Szczebrzeszyn
Wojewódschaft Lublin, 5.500 inhabitants and a famous insect. "W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie/I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie" [In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzles in the reeds/And that's why Szczebrzeszyn is famous] That's the first line of a poem by Jan Brzechwa which every Polish schoolchild learns. It's also a Polish tongue-twister. One very amusing Polish pastime is to teach foreigners how to pronounce it. However, the town has more to offer than beetles. Szczebrzeszyn is about 650 years old and was an important trading base on Poland's old eastern border with Rus (the first east Slavic state). However, it is the poem 'The Beetle' (Chrząszcz), written in 1953 that really made the town famous. In recognition of this fact, and to celebrate the anniversary of the town, a 2 m high wooden statue of the famous insect was erected in Szczebrzeszyn in 2002.