Lajkonik Parade in Krakow 2025. When is it? Date

The Lajkonik, also known as the Zwierzyniec Tatar, is a figure riding a wooden horse through the streets of Kraków and is one of the city’s most famous traditions. Every year, the traditional procession of the Lajkonik from Zwierzyniec to the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) attracts both locals and tourists to the city center. Many people planning their visit to Kraków are already wondering when the Lajkonik Parade will take place in 2025. What is the date of the Lajkonik Festival in 2025?

The Tradition of the Lajkonik Parade

Kraków is renowned for many symbols, both tangible and intangible like St. Mary Trumpet Call. One of the unique traditions in Kraków, Poland, is the annual Lajkonik Festival also known as Lajkonik Parade. Here’s how Polish newspapers once described this long-standing tradition:

“Along the road from Zwierzyniec, a knight in Tatar attire appears on a wooden horse, brandishing his padded club and dispersing the curious crowds gathering around him. This is the so-called Konik, mistakenly called Lajkonik. He gallops like this every year during the Octave of Corpus Christi to commemorate an event dating back to ancient times, specifically the Tatar invasion of Poland,” as written in the magazine Przyjaciel Dzieci (Friend of Children magazine) on October 31, 1863.

As you can see, the Lajkonik Parade in Kraków is an extremely old custom. The first mentions of it appear even earlier than 1863, in an article titled Konik w Krakowie (The Little Horse in Kraków) by Konstanty Majeranowski, published on June 9, 1820. The history of the procession is said to date back to 1700.

This unusual Kraków tradition, which takes place during the Octave of Corpus Christi, has been included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2014. What is the date of the Lajkonik procession in 2025? The event always takes place during the Octave of Corpus Christi, so in 2025, it will be held on June 26.

The Kraków procession has its roots in the activities of the Zwierzyniec raftsmen, who, since the 13th or 14th century, formed a brotherhood involved in, among other things, floating wood to meet the needs of the Salt Mines located near Kraków.

Lajkonik Today

In modern times, the Lajkonik procession takes place annually in Kraków along a route starting from the courtyard of the Kraków Waterworks at Senatorska 1, then proceeding through Senatorska Street, Plac Na Stawach, Zwierzyniec, Kościuszki Street, Zwierzyniecka Street, Franciszkańska Street under the Papal Window, and finally Grodzka Street to the Main Market Square.

Until 2015, the Kraków Lajkonik wore a costume designed by Stanisław Wyspiański in 1903. Today, he wears a new costume. The Lajkonik is always accompanied by a colorful entourage. Tradition holds that receiving a tap from the Lajkonik’s mace brings good luck.

Summary: When is the Lajkonik procession in 2025? In 2025, Corpus Christi falls on Thursday, June 19, so the Octave of Corpus Christi occurs a week later, on Thursday, June 26. Therefore, the Lajkonik procession will take place on June 26, 2025. The procession usually starts at 10:00 AM and ends in the afternoon at the Main Market Square. The detailed program of the event will be available soon on the official city websites.

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