Leonardo is back home.
/2019-12-21/ The Princes Czartoryski Museum, home to Leonardo da Vinci's famous 'Lady with an Ermine', has reopened yesterday after nine years of renovation and modernization. Unfortunately, tickets are sold out till the end of 2019. One needs to book a visit online well in advance. The Czartoryski Museum is now a branch of the National Museum in Krakow.
Barbara
New Year's free events in Krakow.
/2019-12-06/ As usual, New Year’s main open-air concert in Krakow takes place in Rynek Glowny
central square on December 31st at 8.15 pm to last till 2 am. It'll feature Poland’s pop acts Jan-rapowanie, Krystyna Pronko, Andrzej Dabrowski, Ten Typ Mes, Tetris, Piotr Ziolo, Paulina Przybysz, Ralpha Kaminski, and The Dumplings. There will be
two additional
New Year’s alfresco events, both going on from 9 pm
thru 1 am, namely a dance party in Rynek Podgorski square and disco featuring pop music of the 1970s and later in Aleja Roz square, All three events are free of charge.
Muse
Krakow guide
Gothic masterpiece ready for Christmas 2020.
/2019-11-27/ Hopefully, the restoration of the Veit Stoss altarpiece (Oltarz Wita Stwosza) in the Kosciol Mariacki church (St. Mary's church) at the Krakow Rynek central square will be concluded in December next year. So, fingers crossed, the greatest medieval sculpture of the world will regain its full glory again for Christmas 2020. Since 2015 the huge Gothic structure has been stripped piece by
piece, each fragment investigated and renovated and secured against decay. The estimated cost is 13.7 million zlotys, an equivalent of about 4.2 million euro.
Ania
Wavelo rental bikes to be scrapped soon.
Krakow’s automated, self-service bike rental called Wavelo stops working December 31st, 2019. Its operator, BikeU, cites a falling turnover as the reason for termination of the service. The Krakow municipality has promised to resurrect the self-service bike rentals one way or another in the future but it’s doubtful they will be able to sign up a new operator before the next year’s summer.
Mark
2019 Krakow Art Salon.
/2019-11-15/ The Krakow Art Salon 2019 has opened in the Palace of Art, 4 Plac Szczepanski square and Planty gardens. Its curators selected contemporary artworks of 112 artists and collectives, out of nearly 1,000 entries by 435 authors. The exhibition stays open every day from noon to 8 pm till November 24th, 2019 and admission is free. On display there are paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photos, installations, videos, documentation of performances, and
audiovisual projects..
Barbara
Easter music festival next year.
/2019-11-14/ The 2020 edition of the Misteria Paschalia
Krakow Easter
festival of classical music is to go on in Krakow
throughout Holy Week, from Monday, April 6th
through Easter Monday April 13th. Plus, there will be one early cello recital on Saturday, March 21st. The festival
program features an array of Europe's
top early music ensembles and soloists. There are two concerts planned each day for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and one on Good Friday, Easter Sunday
and Easter Monday. The venues are the Old Town's historic churches
as well as the ICE congress center and one subterranean concert will take place in
Wieliczka Salt Mine.
Muse
Museums almost for free of charge for one day.
/2019-11-12/ This Sunday, December 19th 2019 has been announced the Open
Door Day of Krakow Museums with entry to the
city's museums for just one zloty, including all branches of the National
Museum. Also, various special attractions are planned, available free of charge.
Ania
Festival of the Krakow szopka Nativity scenes.
/2019-11-09/ The 77th festival of the
Krakow Szopka nativity scenes takes place in the Rynek Glowny central
square on Thursday, December 5th, 2019. The event starts at noon. Last year UNESCO has inscribed the tradition of building the Krakow szopka on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Barbara
Krakow All Souls Jazz
Festival this year.
/2019-10-28/
The 64th All Souls Krakow
jazz festival (Krakowskie Zaduszki Jazzowe) starts
Saturday, November 2nd which
is All Souls Day. This
year's edition of
Europe's oldest jazz festival ends
November 10th. Its traditional Jazz Holy Mass takes place in the Bazylika oo.
Dominikanow church, 12 Stolarska street and Dominikanska street,
at 7.30 pm on Wednesday, November
6th.
Thoma
Christmas market opens late November.
/2019-10-15/ This year the
Christmas market in
the central square of Krakow
starts on Friday, November 29th and is to end
December 26th, 2019. Yet we
expect it to continue as the New Year's market till
January 6th, 2020.
Kasia
Free Jazz Fall in Krakow.
/2019-09-27/ The 14th edition of Krakow Jazz
Autumn festival (Krakowska Jesien Jazzowa) starts October 7th
and ends November 29th,
2019. The festival features mostly free jazz and its principal
venue is Alchemia club at 5 Estery street in the Krakow Kazimierz
historic area.
Muse
2019 Krakow Book Fair.
/2019-09-23/ This year's Krakow Book Fair starts Thursday,
October 24th and ends Sunday, October 27th, 2019. Its main venue is EXPO
Krakow at 9 Galicyjska street in the Nowa
Huta district. A one-day ticket costs 8 zlotys (PLN). Opening
hours 10 am to 5 pm on Thursday and Sunday, and to 7 pm on Friday
and Saturday.
Kasia
Krakow piano music festival for free.
/2019-09-10/ The 11th International Royal Cracow Piano
Festival (Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Pianistyczny
Krolewskiego Miasta Krakowa), a yearly
Krakow festival of
piano music, starts on Sunday, October 13th. Its
program consists of nine piano recitals and concerts, one every
two or three days - the last one on Sunday, October
27th, 2019. Admission to all events is free of
charge.
Barbara
Krakow Honey Harvest – Bee-keeping Festival.
/2019-09-03/ Krakow's beekeepers have a three-day festival in the Plac Wolnica square in Kazimierz district
from Friday, September 6th through Sunday September 8th, 2019. It's
program includes tasting of various kinds of honey, market with honeys, beeswax,
and other apiculture products as well as live performances, contests,
etc. On Saturday, September 7th a Bees Parade starts in Rynek Glowny
central square at noon and proceeds south to reach Plac Wolnica
square at 1 pm.
Kasia
Free Chopin music.
/2019-08-20/ Free concerts of Chopin's piano music take place
every night August 23rd thru August 25th in Aula
Florianka concert hall, 15 Sereno Fenna street, at 7
pm.
Ania
Long weekend coming.
/2019-08-12/ The Catholic festival of Assumption Day falls on Thursday
August 15th,
2019 and it's a public holidays in Poland (and
Krakow, Poland is no
exception).
Expect shops and shopping centers closed, ditto banks, government
and other offices, workshops, etc. Most of the rest including
restaurants and many tourist spots and cultural events should be
alive.
As August 15th is also the Armed Forces Day in Poland so one may
enjoy special open-air events on that occasion. A holiday on
Thursday means many people take a day off on Friday to take
advantage of a four-day long weekend.
Mark
Tour de Pologne race in Krakow.
/2019-08-02/ Tour de Pologne bicycle race begins in Krakow
tomorrow, August 3rd, 2019. The start takes place in Rynek Glowny
central square at 3 pm.
It This first leg of the race is scheduled to end at about 6:30 pm
with the finish at Focha street next to the Blonia common. As side effects
one should expect traffic
restrictions, jams bigger than usual, and major alterations in
public transport on Friday through Sunday.
Thoma
Very modern music festival this September.
/2019-07-24/ The 17th Sacrum
Profanum festival of contemporary classical music starts in Krakow
on Friday, September 27th and will last Friday, October 4th, 2019. It's
15 concerts usually feature internationally recognized ensembles and
soloists performing the newest modern classical music. This year the
program includes a good deal of recent Lithuanian music.
Muse
The August classical music.
/2019-07-16/ Program of this year's 44th Music
in Old Cracow Festival has been published at last. In 2019
Krakow's time-honored festival
of classical music consists of 17 concerts in as many days -
i.e. one event every night from August 15th through
August 31st.
Mark
Folk Art Fair in Krakow, August 8 - 25.
/2019-07-12/ The 43rd Cepelia Folk Art Fair in
Krakow opens in Rynek Glowny central square
on Thursday, August 8th and lasts through
Sunday August 25th, 2019. Visitors may
stroll along rows
of stalls selling
assorted traditional village crafts and arts. The wares include embroidery,
pottery, woodcarving, painting, iron, metalwork, etc. Also, special
attractions and entertainments
are planned
such as gigs by
acts performing traditional village tunes and songs.
Kasia
Guide to Krakow 2019 obtainable worldwide.
/2019-07-02/ Published just yesterday, July 1st, the updated
2019 Krakow guide e-book in English
is now available from Amazon. Titled rightly The
Best of Krakow 2019, it's an expanded digital
version of a handy printed guidebook on offer in
Poland's bookstores.
Ania
Sinfonietta Festival - Stars & Strings.
/2019-06-28/ The 2019 Krakow Sinfonietta Festival of
modern classic music
starts on Sunday, June 30th and ends on Saturday, July
6th with concerts taking place
every second day. And on Thursday, July 4th its
program
looks hectic with thirteen free concerts to take
place in five venues.
Barbara
July Festival of the Polish Classical Music.
/2019-06-26/ The
15th
Festival of Polish Music in Krakow starts
on Friday July 5th, 2019 to
last through July 20th. Its
program consists of eight concerts and recitals filled mostly with classical music by Polish
composers, performed by recognized artists, ensembles, and
orchestras - Polish as well as foreign.
Mark
Jewish Festival of Krakow.
/2019-06-12/ The 29th Festival of
Jewish Culture in Krakow goes for ten days, as usual. It starts on Friday,
June 21st to end Sunday, June 30th with numerous, varied
events in between. The program features concerts every day, series
of workshops (singing, dancing, art, cooking, etc),
many lectures and public debates, tours of Jewish sites, and a few
exhibitions. The venues are concentrated in the small
historic Jewish quarter in the Kazimierz district of downtown Krakow.
Kasia
2019 Summer Jazz Festival in Krakow.
/2019-06-08/ The 24th Summer
Jazz
Festival in Krakow takes place June 28th through July
28th, 2019. As usual, the principal venue is Piwnica Pod
Baranami cellar club at 27 Rynek Glowny (Grand Square) where
jazz concerts are scheduled every night at 9 pm from
July 24th through July 27th. The festival will peak
on Saturday July 13th when Krakow Jazz Night takes
place with numerous free concerts both at
Krakow clubs and in open air,
including the centrally situated Maly Rynek square.
Muse
Lajkonik traditional parade.
/2019-06-03/ This year the Krakow
Lajkonik historic pageant takes place Thursday, June 27th. It starts in Senatorska street at noon to reach St.
Norbert convent, Kosciuszki street, at
about 1.30 pm to proceed next
towards the Old Town down Zwierzyniecka street. As planned, the colorful procession is expected to arrive
in
the Rynek Glowny central square about 7.20 pm where its culmination
show will probably last till 9.30 pm.
Thoma
Crafts fair in Krakow central squares.
/2019-05-24/ The Crafts Fair goes on in the Old Town's
Rynek Glowny
central square and Maly Rynek square till June 2nd, 2019. Some forty stalls sell
various traditional Polish handicrafts. Several craftsmen
also show their skills live. Plus live dance and music
performances feature traditional village tunes.
Kasia
Krakow sextuplets.
/2019-05-21/ Yesterday a 29-year-old mother gave birth to
sextuplets, Poland's first such case ever, in Krakow's
University Hospital. Four girls and two boys have been
christened Nela, Kaja, Zofia, Malwina, Tymon and Filip
respectively.
Thoma
Student revelries peak in Krakow in May.
/2019-05-17/ In 2019 the Krakow Juwenalia traditional student festival
takes place from May 21st through May 26th. As usually, it culminates in a wild and colorful pageant
in Rynek Glowny central square, preceded by a parade, which falls on
Friday, May 24th this year. Expect the parade of Krakow
students to reach the square at noon.
Mark
Free museum for a night.
/2019-05-14/ This year the Krakow Museum Night takes place on Friday,
May 17th, 2019 starting at 6 pm and ending before
midnight. Alost every museum
in Krakow will keep very long hours, admitting
visitors for just one zloty or even for free in some
cases. Also, many museums plan special
attractions. Early visitors will get a free commemorative token coin.
Barbara
Buses, trams more expensive now.
/2019-05-02/ Now
bus and tram tickets cost more across
Krakow public transport. A one-way ticket for a municipal bus or a streetcar is
4.6 zloty instead of 3.8 PLN. A 20-minutes ticket, which
allows for changing lines, costs 3.4 zloty (PLN) and its
50-minutes equivalent is 4.6 zloties, while a 90-minute ticket has been priced at 6 zloties.
The price of unlimited-travel passes for all municipal buses
and streetcars have been set at 20 zloty for a 24-hour
ticket. The 48-hour passes and the 72-hour passes are good
only for travel within the city limits (zone 1) and cost 28
PLN and 42 PLN respectively. A seven-day unlimited-travel
ticket costs 68 zlotys.
Kasia
Summer opera festival in Krakow.
/2019-04-12/ In 2019 Krakow Opera
Summer Festival starts June 7th to end June 29th.
Three events take place in the courtyard of the Wawel
Royal Castle - namely two concerts of arias and a
concert featuring operatic choral music.
On June 19th concert
Dialogue
Between Masters: Mahler and Strauss is to take
place at the Polish Aviation Museum at 39 Jana Pawla
II avenue Otherwise the venue is the
Opera House at Lubicz street.
Barbara
Free concerts of classical piano music for four
hands.
/2019-04-10/ 3rd Duettissimo! International
Piano Duo Festival
in Krakow takes place from April 23rd through
April 29th, 2019 in the
Akademia Muzyczna conservatory at 43 sw. Tomasza
street. Two daily
concerts - one at 4 pm and another at 7 pm - feature pianists playing piano duets and
other classical music for four hands. The concerts are free of charge.
Muse
April jazz festival in Krakow.
/2019-04-06/ The 25th edition of the
Old and Young Krakow Jazz
Festival takes place this month. Concerts of
international stars take place on April 16th - John
McLaughlin with his band, The 4th Dimension - and April 27th
when Kandace Springs sings in the Manggha Museum. The
festival program also includes three concerts of Poland's
outstanding jazzmen on April 28th, April 29th, and April
30th.
Mark
2019 Beethoven Easter Festival's events in Krakow.
/2019-03-29/
In 2004
the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter
Festival has been moved from Krakow to Warsaw, where most of its
concerts take place. Still, some events are organized in Krakow.
And this year the Krakow part of the Beethoven Easter Festival consists of
three concerts in
in the Krakow National Museum’s Galeria
Sztuki Polskiej XIX Wieku gallery in the Cloth Hall,
1-3 Rynek Glowny central square,
April 1-3 plus one in
in Filharmonia Krakowska concert hall, 1 Zwierzyniecka
street and Straszewskiego stree on
April 12, 2019 and a noon recital at
the Jagiellonian Library, 3 Oleandry street on April
1st.
Kasia
Free Baroque music.
/2019-03-22/ The
24th
Krakow festival of Bach
music, called Bach Days, goes from
Sunday,
March 24th through Sunday, March 31st with one concert
of the best Baroque music every day in Aula Florianka,
15 Sereno Fenna street. at 7 pm. All concerts are free of
charge.
Barbara
Cello music for free in March.
/2019-03-15/ The local festival of music for violoncello,
called the 6. Krakow Cello Spring,
starts Wednesday, March 20th to last through Saturday, March 23rd, 2019. The
cello festival consists of four concerts, one each day, all
scheduled for 7 pm. Admission to every concert is free of charge. Venue -
Aula Florianka at
15 Sereno Fenna street.
Muse
Henry Moore sculptures in Krakow: no tickets, some walk.
/2019-03-05/ The National Museum in Krakow shows Henry
Moore’s sculptures at its four branches till June 30th,
2019. The exhibition called “The Power of Nature. Henry
Moore in Poland” features his monumental works in the
open air as well as smaller ones indoors. They are exhibited
in the museum’s Main Building (Gmach Glowny) at 1, 3 Maja
street and also at Europeum (Plac Sikorskiego square), the
Szolayski House (Plac Szczepanski square), and The Czapski
Museum at 12 Pilsudskiego street. Henry Moore is habitually
referred to as “arguably the greatest sculptor of the
20th century” and you may see his works free of charge
in Krakow, yet the scattered exhibition requires a fair
amount of walking (though it’s good for your health, they
say).
Barbara
Easter market starts in Krakow April 11th.
/2019-02-26/ In 2019 the
Easter
market in Krakow starts in the Rynek Glowny central square on
Thursday,
April 11th and it'll continue through Monday, April 22nd.
Visitors will be able to choose
a wide range of the Polish traditional
Easter decorations. Also, varied foods and village handicrafts will be on sale.
Kasia
2019 Krakow Easter festival
of music.
/2019-02-18/ This year the Misteria Paschalia
Krakow Easter
festival of classical music takes place
throughout Holy Week starting on Monday, April 15th
to continue through Monday, April 22nd 2019. The festival features
some of Europe's
top early music ensembles and soloists. In 2019 the festival
features Italy's Baroque church music.
Thoma
Street theatre fest July 4-7.
/2019-02-14/ The
32nd ULICA
International Street Theatre Festival
in Krakow
takes place July 4th through July 7th, 2019 with simultaneous
alfresco performances in the Rynek Glowny central
square as well as
other public spaces but always free of charge. This
year's edition of the festival has the phrase
"Oh, what a
circus!"
as its
theme.
Muse
Latest World Press Photo on show in Krakow.
/2019-02-11/ Exhibition „World Press Photo 2018” takes
place in Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury culture centre at 232
al. Jana Pawla II from February 8th through February 28th,
2019. The show features 137 blow-ups selected from 70,000
pictures entered for the 61st edition of the venerable
photojournalism contest last year. Some images on display
are nasty and organizers discourage minors from visiting the
exhibition. A regular admission fee is 10 zlotys (PLN).
Barbara
2019 stellar performers at the Krakow Arena.
/2019-01-15/ The world's star performers coming to Krakow in
2019. Ennio Morricone January 19, ZAZ February 23, Dire Straits
February 24, Shawn Mendes April 2, Elton John May 4, Enrique
Iglesias May 7, Jamiroquai May 23, Andre Rieu May 30, Maroon 5 June
6, KISS June 18, Rod Stewart June 21, Muse June 22, Diana Krall June
28, Mark Knopfler July 10, Ariana Grande September 9, Michael Buble
September 20. Venue Tauron Arena Krakow at Lema street.
Thoma
New Year's market till January 6th.
/2019-01-03/ New Year's market to goes on in Rynek Glowny
central square through Sunday, January 6th, 2019, the
Epiphany Feast.
Kasia
