Loving husband plants enormous heart to honour promise in memory of his late wife
When Maria met her Indian husband, the future they had planned together looked bright.
Settling in Bieszczady, a part of Poland known for its stunning natural landscape, they began to realise their dreams by founding a hotel, Solinianka.
The heart is a living monument that withstands changes in the weather and the seasons.
The couple had further plans: they bought a piece of land and forest on the edge of a local mountain, Suche Berdo, which has a summit 577 metres above sea level.
They wanted to build a cable car there, so that visitors could admire the view from the summit and, during the winter, ski down the slope.
However, despite years of efforts, they did not receive permission to build on the site.
With its low shrubs and their reddish leaves contrasting with the green hillside, the heart now dominates the landscape.
Seeing that his wife, Maria, was upset, the man told her: “Don’t worry, if one of us dies earlier, the other one will make a huge heart out of shrubs on this slope”. She smiled.
But then tragedy struck when four years ago Maria unexpectedly died.
Remembering their promise, the grief-stricken husband set to work.
As part of their plans, Maria and her husband opened a spa hotel in the village of Solina in the Bieszczady Mountains.
In the part of Poland that she had loved, and where they had built a life together, he created a heart as a testament of their love.
Made out of dozens of bushes planted close together, the heart is a living monument that withstands changes in the weather and the seasons.
When Maria died, her husband decided to fulfil a promise he had made her and built the enormous heart as an enduring symbol of his love.
It stands out from the surrounding landscape, but – unlike a manmade building or statue – it is part of it.
And with the low shrubs and their reddish leaves contrasting with the green hillside, the heart now dominates the landscape.
