Summer’24

Summer Stages

Concerts, festivals, exhibitions and picnics, the opening of a new park… We are in for a very intense summer!

The start of the summer break usually coincides with Wianki – a programme developed by a wide variety of Kraków’s cultural institutions, enticing Cracovians to come to the Vistula Boulevards, as well as more remote corners of the city, including the Kazimierz District, Planty Park and Wesoła, all the way to the university campus and Bronowice. Concerts, festivals and picnics, the opening of a new park, as well as a conference focused on transforming urban spaces with culture… We are in for a very intense opening weekend of the summer! All of this coincides with the Jewish Culture Festival, which opens at the same time and fills the spaces of Kazimierz with dozens of concerts, meetings, exhibitions and workshops.

Early July brings even more events, including the Miłosz Festival – a time of poetic reflection upon our reality, which becomes particularly relevant in the Year of Czesław Miłosz, celebrating the poet who experienced the turmoil of the 20th century. It is no coincidence that this year’s edition of the festival was titled Rescue, after one of his volumes of poetry. EtnoKraków/Crossroads will take place in Wesoła and Kazimierz districts, KTO Theatre will present the next instalment of the Ulica Festival in the open spaces of the city, the 20th Polish Music Festival will host concerts in Kraków’s churches and concert halls, including in Nowa Huta and the Kraków Philharmonic.

The list of summer events in Kraków always features a number of dance festivals, and this year is no exception.

June also brings the final performances of the Kraków Summer Opera Festival and the Royal Opera Festival. The New Orleans Sunday will be a festive start of the Summer Jazz Festival Kraków, which already began in June with a concert by Brad Mehldau, and which will run until early September.

The Kraków Nights series, which showcases the various cultural achievements, will have four instalments – Theatre and Dance Nights in June, Jazz Night in July, and the Cracovia Sacra Night in August, a showcase of treasures that usually remain hidden from our eyes. The sacred themes also underpin the Musica Divina Festival in August, but even the classic Music in Old Kraków Festival won’t shy away from these references. The list of summer events in Kraków always features a number of dance festivals, and this year is no exception. Regardless of whether you prefer historical dances performed by the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet Ensemble, or contemporary dance at the Nowa Huta Cultural Centre, you will find something to suit your taste.

You will notice that many of these festivals showcase parts or entirety of their programmes in the open air…

You will notice that many of these festivals showcase parts or entirety of their programmes in the open air, adding to the wealth of Kraków’s spaces and events that offer an opportunity to go outside. And that is not all – there are also rock concerts and festivals, fairs, trade shows, as well as stages and screens set up among the urban greenery and by the water. The BNP Paribas Green Film Festival brings them all together to focus on the environment and sustainability – keep your eyes peeled for the opening of the festival town near the Wawel Castle. The former hospital district of Wesoła, which slowly transforms into Kraków’s new creative haven in the very heart of the city, will host the Open City Festival – Art in Public Spaces, an open-air exhibition revolving around the character of the place.

While we’re on the subject of art, it might be worth your while to visit one of the many exhibitions held as part of the Krakow Photomonth, which switches up its formula and turns into a biennial, go to the Wawel Castle for a showcase of Rococo sculptures from Lviv, or pay a visit to the National Museum in Krakow and experience On Wings. Putti in Renaissance Art. You can also learn more about the somewhat forgotten painter Wincenty Wodzinowski, who praised the virtues of Kraków’s countryside, one of the authors of the famous Racławice Panorama. The international Art Fair Krakow will present the latest trends in contemporary art.

It’s summer – schools might be closed, but cultural institutions remain as open as ever, with stages, venues and open-air events, both in the heart of the city and in recreational spaces. Get ready for a spectacular and interesting summer, with fun and reverie, grandeur and cosiness… And as interesting as ever!

In summertime, Kraków brings us surprises, takes us on excursions, hosts meetings and reveals some of the city’s secrets. Find your way around all the regular and celebratory events on karnet.krakowculture.pl.

Kraków`Culture Team

Winter’23

EventCalendar

16 stories about Kraków

Discover Kraków Culture

The year 2023 marks several important anniversaries celebrated in Kraków and beyond. When we discuss them as part of the cycle of Cracovian events in “Kraków Culture”, we eschew ostentatious discourse, and instead we look at their works as a major contribution to contemporary civilisation, art and literature and a starting point of future artistic and scientific pursuits.