Krakow Old Town hosts Zaduszki Organowe on 29 October
Published on 10/21/2026 at 20:08 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWSMusic and heritage in late October
- Krakowskie Forum Kultury and the Music Academy present ten concerts from 29 October to 10 November 2026.
- The programme uses historic churches in Krakow Old Town, including the Dominican and Carmelite basilicas.
- UNESCO records Krakow's 13th-century merchants' town as part of the Historic Centre of Krakow, inscribed in 1978.
Krakow Old Town (Stare Miasto) will provide several venues for Zaduszki Organowe, an international organ festival running from 29 October to 10 November 2026 in Krakow, Poland. The programme brings ten concerts to historic churches, including three within the Old Town district.
The festival is organised by Krakowskie Forum Kultury and the Music Academy named after Krzysztof Penderecki in Krakow. All concerts and festival events are free to attend, according to the district authority's announcement.
Zaduszki Organowe brings ten concerts to Krakow
The 23rd edition opens on 29 October at the Carmelite Basilica on the Sand, where organist Marcin Kucharczyk performs with Sinfonietta Cracovia. The programme then moves between churches in Krakow and the Benedictine Abbey at Tyniec.
Old Town venues include the Dominican Basilica on Stolarska Street, the Carmelite Basilica on Karmelicka Street and the Jesuit Basilica on Kopernika Street. The schedule also includes concerts at St Stephen's Church and a recital on reconstructed Renaissance organs at Tyniec.
The festival closes on 10 November at the Dominican Basilica with Portuguese organist Joao Vaz. The programme lists performances by artists from Poland, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Italy, as well as an international academic session on twentieth-century organ music. The festival programme for 29 October gives the dates, venues and performers.
Historic churches connect the festival with Krakow's past
The festival honours Jan Jargon, a Krakow organist, composer and teacher who lived from 1928 to 1995. Its route through historic churches links the music programme with the buildings and instruments that form part of the city's protected urban heritage.
UNESCO describes the Historic Centre of Krakow as a former capital at the foot of Wawel Royal Castle. The property includes the medieval chartered city, Wawel Hill and Kazimierz, while its 13th-century merchants' town contains a large market square, churches, palaces and historic houses.
Krakow received its city charter in 1257, and UNESCO inscribed its Historic Centre on the World Heritage List in 1978. The organ festival's Old Town venues therefore sit within an urban ensemble whose surviving street plan, religious buildings and public spaces document centuries of development. The UNESCO description of Krakow's heritage records these features and the site's protected status.
Historic churches set the route through Krakow Old Town
For visitors, the main practical change is not a closure but a series of scheduled evening and afternoon concerts in working historic churches. The venues place the festival within walking range of the central Old Town route, although each performance has its own address and date.
The connection between venue and programme is particularly clear on 29 October, when the opening concert at the Carmelite Basilica begins the festival in one of the Old Town churches named by the district authority. Later concerts at the Dominican Basilica provide the closing venue on 10 November.
Visiting Krakow Old Town: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Zaduszki Organowe runs from 29 October to 10 November 2026. The first Old Town concert is at the Carmelite Basilica on the Sand on 29 October, and the closing concert is at the Dominican Basilica on 10 November.
- Admission is free for all concerts and festival events, but performances take place at different churches. The programme names the Carmelite Basilica, Dominican Basilica and Jesuit Basilica among the Old Town venues.
- Krakow Old Town lies in the historic centre at the foot of Wawel Royal Castle. UNESCO places the medieval city within a World Heritage property inscribed in 1978.
- The central area is a historic urban quarter with churches, palaces, market spaces and remnants of medieval fortifications. Visitors should expect an urban walking route between venues rather than one single festival site.
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Frequently asked questions about Krakow Old Town
When does Zaduszki Organowe take place at Krakow Old Town?
The festival runs from 29 October to 10 November 2026, with concerts in several historic churches in and around the Old Town.
What is Krakow Old Town?
It is the medieval urban core within Krakow's Historic Centre, a UNESCO World Heritage property inscribed in 1978 and centred on a city chartered in 1257.
Where is Krakow Old Town and how do you get there?
The historic centre is in southern Poland at the foot of Wawel Royal Castle. The festival programme gives a separate church address for each concert, including Stolarska, Karmelicka and Kopernika streets.
