The Pacanów Fable Centre was established on the 19th of September 2005. It is a local cultural institution, conducted by the Pacanów Municipality and the Local Government of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, which organizes an event called the Children's Culture Festival in Pacanów. Koziołek Matołek (the Silly Goat) - a famous character from Kornel Makuszyński’s storybooks, became the symbol of this event. It takes place on the National Children’s Day (the first Sunday of June) and, every year, draws thousands of children and their parents to this place. At that time, the hometown of Koziołek Matołek turns into a children-friendly site as the organisers provide loads of attractions, like special arenas, where the performances of famous celebrities take place, various kinds of shows, competitions, fun fairs, stalls and “goat train” rides.
The festival has become an inspiration to form a modern cultural centre on an international scale – The European Fable Centre of Koziołek Matołek, which is to provide fun and promote education. The project, entitled “ The European Fable Centre of Koziołek Matołek in Pacanów – the building of a cultural institution on a European scale,” shall enable creating a place where the youngest will be able to get to know the world of fables. There will be a cinema, a theatre, the Museum of Fairytale Figures, the Library of Children’s and Youth Literature, the Festival of School Theatres, the Festival of Children’s Culture, the Fairs of Toys, Multimedia Educational Games and Children’s Literature, the Children’s Film Festival, and various conferences, e.g. the meetings of the Fairytale Institute or the National School Media Council. The plan covers also an ecological educational garden, a forge from the Koziołek Matołek stories and a fairy-tale amphitheatre, situated by a pond. The site will be a great destination place for school trips.
The design of the European Fable Centre – four towers in the shape of mud-pies