The Lemko house – architecture of forgotten identity. The traditional chŷža, its contemporary reinterpretations and the role of architects in the transmission of the Lemko heritage

The article focuses on the redefinition of the Lemko house in the context of post-war displacement and contemporary attempts to refer to the traditional architecture of the region. The home is understood here as a space deeply rooted in cultural, familial, and emotional dimensions of identity, the meaning of which in the Lemko community significantly changed after the World War II. Particular attention is paid to the concept of the chŷža – the archetype of the Lemko house – and its contemporary reinterpretations in single-family housing. The aim of the article is to identify the constitutive features of the modern Lemko house and the ways in which architecture can mediate the transmission of heritage. The analysis considers both material aspects (form, proportions, details, materials) and immaterial aspects (language, traditions, relationship with the environment), revealing the tension between fidelity to tradition and adaptation to the contemporary needs of the inhabitants. The paper is based on interviews with representatives of the Lemko community and with architects who have designed buildings inspired by the Lemko archetype, as well as on a comparative analysis of these realisations. The design strategies outlined in the article range from the preservation of selected traditional features to their deliberate transformation. The role of language, memory and landscape as co-creators of the sense of home is also highlighted. As a result, a definition of the contemporary Lemko house is proposed as a space of cultural continuity – embedded in the region but open and dynamic, where tradition is realised not only through architectural form, but also through the persistence of community, language and culture.