Wawel tickets official site: bilety.wawel.krakow.pl
Wawel at Dusk
Eighteenth Summer Music Festival
1–10 August 2025
The Wawel at Dusk summer festival brings together music with a landmark historical site, which lends it a distinctive character and unforgettable setting. The concert venues – Wawel Castle’s illuminated Arcaded and Báthory Courtyards – also play an key role in the artistic spectacle. The changing lights and colors render the sound not only audible, but also seemingly visible.
A few words about the music: Małgorzata Janicka-Słysz
Honorary Patronage Hanna Wróblewska Minister of Culture and National Heritage
Dialogical
The Wawel at Dusk festival embeds music at a key place for Polish history, which gives it an attractive artistic backdrop. The 18th edition of the festival, which is slated to take place this year, focuses on the process of bolstering the multidisciplinary and sophisticated cultural offering (the art of sound integrated into the architecture of the Wawel Royal Castle) for a broad audience. The open space, which hosts the concerts-events are organised, is very conducive to this purpose. Wawel at Dusk is the only open-air classical music festival in Kraków organised on such a large scale. The songs resonate in a historic and strongly symbolic setting, which fosters a dialogue between Culture, Nature and History.
Unity in diversity
The overarching concept that ties the subsequent editions of the festival together is the stylistic diversity of the music presented during the concerts, which encompasses classical music in the broadest sense of the term, compositions from the 2nd half of the 20th century, Polish film music, and various performers - from soloists to chamber music ensembles, as well as the encounters between tradition in the form of music established as part of the cultural canon, and modernity represented by new or newly interpreted performances. We put emphasis on the works by Polish composers - Frédéric Chopin, Wojciech Kilar and Krzysztof Penderecki - which are embedded in a broader cultural context, and the promotion of Polish performers, including Szymon Nehring, Krzysztof Książek and Mateusz Dubiel, who expand their competencies, work and live in Kraków.
Understanding listening
The organisers also aim to foster imagination and an understanding way of listening. The outlines of the themes present in the performed pieces, which are provided in Polish and English and have been an integral part of the festival concerts since the first edition in 2008, serve to align and direct the perception of the audience towards an understanding of the music performed, towards a deepened sphere of spirituality and the development of humanistic sensitivity, which are crucial to contemporary human beings.
Tradition and modernity
The programme of the Wawel at Dusk festival is also intended to break down barriers preventing understanding of high musical culture in its various stylistic and repertoire manifestations. In summer, WAWEL has its colourful and BEAUTIFUL MUSIC. IN SPECIAL PLACES - IN THE COURTYARDS - at DUSK...
The concerts of the 18th Wawel at Dusk festival are intended for audiences representing different generations - youth, adults and seniors. The Wawel Royal Castle attracts audiences of all ages - from Krakow, Poland and all over the world - especially in summer. The historical and cultural attractiveness of places characterised by unique architecture, such as the royal courtyards, can be conducive to the perception of music and aesthetics. The listener not only perceives the music itself, but also absorbs the surroundings and views and the beauty of the castle's architecture, surrounded by the changing colours of the courtyard illuminations. Statistics from the seventeen previous editions of the Festival to date show that the chamber music concerts in the Batory Courtyard are always sold out (with 130 listeners at each event), while the symphonic concerts in the Arcade Courtyard bring in more than a thousand listeners. The Young Pianists' Marathon in the Arcade Courtyard (with free admission) enables thousands of listeners to experience high musical culture.
The Wawel at Dusk summer festival combines music with a place of great importance for Polish history, which gives it a distinctive character and a unique setting. The illuminated courtyards of the Wawel Royal Castle - the Arcade and Batory Courtyards - serve as both the venue and the stars of the show. The latter courtyard was opened in 2008 with musical events in mind. Sound is not only audible, but also visible in the form of the ever-shifting colours and lights. Seventeen editions of the festival have been organised to date, bringing together both Polish and international audiences of all generations. Wawel at Dusk is the only open-air classical music festival in Kraków organised on such a large scale. The pieces resound in an open, historically and symbolically significant space, and the unique illuminated dusk scenery makes the architecture of the Wawel Royal Castle stand out and give the concert a new artistic dimension. The guiding themes that continue to link the subsequent editions of the festival and live on in the minds of the audience, are the stylistic diversity of the music presented during the concerts, which encompasses classical music in the broadest sense of the term, compositions from the 2nd half of the 20th century, Polish film music, and various performers, as well as the encounters between tradition and modernity, between datum and novum. The festival puts an emphasis on Polish music presented in a broad cultural context, and the promotion of Polish performers.
Information for recipients
TICKETS
reduced ticket 90 zł
available for: persons under 18, students (on production of ID), seniors over 65
regular ticket 140 zł
online sale - links to e-sales will be given soon
Entrance to concerts in the Arcaded Courtyard: Berrecci Gate and the gate next to the Senator's Tower. The gate opens 30 minutes before the start of the concert.
In case of inclement weather, concerts in the Batory Courtyard will be held in the Senator's Hall.
The concerts take place in open space – in the royal courtyards: Batory and Arcaded Courtyards. We are playing ‘in Nature’, so please protect yourself against possible cold or rain with headgear, cloaks or scarves (not necessarily umbrellas, which may disturb others). Remember: the weather can be changeable, although the music always keeps you cheerful.
We also ask you not to take photos or record during the concerts. We will be grateful for switching off mobile phones and electronic devices: they may disturb the beauty of the music and the contemplation of the illuminated architecture of the Wawel Royal Castle.
We wish all the audience an unforgettable aesthetic experience!