Smereczne

Smereczne is a non-existent Lemko village located in the valley of the Wadernik stream, within the Dukla commune. The village area is located in the Jaśliski Landscape Park and borders with the Magura National Park. The name of the settlement comes from the word smerek, meaning spruce tree.

The village was probably founded relatively late; the first mentions date back to the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, the village had 36 houses and about 160 inhabitants, the vast majority of Greek Catholics. There were also two oil mines created by oil companies, in which Ignacy Łukasiewicz himself was an active shareholder. Unfortunately, World War I interrupted the development of the settlement - during heavy fights in the Carpathians at the turn of 1914 and 1915, the village was displaced and burnt down, but it was quickly rebuilt.

During World War II, a German border post operated here, for the needs of which an impressive, spacious building with a concrete basement was built. During the fights for the Dukla Pass, the village was almost completely destroyed. The inhabitants shared the fate of other Lemkos, relocated to the USSR; the most persistent ones were Operation Vistula. The Carpathian forest has not yet encompassed the Smereczne valley, where meadows and pastures are still used, but little remains of the former inhabitants. You can see a lonely stone cross erected "for the glory of God" in 1894, the remains of a German border guard, and excavations from which the inhabitants obtained oil for their needs.

The yellow trail from Tylawa to Baranie runs through the village.