Kolberg came to Wyszków while he was conducting his ethnographic research in the region of Kurpie in 1843. A few years later he wrote about Wyszków:

“It is a town located by the Bug River. In the past it used to be the home of the bishops of Płock. It became a city in 1502. In the forest outside the city, there is a bog called ‘Dworczysko’ [from ‘dwór’ – a manor]. They say, there used to be a manor house that sank there”.

Kolberg got some more information about this area from Roman Korbasiński, an inhabitant of the nearby village Porządzie who in 1872 sent some materials to Kolberg. Kolberg explains the etymology of the name of the village:

“Porządzie, the village that was the most prominent in this area, was called Porządne [from ‘porządny’ – proper] according to some people. After some time the name changed into Porządzie”.

This is what Kolberg wrote about the inhabitants of Wyszków:

“In the winter time peasants eat meat, mostly pork and cured meat. In the summer time they usually eat some vegetable dishes, such as ‘podczasz’ [a dish from cabbage leaves] and ‘łoboda’ [a dish from white goosefoot], and some others. Beer is a popular drink, yet during the summer time they sometimes drink water. They do not pickle food. In the springtime they drink birch sap”.

Kolberg collected also some descriptions of traditions and beliefs from this area:

On St. Blaise’s Day, February 3, “they make big and small candles which are blessed during the mass on that day. A sore throat can be treated by placing the candle wrapped with canopies or linen near the glands beneath the jaw”.

“On Easter Monday, there is a tradition of ‘dyngus’, here called ‘oblej’ when all the people drench each other with water”.

“On St. Andrew’s Day, girls put male trousers under pillows. This is believed to bring them the perfect husband in a dream. Boys, on the other hand, put skirts under pillows to dream about their future wives on St. Catherine’s Day”.

“For a stomach-ache, both men and women use madder or a powder from red stone bought from the nomadic Hungarians”.

Kolberg listed also some characteristic names given to children in those areas.

He writes also about drinking alcohol:

“Today, thanks to many abstinence societies, people drink less. In the past, when they drank vodka, on New Year’s Eve, girls stole coats, hats or waistcoats from boys who, in turn, had to buy it back from them by paying for food in a tavern”.