert, Sławomir. "Krótka historia polskich kart do gry". Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- A deck of cards from Austria - similar to the Polish one
- Polish Playing Cards at wopc.co.uk.