The largest mediaeval square in Europe is the stage for Kraków’s delightful Christmas market, set to the backdrop of the illuminated Cloth Hall and towering St Mary’s Basilica. As a predominantly Catholic country, Christmas has a huge cultural importance in Poland, reflected in Kraków’s annual transformation into an idyllic winter wonderland. From carol-singing to shopping or indulging in Polish cuisine, a winter escape to Kraków is sure to nurture your festive spirit.

Illuminated beautifully and complete with an impressive tree, Kraków’s Christmas market is made up of a small village of timber huts that offer a vibrant range of goods. Ideal for Christmas shopping, unique gifts can be found for your loved ones amongst the range of traditional Polish crafts. Ranging from carved nativity scenes (Szopka), to Bolesławiec tree decorations and ceramics, there is a rich choice of handmade, traditional crafts to choose from. As Vodka is Poland’s national drink, the market unsurprisingly offers a selection of the world’s finest vodkas and liqueurs, ideal to sample or purchase as gifts.

Traditional mulled wine is available, alongside the more unusual, mulled beer. Poland is famous for its hearty cuisine, and the Kraków Christmas is the ideal place to indulge in a range of Poland’s best comfort food. Meat dishes such as dumplings (pierogies) and smoked sausage (kielbasa), and Polish hunter’s stew (bigos) made from pork and sauerkraut, are highlights. Traditional sweets include gingerbread (piernik) and poppy seed cake (makowiec).

Kraków Szopki is Kraków's unique Christmas tradition. Szopka literally translates to crib in Polish, and is used to describe colourful, intricate depictions of nativity scenes that resemble Kraków’s famous landmarks. The tradition of Kraków Szopki began in the 19th century, when woodworkers crafted these scenes using spare materials to make additional income. Becoming increasingly popular, Kraków’s first Szopki competition took place in 1937, and has run annually ever since, apart from during the Nazi occupation. Taking from 3 to 6 months to complete, these colourful nativity scenes display a painstaking level of precision and skill, attracting a competitive crowd of entrants. In 2018 it earned a place on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The annual competition takes place in Kraków’s market square, on the first Thursday of December. There is an official procession of entrantrants and their models, accompanied by a traditional folk band. For those unable to attend the spectacular event, the competition is displayed in the Szopki Exhibition at Krzysztofory Palace, until February.