Vistula szkuta from XVIIIth century

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (PLC)was once the largest producer of grain in Europe, and Poland was called the "Grain warehouse of Europe" until the 17th century, because in connection with the international laws, adopted at the time, it sent more and more agricultural products to the cities of the Hanseatic League, England and Holland and sometimes traded with France, Spain and Italy. The importance of the grain trade increased greatly during lean years, when southern countries were forced to import these products en masse. Grain export from PLC reached its maximum in 1648 and amounted to 128 thousand tons. Adding the Polish shipping on the Varta and Odra, Lithuanian - Nemunas River (to Kenigsberg) and Dvina River to Riga, Celarius estimates this trade at an astronomical amount of 365,000 lasts (about 700,000 tons) for those times in his work "Descripto Poloniae". Europe's grain needs and constant exports from the PLC helped to develop the agriculture of the Republic of the Two Nations, and helped the nobility to obtain large profits and significantly contribute to the creation and development of cities. Merchants brought the latest scientific and artistic knowledge to PLC, which helped the development of culture. The main means of transporting grain and other goods on rivers were szkutas and similar in design to them. They appeared in Polish rivers around the 15th century and were most widely used in the 18th century.

An uncomplicated, sizable, well-detailed model of a river freighter for intermediate to advanced modelers. However, the model is not so complex, that it cannot be put together by an advanced beginner or a modeler with little experience, working under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. The publication is equipped with a set of parts blocks, laser-cut from colored cardboard of the required thickness, which will greatly facilitate the work of the modeler.