North of Tarnow, where Dunajec and Vistula rivers meet, resides one of the most interesting ethnographic micro-regions in Poland with the village of Zalipie at its center. Its fame has resulted from a region specific tradition that involves the painting of cottages. This custom of decorating both the exterior and the interior of houses originated at the end of the 19th century when old-fashioned furnaces were replaced with new furnaces with chimneys. In order to cover blackened walls, women and girls tried to brighten the interior of their dwellings by decorating the walls with brightly colored spots made of lime. Later these round spots were shaped into simple flowers and finally they evolved into the detailed flower bouquets still visible today.