Here in Kraków and across Poland, we are looking forward to the traditional May holiday long weekend, (Majówka), one of the main holiday weekends of the year.
Traditional May Holidays
1st May – Labour Day, (Swieto Pracy) is one of those legacies from communist times, and is celebrated around the world, sometimes known as workers day. Of course the Poles have put their communist past behind them, but why would they give up the holiday !
2nd May – Flag Day, (Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), A holiday introduced in 2004, it commemorates raising the flag on Siegessäule during the Battle of Berlin.
The now familiar red and white colours of the flag were first recognised as the national colours on 3rd May 1792, on the first anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of 3rd May. They were officially adopted as the colours of the Polish State by the Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831 during the November Uprising. After Poland regained independence, the appearance of the Polish flag was confirmed by the Legislative Sejm on 1st August 1919.
On this day, Poles reflect upon the long history of the red and white national colours and proudly display flags outside their houses. The President of Kraków has made an appeal for residents to fly the flag on their homes and buildings.
The red and white will also be flown from official buildings and displayed electronically at the usual places. You will also see the blue/white city flag.
3rd May – Constitution Day, (Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja) is a much more important celebration of Poland’s independence and nationalism. Commemorating the signing of Poland’s and Europe’s first national constitution, signed in 1791 in Warsaw. This year marks the 235th anniversary of the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution. This year also marks the 1000th anniversary of the Kingdom of Poland.
Majówka events in Kraków
A number of events and performances are taking place over the holiday weekend, including, concert of patriotic songs, walks and family events, OFFCamera – a celebration of independent cinema and a variety of cultural performances.
Thursday 30th April
Beltaine Fire Festival
Krakus Mound
from 7.23pm
Friday 1st May
The flag connects Krakow (Flaga łączy Kraków)
11am – Barbakan
On 1st May, a unique event will take place – “The flag connects Krakow” – with the participation of the city authorities, led by President Aleksander Miszalski. It will be an opportunity to express pride, unity and attachment to national symbols.
A solemn march with a hundred-meter flag of Poland will start at 11:00 a.m. from under the St. Florian Gate (in the Barbican area).
Participants will take the royal route to Wawel. The march will be accompanied by musicians of the Krakow Old Town Orchestra, and the artists of the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet will grace the event. The organisers invite everyone to carry the flag together.
The culmination of the ceremony will be a joint singing of “Dabrowski’s Mazurka” in the courtyard of Wawel – performed by several dozen choristers, including artists associated with the Polish Radio Choir – Lusławice under the direction of Dawid Ber. The artists will also present selected occasional songs.
The musical setting of the march will be provided by: the Sorrir Por Favor drum group under the direction of Andrzej Kaczmarczyk and the Krakow Old Town Orchestra under the direction of Wiesław Olejniczak. The event will also be attended by artists of the Cracovia Danza Court Ballet under the direction of Romana Agnel, who will grace the march with their presence.
Sunday 3rd May
White & Red on Błonia (Biało-czerwona na Błoniach)
10am Błonia
A unique installation will be built on Błonia – the outline of Poland composed of four thousand white and red flags. After the event, the Mayor of the City of Krakow will personally distribute flags to the residents, thanking them for celebrating together.
The installation will also be available to visitors from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as a space for taking souvenir photos. Four special instaspots will be prepared on site, allowing you to capture the white and red composition in an attractive form.
Sunday 3rd May
Official Parade and wreath laying ceremonies
9.45am onwards
Various locations then Pl Matejki
I took these photos at the 2024 event.
On Sunday, the celebration of the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of May 3rd will begin with the laying of flowers – first, together with the authorities of the Jagiellonian University, the voivode will lay flowers at 9am at the Hugo Kołłątaj Monument, then at 9.45am at the Monument to the Fighting Polish Soldiers in Powiśle.
At. At 10 a.m., a holy mass will begin in the Wawel Cathedral.
At 11am Polish flags will be handed out in front of Wawel Cathedral, for participants to join the parade – at approximately 11am, from Wawel down the hill to the Katyn memorial.
Around 11.30am the procession will stop at the Katyń Cross on Plac im. Adam Studziński, to lay flowers art the memorial. They will then they continue along Grodzka, through the Market Square, Floriańska to Jan Matejko Square.
At approximately 12 noon, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the national anthem will be sung. A solemn changing of the guard will take place and the Appeal of Remembrance will be read. Then, the Governor of Lesser Poland, Łukasz Kmita, will present state decorations and certificates of acquisition of Polish citizenship.
At the end, there will be a parade of vehicles representing uniformed services and horse formations.
Program of celebrations of the 3rd May National Day in Krakow:
9.45 – laying flowers at the Monument to the Soldiers of Fighting Poland, ul. Powiśle
10.00 – mass for the homeland, Wawel Cathedral
11.00 procession leaves Wawel
11.30 – laying flowers at the Katyn Cross, pl. Father Adam Studziński
12.00 – celebrations in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the participation of the Polish Army, Jan Matejko Square – presentation of state decorations and acts of granting Polish citizenship, speech by the voivode of Lesser Poland, laying of wreaths culminating in a parade along Basztowa Street.
Due to the celebrations, Basztowa Street will be closed by the Police at 12:00.
95th Kraków Patriotic songs, ‘singing lesson’
Mały Rynek
5pm
“Joyful Dawn” („Radosna Jutrzenka”) – is the title of the 95th Krakow Singing Lesson (Lekcja Śpiewania), which will take place on Sunday, 3rd May, at 5.00 p.m. in Mały Rynek.
Patriotic songs will be performed during the concert with the participation of the artists of the Loch Camelot Theatre, with the audience joining in with a sing-along. The lesson will be conducted by Waldemar Domański – the initiator of the event and the director of the Polish Song Library.
The Polish Song Library has prepared 2,000 free songbooks. The paper version of the songbook is not the only option to sing together – download the songbook to your phone.
38th Ride of the “Patriotic tram”
On 3rd May – the traditional white and red tram will travel through the streets of Krakow, in which volunteers will hand out free songbooks of Polish patriotic songs, flags in national colours, leaflets, stickers etc. This year’s edition will celebrate the exceptional jubilee of the 1000th anniversary of the Kingdom of Poland.
START : 10:30 (Bagatela Theatre, stop next to the Rossmann store) – 14:30
ROUTE : BAGATELA/PHILHARMONIA/ZWIERZYNIECKA/SALWATOR LOOP/ZWIERZYNIECKA/PHILHARMONIA/BAGATELA/DŁUGA/FREIGHT STATION/PAWIA/WESTERPLATTE/MAIN POST OFFICE/STAROWISLNA/MARKET HALL/ROUNDABOUT GRZEGÓRZECKIE/RONDO MOGILSKIE/TUNNEL/FREIGHT STATION/DŁUGA/BAGATELA
Traditionally, music bands and choirs will perform at the Tram, including: the Małe Słowianki Song and Dance Ensemble and the “CANTARE” Ensemble.
Public Transport changes over the Holiday Weekend
PARKING
On the upcoming holiday days, May 1 and 3, free parking will apply in the Paid Parking Area –
The free parking days are:-
January 1 – New Year
The second day of Easter
November 1 – All Saints’ Day
December 24 – Christmas Eve
December 25 – the first day of Christmas
December 26 – the second day of Christmas.
Full details of all of the above events, and more can be found at krakow.pl
Have a great Majówka!
A Scot in Kraków. The founder and editor of Kraków Expats Directory, and our sister sites Kraków TV and Kraków Stories Podcast.
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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