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The Gorals (; Goral ethnolect: Górole; ; Cieszyn Silesian: Gorole), also anglicized as the Highlanders, are an ethnographic group with historical ties to the . The Goral people are primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia – especially Orava, Spiš and Zamagurie, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and northern Romania, as well as in Chicago which is the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Gorals settled the upper Kysuca and Orava rivers and part of northern Spiš in Slovakia, which at the time were part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Due to various rights and privileges, including the Vlach law, Gorals enjoyed freedom from serfdom and held a substantial amount of autonomy. Also, distinct within the Goral culture were , members of local robber bands in the western Carpathians. In folk tradition, they were recognized as heroes who helped the exploited Gorals by stealing from the rich and giving back to the poor. The most famous of these was Juraj Jánošík from the village of Terchová in the Žilina region on the Slovak side of the Carpathian mountains. As a youngster, he fought with the Kuruc insurgents against the Habsburg monarchy and later formed his own band of zbojniks. Odpočíva Jánošík na dne Liptovskej Mary? Aktuality Terchová | terchova-info.sk The phenomenon became widespread in the mid-16th century and disappeared in the 19th century with the death of who was considered as the last zbójnik.
In 1651, the Gorals and local peasantry of Podhale rebelled against the Polish nobles ( szlachta) in what became the Kostka-Napierski uprising, led by the adventurer and officer from the Polish army captain Aleksander Kostka Napierski. A film was produced about the uprising (Podhale w ogniu) in 1956, and distributed in many languages across the Eastern Bloc. Another peasant rebellion in Podhale occurred in 1669, when Gorals and local peasants rebelled against high taxes and oppressive rule imposed on them by the local nobility. The first Polish national opera, titled Krakowiacy i Górale (Cracovians and Gorals) composed by Wojciech Bogusławski premiered in 1794. In the 19th century, between 1803 and 1819, the Gorals migrated to Bukovina.
During World War II, Nazi Germany sought to Germanize the Gorals. Under Nazi racial laws, the majority of Poland's population and its minorities were viewed as "undesirable" and subject to special statutes, slave labour and martial law. However, Nazi racial theorists considered the 27,000 strong Goral population as a separate ethnic group from the Poles. Termed Goralenvolk, they were deemed part of the greater Germanic race and given milder treatment from other Poles. Between 1939 and 1945, local Gorals of Podhale joined the resistance movement, including the Tatra Confederation and the IV Batalion Nowy Targ of the 1st Regiment of Home Army Podhale Rifles and fought against Nazi occupation of Poland.
In present-day Slovakia they live in several separate groups: in northern Spiš (34 villages subdivided into two groups), Orava and Kysuce (2 villages) and smaller groups in 7 other enclave villages in northern Slovakia.
The main towns of Goral lands include:
The Podhale dialect is the de facto standard literary Goral ethnolect due to Podhale being the most widely known region. However, the majority of Gorals speak closely related dialects. Gorals themselves rarely differentiate between their dialects and just refer to them as Górolski.
Silesian Gorals of the Czech Republic identify themselves on the nationality level as Poles and are members of the Polish minority in the Czech Republic, which is proved by their communal activity: the annual Gorolski Święto festival held in Jablunkov is a showcase of a local Polish Goral traditions and is organized by the PZKO (Polish Cultural and Educational Union). This Goral festival preserves the traditions of the Polish nationality group in Trans-Olza. It is the largest cultural and folklore festival in Trans-Olza gathering thousands of spectators each day of festivities. However, the Poles do not form a majority in any of the municipalities of the area, and some local Gorals identify themselves on the nationality level as Czechs. In this respect, the village of Hrčava (the second easternmost village in the Czech Republic), with the vast majority of citizens declaring Czech nationality, can be noted. In this village, the Poles form only a 2% minority. Local Silesian Gorals formed a majority in the past and they speak the regional Cieszyn Silesian dialect in everyday communication. In Slovakia, Gorals sought formal recognition as a distinct minority, something the Slovakian government approved in January 2025; the status means the group will gain representation in the government's Council for National Minorities, and get more access to cultural support funding.
Historically, the issue of their ethnic identity has been controversial and resulted in claims and counterclaims by both Poland and Czechoslovakia. Gorals, like many other peasant communities in Central Europe, determined their own ethnic identities within the Nation state system during the 19th and early 20th century.Hannan, Kevin (1996). Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia. New York: Peter Lang. Although nationalist propaganda was generated by both Poles and Slovaks, this process of the Gorals' identification with a nationality was still not complete when the border was finalized in 1924. A notable example was Ferdynand Machay, a priest born in Jabłonka, Orava, Piotr Borowy from Rabča, Orava and Wojciech Halczyn from Lendak, Spiš, who went to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and, during a personal audience, lobbied U.S. president Woodrow Wilson to sign these lands over to Poland.
The Gorals have a similar belief system elements, music and material culture as that of the Vlachs and related groups (e.g. Moravian Vlachs), from whom it has been argued they originate. Anthropologist Carleton Coon grouped Gorals with the Hutsuls, who dwelled in what was then the southeastern corner of Poland and is now southwestern Ukraine. In the 19th century, Polish scholars viewed the Gorals as linguistically close to the Poles, but having close ties with Slovak folk culture. It was noted that Gorals' social and economic life resembled that of Vlach shepherd culture.
Goral folk costumes can be found in the National Museum of Ethnography in Warsaw, (2026). 9788388654428, The State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw. ISBN 9788388654428 The Tatra Museum in Zakopane, the Ethnographic Museum of Kraków, and the City Museum of Żywiec.
The Polish Gorals also hold a particular reference for Pope John Paul II, who they consider as their own, even though Karol Wojtyła was born in Wadowice, Lesser Poland and was not a Goral himself. However, the Late Pope was always considered as "the son of the mountains" by the Gorals.
A notable portion of Gorals are Augsburg Confession Lutherans, who are clustered around the town of Wisła. This is the main centre of Protestant Gorals, and it is the only city in Poland where Catholics are a minority.
In Slovakia, significant portions of Goral settlements fall under the territorial jurisdictions of Roman Catholic Diocese of Spiš.
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