Performing Arts Festivals

Nowadays music festivals, concerts, theatre performances and other cultural events make essential part of any trip.  Moreover they are becoming one of the main motives to visit other countries or cities.  And cities play here the major role in organizing events and festival and  creating the right atmosphere for enjoying and experiencing culture.  Each Polish city has a calendar filled with local and international events that offer the highest quality, still at the moderate price.  The variety of music, from folk through jazz to modern classical music makes the country a good destination for all music lover.

Warsaw: Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival - 12th edition in the year 2008. Over 30 concerts will take place in concert halls of Warsaw.  There will be an exhibition of music manuscripts and a conference led at the same time.

Mozart Festival – held every summer in Warsaw, presents works of the famous composer.

Frideric Chopin’s Music Concerts in Lazienki – every summer Sunday in Lazienki Park all are invited to enjoy works of the famous Polish composer in beautiful setting.

Warsaw’s Autumn – Festival of the modern classical music (September)

Jazz Jamboree – Jazz Festival held in October

Krakow: Jewish Culture Festival – the most recognized festival of Jewish culture in Europe.  Artist from all over the world present their works in various fields including dancing, writing, hand-craft. (June)
Sacrum-Profanum – festival of modern music; concerts are held in various unusual venues. (September)

Wroclaw: Wratislavia Cantans – one of the most famous festivals in Poland.  Every year it presents a variety of concerts and performances, always attracting thousands of music lovers (September)

Poznan: Malta-Street Theater Festival – street theatres from all over the world present their plays and performances in the old part of the city and at the grounds over Malta Lake. (June-July)

Lodz: Four Culture Heritage Festival – Lodz is the unique city where Polish, German, Jewish and Russian co-existed for ages.  Today the city wants to recall the atmosphere of those times and presents all four cultures in festival form.

Traditional Events

Gdansk: Dominican Fair; markets held on several city squares. The events calendar encompasses a wide range of festivities, concerts and contests. The scale of the Gdańsk fair is comparable to such European events as Oktoberfest in Munich (beginning of August)
Locator: 205 mi. from Warsaw

Zakopane: International Festival of Mountain Folklore, an in-gathering of groups from all over Europe.
Locator: 90 mi. to Krakow

Krakow: There are many Christmas traditions in Poland and they vary from region to region  but one of the unique events is Krakow’s Christmas and New Years marks highlighted by display and contest of best local Christmas Crèches. (all December)

Capitals & Elsewhere

Warsaw: Following World War II, the capital has been rebuilt in painstaking detail from 18th century records. Start a city tour at the Old Town Market Square at the Historical Museum of Warsaw. Then visit the 400-room Royal Castle, painstakingly rebuilt and restored; the reconstructed Old Town and Lazienki Park whose Palace on the Water is an 18th century gem. Other entries along what is called the “Royal Route” include the Ujazdowski Castle, which houses the Center for Contemporary Art, and the Wilanow Palace, also called the 'Polish Versailles', the 17th century summer retreat of King Jan III Sobieski. When reinventing Warsaw, churches and mansions have been restored and a lively café and trendy boutique scene added.
Location: 250 mi. to the Czech/Slovak borders; 350 mi. from Berlin

Krakow: Poland’s second-largest city is known for its lively arts scene. Musicians perform in the city’s 13th century market square, jazz cellars and theaters, and the arts make themselves at home in the Flemish tapestries at Wawel Castle and contemporary galleries. Walk the Old Town and drop in at the twin-towered St. Mary’s Church, dating from the 13th century. Visit the Renaissance Cloth Hall and see the famous wooden altarpiece of the 13th century St Mary’s Basilica; go outside the city to the medieval Wielczka Salt Mine with walking tours of subterranean lakes, chapels and a church at depths up to 450 feet.
Locator: 180 mi. from Warsaw

Wroclaw: Midway between Krakow and Pozan and sitting by the Odra River, Wroclaw is the major cultural center for southwestern Poland. It is a city known for its 100 canals; old churches including 14th century St. Mary Magdalene; and Old-Market Square, whose centerpiece is the ornate Ratusz (town hall) housing the Museum of Burgher Art. The National Museum is the not-to-miss art center, with its the medieval Silesian art collection and the country’s finest collection of Polish painting.
Locator: 135 mi. from Krakow; 120 mi. from Prague

Gdansk: On the Baltic at the mouth of the Vistula River, Gdansk has been an important seaport for centuries. The city is particularly proud of its 500-year old Cargo Crane and its tallest Astronomical Clock in the world - a 15th century marvel and still operating. Step into the 14th century St. Mary’s Church, a gigantic brick structure that easily accommodates 25,000 people at a single service. In our day, we know Gdansk as the birthplace of the “Solidarity Movement” that ignited the spark that eventually led to the fall of communist regimes throughout Europe.
Locator: 205 mi. from Warsaw

Torun: Unscathed by the battles of World War II, this Hanseatic port city has few Polish rivals in the architectural beauty and preservation of its Gothic churches and burgher mansions. Highlights are the town hall and three superb churches, including the magnificent 15th century stalls in St. Mary’s Church. Of particular interest is a Gothic brick house - now the Copernicus Museum - where where the great astronomer was born.
Locator: 100 miles from Gdansk

Poznan: Located mid-point between Warsaw and Berlin, the Old Town has been beautifully restored; its focal point is the decorative Town Hall, housing the splendid interiors of the Historical Museum. Of particular interest is the Wielkopolska Ethnographic Museum featuring a worthwhile collection of woodcarving and traditional regional costumes.
Locator: 186 miles from Warsaw

Special Museums

Oswiecim: Auschwitz, the largest German concentration camp was here, only partly destroyed at the end of World War II. Many of the original facilities remain on this somber site where more than a million people - mostly Jews - perished.
Locator: 30 mi. west of Krakow

Krakow: One of the eight local branches of the National Museum, the Czartoryski Museum, displays ancient and Asian art, Polish arms and war booty, and masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine.”

Jedrzejow: The Przypkowski Family National Museum exhibits a collection of 600 sundials, plus measuring instruments and rare books. At the core of the holdings is the world’s largest collection of sundials from the 15th century to contemporary times. Visitors are welcome to the restored interiors of the Przypkowski house.
Locator: 50 mi. north of Krakow

Otrebusy: Outside Warsaw, the Motorization Museum houses a collection of some 300 antique vehicles, from cars (one used by Elvis Presley, another by Marilyn Monroe) to motorcycles to tanks.
Locator: 10 mi. from Warsaw

Regal Sites

Zamek: The red brick Malbork Castle once served as the residence of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order and was one of the most powerful strongholds in medieval Europe; see the museum’s beautiful amber collection.
Locator: 30 mi. south of Gdansk

 Ksiaz: With 415 rooms, Ksiaz Castle is the largest in Silesia. It was built in the 13th century, and enlarged and remodeled into the 20th century. The interior showpiece is the Maximillian Hall, the castle’s largest room and faithfully restored to its 18th century grandeur.
Locator: 50 mi. southwest of Wroclaw; 15 mi. from the Czech border

Gniew: Gniew Castle was the seat of the Polish Prefects in the 16th century. It overlooks the River Vistula, south of Gdansk.
Locator: 40 mi. from Gdansk

Niedzica: The Niedzica Castle, also known as Dunajec Castle, was built in the 14th century in the present Carpathian Mountains area of the Polish-Slovakian border. Perched high on a hill above the Dunajec River, it is considered the best mountain castle in the country.
Locator: 60 mi. south of Krakow; at Slovak border

Lancut: Located in eastern Poland, the aristocratic Lancut Palace, built in the 16th century, is just plain grandiose. More than 40 richly furnished, art-filled rooms are open to the public, as are the extensive gardens and a Carriage Museum with 50 vehicles housed in the coach house.
Locator: 110 mi. east of Krakow; 50 mi. from Slovak border

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (12 sites nationwide)

Wieliczka Salt Mine, an eerie world of pits and chambers, hewn out by hand, including elements ranging from altarpieces to chandeliers. A must-see while on a visit in Krakow.
Locator: 15 mi. east of Krakow

Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica are simple structures built of wood, clay and straw, yet with rich baroque interiors.
Locator: 30-35 mi. southwest of Wroclaw

Bialowieza Forest: A national park protecting a primeval forest and its wildlife, including 120 species of birds and the rare European bison.
Locator: 125 mi. northeast of Warsaw

Old City of Zamosc was honored for its restoration of this Renaissance town of arcaded burghers’ houses, many with elaborate stucco designs inside and out.
Locator: 60 miles from Lublin

Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland, located in the Carpathian Mountain region, are unique examples of religious architecture tied to the Christian Orthodox heritage. A good sampling of churches would include those in the villages of Czertez, Binarowa and Sekowa.
Locator: 60 to 80 mi. south of Krakow; 1015 mi. from Slovak border