Documentary Photographer Amadeusz Świerk is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this documentary photography. From the project ‘The Miracle District ’. To see Amadeusz’s body of work, click on any image.

Malwina with her son Jamal – district’s well known residents. They settled in an abandoned apartment, but got evicted some months later. They are still looking for a suitable place to live. Mixed families are a rare curiosity in Polish towns.

Staszek, a talented guitar player and an old thief who spent many years in various “nursing homes”, as he calls prisons. Nowadays, he is doing small handyman jobs for a living.

Dawid and Marcel are playing cops and robbers in the abandoned building, which was the secret police station in the Communist era. Most of these kids’ colleagues will eventually leave the country looking for a better life abroad. Others will either choose a criminal path, or do the opposite – pursue careers in uniformed services.
High crime rate on Zakaczawie streets is caused, among other factors, by the sore scarcity of police patrols.

Thieves with hearts of gold. Ex-cons with souls full of artistry and music. Families trying to live a normal life. In an average small Polish town from behind the curtain, welcome to the Miracle District, where poverty mingles with pride painting a picture full of bitter charm.

I discovered Zakaczawie by coincidence. Gray, neglected tenement buildings full of people, high unemployment and crime rates, poverty. But there is something unique about this place and it is its legend.
Such a social melting pot developed tough people with extraordinary biographies, and their community twenty years ago gave inspiration for a famous theater play – “Ballad of Zakaczawie”. Despite bad stereotypes and grim appearances, it’s thriving social life quickly drew me in. I started to discover these people, by simply approaching them without prejudices, trying to understand them as fully as possible.

On Corpus Christi day, a catholic procession led by altar boys is hiding from the rain in one of the tenement house gates. Faith is an important aspect of life for Zakaczawie citizens. On Christmas Day in 2013, a local parish allegedly experienced a miracle – during a mass, a holy host turned red.

Mike and his step brother Kuba playing video games in their family’s apartment in Zakaczawie.

Some private mementos in Kajtek’s apartment recall the old glory of the district and his colorful life.

Zakaczawie (eng.za-catch-a-vie; the name comes from the little river Kaczawa) is a district of Legnica, a hundred-thousand people city in southwestern Poland, some 100 kilometers from the German border. It should have been unremarkable, but after World War II it had the dubious pleasure of stationing some 60,000 Soviet soldiers, who dictated its life. During these difficult times, which ended very late in 1993, Zakaczawie became a refuge center for Poles’ native life. Among the Polish families and the strong Romani community relocated into the district by Communists, small businesses, cafes, pubs and cultural venues thrived, despite the dark shadow of the Soviet garrison.

When the Curtain fell and the Soviets finally went away, the town of Legnica finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Zakaczawie district wasn’t especially lucky though – left out by dynamics of Polish capitalism fell into disrepair. The “Miracle District” nickname of Zakaczawie gained a bitter and ironic edge, but generations of its citizens still retain a strong sense of community. Contemporary Zakaczawie is a living witness of the winds of change, the whims of history putting the social microcosm of its citizens to new tests.

Almost every city has at least one similar place, where people suffer from social and economic exclusion.
This project aims to show that among the very visual poverty and dilapidation of rough neighborhoods, there are humans – families, friends, lovers – trying to live their best.

Gosia is famous for crashing Grzegorz’s wedding with another woman. She unexpectedly appeared at the ceremony and shouted he shouldn’t get wed. They live together now, raising children from their old relationships.

Some Zakaczawie citizens decorate their apartments with old trinkets to keep the memories alive.

Town council’s disinterest with investment in Zakaczawie can be very visible. Tenement houses are getting old and decrepit with no refreshment projects. Small initiatives, like this kids’ playground, are often quickly devastated by locals.

About Author:


Amadeusz Świerk (born 1995) is a documentary photographer and explorer based in Wrocław, Poland.
Amadeusz strives to be an honest witness of the world. His work is often oriented on minorities — social, ethnic, religious — and based on genuine experience of other humans, culture and society. Amadeusz tries to raise awareness about the excluded and the underrepresented by going beyond appearances. He worked in Europe, Middle-East, Asia and Africa.


Interested in ethnicity and natural way of living, Amadeusz has spent a couple of months following nomads in Asia and Africa. Not avoiding local topics, he made a long-term project about the informal subculture of people escaping civilization, grown around a wooden hut in the Polish Karkonosze mountains. Currently, he is focusing mostly on social issues: an (in)famous district in the Polish town of Legnica, opioid addicts and Ukrainian war aftermath.

All images and text © Amadeusz Świerk