The oldest wooden Muslim mosque in Poland, belonging to the Lipka Tatars minority, dates back to the 18th century and is nestled in the Knyszyn Forest. It tells the story of two Tatar villages that survived the war – Bohonik and Kruszyniany, where the mosque stands. The mosque’s green colour blends in perfectly with the surrounding nature.

The land on which Kruszyniany is located was granted to the Tatars by King John III Sobieski in 1679 in gratitude for their military service. Soon, a Tatar community settled there and the first wooden temple was built. The first written mention of the mosque comes from documents from 1717.

The front of the building is decorated with two slender towers, which gives it an appearance similar to wooden churches, and there is also a small vaulted minaret by the roof. The interior is divided into a section for men and a section for women, which is traditional in mosques. Women entered through a separate entrance. The men’s section features a mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of Mecca, and a minbar, a pulpit for the imam. The interior is decorated with carpets and decorations with verses from the Koran.

The caretaker of the mosque is Tatar Dżemil Gębicki, who presents its history in an interesting way, as well as the whole context of his ancestors’ presence in the borderlands.

Once there, head towards the Tatar cemetery, which you will find just behind the building. The mosque with the nearby Tatar cemetery (mizar) is part of a valuable complex of monuments documenting the presence of Tatars in the region – this place is included in the list of historical monuments of Poland.

The mizar is under constant care. If you get lost, remember that you can determine the east by the direction in which the gravestones are facing.