As Pretty As A Picture Book,

and it is,

 every house, well, church, bridge and barn is covered in lovely, decorative painted flowers, the secluded town of Zalipie, just 90 minutes from Krakow, Poland, bursts with colour,

 so how did all of this start? well it is not entirely clear, but one story relates that it began due to poor ventilation for stoves, as they would leak soot onto the ceiling, women began to paint flowers over the marks in order to tidy up their homes,

 so walls,

 bridges,

 and even the doghouse became painted,

the tradition has continued to endure, and each spring following Corpus Cristi, villagers host the Painted Cottage competition, or Malowana Chata, with the contest taking place annually since 1948, so if you are in Poland this year's 53rd edition of the competition will be held on May 27-29, in the first two days judges will be touring homes entered into the competition, the judges verdict will be announced May 29 at 15.00, but check here to confirm details, what a charming fairy tale place to visit.