Dożynki
Polish harvest festivals & rural culture
Dożynki is the Polish harvest festival—a celebration of the end of the reaping season, gratitude for the crops, and rural community. This site documents the tradition: harvest wreaths, roadside “witacz” figures, rituals, and events across Poland.
Selected articles
Explore the deeper aspects of Polish traditions, folk culture and contemporary harvest celebrations.
The Polish Harvest Wreath: From Headpiece to Two-Metre Sculpture
How a wreath of grain small enough to wear on your head became a two-metre sculpture — and what Poles still put inside it.
Read more
Old Photographs Return as Wooden Murals in Gmina Gródek
On a barn in Waliły, former villagers look out at the road again. Arkadiusz Andrejkow's wooden murals were created to invite people to the Siabrouskaja Biasieda festival, and stayed on as the memory of Gmina Gródek.
Poland's Harvest Festival Comes Home to Spała, 2025
After several years away, Poland's national harvest festival returned to the village that hosted it for decades. On 28 September 2025, Spała filled again with wreaths, folk music, and nearly 90 stalls.
The Presidential Harvest Festival 2025 — Rural Poland at the Palace
On 14 September, President Karol Nawrocki and the First Lady welcomed rural Poland to the Presidential Palace. A wreath from the hamlet of Kłopot took the top prize, with the Mazowsze ensemble on stage.
About Dożynki
The most important festival of the Polish countryside
A Tradition with Deep Roots
Dożynki is the most important agrarian festival in the Polish calendar, uniting both the material and the intangible dimensions of our cultural heritage. For centuries it has served as the ritual that closes the cycle of work in the fields.
Today, Dożynki has grown into a spectacular cultural and social event, showcasing the richness of Polish rural culture—from traditional costumes and harvest wreaths to songs, dances and rites handed down from generation to generation.
Harvest Wreaths
Artistic compositions of grain, flowers and traditional elements
Songs & Dances
A living musical repertoire passed down through generations
Community
Bringing local communities together around shared traditions
A Wealth of Traditions
The regional diversity of Polish folklore
Folk Dances
The repertoire of Polish folk dances ranges from the stately Polonaise and the lively Krakowiak to the romantic Kujawiak and the spirited Oberek and Mazur. Each dance carries its own history and ties to a particular region.
Rural Women’s Circles
The Rural Women’s Circles (KGW) are natural hubs of social and cultural life in the countryside, keeping the memory of local traditions and folklore alive. They are living organisations that bridge tradition and modernity.
Folk Crafts
Traditional craft skills—from Zalipie painting and lacemaking to making flowers out of tissue paper—form a living heritage passed down through generations of masters.
Regional Cuisine
Traditional dishes such as pierogi, bigos and żurek remain as popular as ever, and the country’s regional culinary diversity is one of the great treasures of Polish culture.
Witacze 2025
Straw welcome figures—captured moments of Polish rural tradition