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Krakow, the City of Culture.
Krakow
is Poland’s capital of culture. The city can boast
the best museums in the country and some best
theaters. It is home to one of the world’s oldest
and most distinguished universities. It has a number
of Poland's
top writers, painters, and musicians among its
residents. No wonder Krakow was named a European
City of Culture in 2000. And since 2013 UNESCO has
proclaimed
Krakow the City of Literature.
Krakow's Regular Culture Events
Over fifty culture festivals take place in Krakow every
year.Some of them have been held for decades,
some are relatively fresh calendar entries. Among the
most prestigious such events count the
Festival of Polish Music,
the
‘Music in Old Krakow International Festival,
the Krakow Film Festival, and the
International Print Triennial.
More on Krakow's regular culture events
 Get the Krakow up-to-date guide e-book
Krakow's music
The city resounds with music of every kind. Its lively
club scene is divided between hip-hop, house, funky,
techno, traditional rock and still more traditional
jazz. And demanding audience may choose among frequent
concerts and recitals of classical music.
More
on Krakow's music
Krakow Philharmonics program
Krakow Theater
Krakow features prominently on the theater map of
Europe. Its legendary National Stary Theater
counts among the continent’s best companies of players.
As the rest of the city's repertory theaters it runs
several playhouses of varied capacity.
More on Krakow theaters
Opera in Krakow
Krakow Opera House, built in 2008, contains three
auditoriums that are
the most popular venue for opera, operetta, and
ballet
shows in the city.
More on opera in Krakow
Krakow opera program
Krakow Festivals
Hardly a month passes in Krakow without some
time-honored occasion for common festivities or
colorful ceremony. Krakow residents have their own
unique way of celebrating
Christmas,
carnival,
Easter
etc. The city is also famous in Poland for its many
spectacular festivals unknown elsewhere, such as the
wild Lajkonik parade (see the picture above).
More on Krakow's festivals
Museums in Krakow
Krakow has the best collections in Poland, and some of
its treasures are the envy of every museum in the
world.
More on Krakow museums
National Museum in Krakow
Poland's biggest museum and the country's
oldest national museum. Its diverse collections
total about 780,000 items in 10 branches, 11
galleries, 21 departments, and two libraries.
More on the Krakow National Museum
Princes Czartoryski Museum
The Czartoryskis Museum dates back to 1801 and is
Poland's oldest museum. It displays the country’s
most valuable collections of art, ancient
handicrafts, and memorabilia connected with
historical figures. The museum is renowned for
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait ‘Lady with an
Ermine’.
More
about The Czartoryski Museum
Fine Arts in Krakow
Visual arts have always been Krakow’s forte. Over
centuries the city bred outstanding painters and
sculptors or lured them to settle within its walls.
More on the fine arts in Krakow
Krakow Art Galleries
Numerous Krakow art galleries sell a
wide selection of paintings, an assortment of prints
and occasionally sculptures. Prices for works of
contemporary Polish artists, notably the younger
ones, are still fairly competitive.
More on Krakow galleries
Krakow University
The Jagiellonian University, Poland’s oldest,
with its 6,700 faculty and 42,000-plus students is
the country’s second largest institution of higher
education and the most distinguished one.
More on the Krakow University
Jagiellonian Library
Poland's oldest library boasts five million volumes,
while its unique collection of medieval manuscripts
and ancient books contains tens of thousands
priceless items.
More on the Jagiellonian Library
Cinema in Krakow
The city's multiplexes and other playhouses show
Hollywood motion pictures as well as Polish films
and other European productions including auteur
movies.
More about cinema in Krakow
Krakow Folk Traditions
Krakow region has always been rich in colorful folk traditions, handed down from
generation to generation, with almost every village cultivating its own set of
time-honored customs. Nowadays, as new lifestyles spread, some ancient practices
are dead but many flourish.
More on
the Krakow folk traditions
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