Post-Apocalyptic Giant Strawberry, Poland

Languishing in a disused field in Poland is an unusual sight: a decaying Giant Post-Apocalyptic Strawberry! This behemoth sun-faded fruit was once a kind of roadside attraction for a large strawberry farm, whose owner clearly had some quirky ideas when it comes to marketing. The farm closed long ago, but this sad-looking giant strawberry lays forgotten in a weed-choked field.

I took a (sizable) detour to visit this abandoned giant strawberry during my 2023 road trip through Poland. Believe it or not, this was one of the highlights of the trip for me! It had been on my bucket list for a number of years, so it was great to finally see it in person.

History of Poland’s (Giant) Strawberry Farm

In the 1990s, this area was an immense strawberry farm stretching over 700 hectares. Fields-upon-fields as far as the eye could see, filled with tasty strawberries glinting in the summer sun. At its height, it yielded thousands of kilograms of strawberries each year. This bumper fruit crop was sold not only in Poland but also exported around Europe and even the USA.

The strawberry harvest season in Poland is May until the beginning of July. During the harvest, seasonal workers were brought on site to stay in a purpose-built hotel and worked in shifts to pick the sweet fruits. Once picked, the tender strawberries are delicate and have a relatively short shelf life. To protect the picked produce, the strawberry farm had an immense cooling and freezing area. This allowed them to safely store almost 8,000 tonnes of fruit on site! The freezing units alone were capable of preserving 100 tonnes of fruits per day.

Despite many years of success, the strawberry farm closed down around 20 years ago. It is hard to say why, for sure. Most people suggest that the owner struggled to find enough labourers to tend the crops and work the yearly harvest.

Why the humongous fruit?

Originally, the giant strawberry stood proudly perched atop a plinth next to the farm entrance sign. The bright red strawberry and its lush green leaves would have certainly been a catching sight, positioned on the side of a busy main road! Nowadays, the strawberry lies on its side in a field around 10m away. Did it fall, was it taken down?