Looking for something to do this Easter weekend? we bring you a summary of Kraków’s traditional Easter events, the Easter Fair, Emaus and Rekąwka festivals and more.
Easter events summary (full details below)
26th March – 6th April – Easter Fair
28th March Easter Fair – Opening Ceremony
25th March – 1st April – Misteria Paschalia Festival
1st April – Śmigus dyngus
7th April – Rękawka Fair
5th April- Easter Sunday
6th April – Emaus Fair
Easter Fair (Jarmark Wielkanocny)
26th March – 6th April
10am-9pm (some traders may stay open until midnight)
One of the highlights of the Easter period, the popular and colourful Easter Fair on Rynek. The Easter market consists of 60 kiosks selling Easter arts and crafts, painted eggs and all things Easter, together with a programme of traditional performances.
Krakow City Card holders receive a 20% discount at food and beverage stands (excluding alcoholic beverages), a carousel ticket costs 5 PLN.
You can read more about the Easter market on krakow.pl
Fair program:
Saturday, March 28th, at 1:00 p.m. – opening ceremony
Sunday, March 29th – Folk artists, Easter Palm’s blessing.
Monday, March 30th – Easter decoration workshops
Wednesday, April 1st – Easter decoration workshops
Friday, April 3rd – Easter basket weaving workshops
Saturday, April 4th – 1pm solemn blessing of Easter baskets with the participation of the city authorities and the Krakow church
Monday, April 6th, at 2:00 p.m. – we invite you to the market square, where “Siuda Baba” will smear soot and look for her successors.
Easter Fair Programme (English & Polish)
Palm Sunday (Niedziela Palmowa)
29th March
Barbikan – Florianska – Rynkek Główny
Procession of palms with participants in traditional costumes, from Barbikan to Rynek. Following the procession, the palms are blessed in front of the Church of St. Adalbert (St. Wojciech)
Misteria Paschalia Festival 2026
21st March – 5th April
Various locations
This year, the Misteria Paschalia Festival programme will focus on celebrating intimate encounters with Renaissance and Baroque music. Misteria Paschalia is one of the most important early music festivals in Europe, which since 2004 has been discovering and presenting compositions related to the times of Holy Week and Easter. Additional information and the program can be found on the website of the Misteria Paschalia festival.
Emaus
Monday 6th APRIL
09:00 – 17:00
Salwator
The Emaus Indulgence festival, (Odpust Emaus) traditionally takes place on Easter Monday in Salwator.
Emaus consists of a parade, and several stalls lining the street, offering a selection of food, toys and treats, arts and crafts. In recent years it was largely tacky cheap plastic toys and balloons on sale, but in a move to return to more traditional items, the new organisers are making efforts to get rid of the junk.
Foto: Bogusław Świerzowski / krakow.pl
Emaus’ origins date back to the 12th century, and the atmosphere of a colourful fair known today was formed in the 19th century. The event then became a place where sweets and traditional folk toys were sold, including figurines, popular Easter decorations, Easter eggs and characteristic for Krakow Emaus trees carved in wood and decorated with wooden birds and colourful flowers.
In recent years, due to the flood of mass-produced toys and the blurring of many typically Krakow traditions, the indulgence has lost much of its authenticity. Instead of handicrafts, it was more common to find imported, plastic products that have nothing to do with the tradition of craftsmanship, nor with folk or Easter creativity. The event was chaotic and the goods were presented at random and inconsistent stands.
In the opinion of experts on Emaus, the tradition of artistic craftsmanship is disappearing, commercialisation prevails over cultural functions, and mass-produced items from Asia are replacing what was once the essence of the assortment of the fair.
“We want to stop the advancing commercialisation and eliminate controversial products available at the fair. I believe that it will be possible to gradually restore what has built the fame of Krakow’s Emaus over the centuries, that the historical context and tourist potential of this unique event will help us bring closer and promote Krakow’s rich cultural heritage”, explains Robert Piaskowski, Mayor’s Plenipotentiary for Culture.
Rękawka Fair
Tuesday 7th April
11.30am- 6pm
Krakus Mound (Kopiec Krakusa)
The Rękawka Fair takes place around Krakus Mound (Kopiec Krakusa) on the first Tuesday after Easter. The festival dates back to the middle ages, around the 8th century. Rękawka is popular with young and old alike, and is one of our favourites. It features, a mock medieval village, together with displays and battle re-enactments.
fot. Ilja Van de Pavert
Full details of the event, including the programme, summary of displays/exhibitors, photos and video from past events etc can be found at:- Rękawaka Festival (centrum kultury Podgórze)
2026 PROGRAMME
11.30 | Entry of the warriors to Krakus Mound
12.00 | Rite of lighting a fire on Krakus Mound
12.30 | Run of the warriors in full armor around the Mound
13.00 | Introduction of the arriving teams
13.30 | Reenactment part I
14.00 | Fortune-telling of prosperity for the city of Krakow
14.45 | Duel tournament for the prize of Prince Krak / Reenactment part II
15.15 | Culinary show with tasting “Krakow Cuisine Through the Ages”
16.00 | The great battle of the warriors. “Ancestral prophecy”
16.45 | Reenactment part III
17.15 | Slavic myth of the Creation of the World
17.30 | Concert of the Żmij Stage Band
Other attractions:
Slavic settlement (historical camp)
Art, handicraft and traditional food
fair Pre-Christian temple (Gontyna)
Stand of the Podgórze District Council XIII.
Stand of the Podgórze.pl Association.
Thematic stand of the Archaeological Museum in Krakow.
– interesting facts related to archaeological research conducted on the Krakus Mound
– activities for children: crosswords, quizzes, educational coloring books, competitions with prizes
– exhibition “The Great Mounds of Krakow”
Easter Shopping Hours
Most shops will be closed for the Easter break, with the usual exceptions of a few small owner operated shops. Generally the opening hours will be :
Egg Painting
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David fell in love with Kraków 25 years ago, making it his home in 2011.
In 2020 he was awarded the title of Kraków’s Ambassador of Multiculturalism, by the President of Kraków, and is also a member of the GlobalScot network, representing Scottish culture and business abroad.
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