Despite its remote location and poor accessibility, the Eastern Carpathians, forested mountain ranges of the Gorgany and Czarnohora that lay on the boundaries of the former Republic of Poland, have significantly influenced Polish culture. Similarly, to the Podhale region, highlander culture and art flourish there, with its original customs, clothes, designs: the socalled Huculian style. These local features have always attracted tourists, ethnographers, and Polish and Ukrainian artists. After the Second World War these areas were incorporated to the Soviet Union and links with Poland were all severed. It is only now that this region is opening to visitors.