This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inclusion of the Zwierzyniecki Pony on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This spectacular tradition, usually held at the beginning of June, is also known as Lajkonik and is one of the most characteristic elements of Krakow folklore. At the turn of May and June, in various places in Poland, unique customs of creating flower carpets have also been cultivated for centuries, which in 2020 were included on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and a year later on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Zwierzyniecki Pony (known as Lajkonik since the 18th century) is a folk, spectacular ritual, held in the octave after Corpus Christi. In the first half of the 19th century, the Lajkonik celebration was formed, which remains unchanged to this day.
This custom consists of a colorful procession marching through Kraków, the main character of which is a rider dressed as a Tatar. This is a bearded rider dressed in a red costume and a Turkish turban on his head and yellow boots. He sits on a wooden horse and has a mace in his hand (a type of weapon popular in the East). It is worth adding that the currently used saddle cloth and Lajkonik costume date back to 1904, and their designer was Stanisław Wyspiański himself.
A procession of 36 people follows Lajkonik. The group is closed by a 9-person band called "Mlaskots" after the family that played music during the celebrations until 1914. They play traditional Krakow melodies (krakowiaks, lajkoniks, waltzes, obereks, marches) on the violin, trumpet, flute, clarinet, accordion, bass and drum, to which Lajkonik performs dances along the entire route of the procession. On this day, a traditional song resounds in the streets of Krakow:
This Lajkonik, our Lajkonik, always chases around Krakow, Lajkonik laj, laj, across the whole country, country, Lajkonik laj, laj, across the whole country.
The Lajkonik procession is associated with a legend according to which Krakow was saved from the Tatar invasion in the 13th century thanks to the brave włóczkowie (Vistula raftsmen) living in the village of Zwierzyniec on the outskirts of Krakow. They attacked the approaching Tatars from ambush and killed their leader. Then one of the włóczkowie dressed up in the robes of a Tatar khan and triumphantly entered Kraków. The actual origins of the Lajkonik custom are, however, unexplained. It may have originated from the popular rite of the horseman among the inhabitants of villages near Kraków, i.e. walking in the spring with a wooden horse.
In 2014, the tradition of the Lajkonik procession was entered on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The traditional procession of the Zwierzyniec horse was recognized as intangible heritage of Poland, as one of the first five cultural phenomena entered into the national inventory.
Preparations begin many days before Corpus Christi. At that time, flowers are collected from the surrounding meadows, fields and gardens. Before dawn, residents of Spycimierz (Łódź Province), Klucz, Olszowa, Zalesie Śląskie and Zimna Wódka (Opole Province) take out bags full of rose petals, jasmine, lilac, geraniums and fern leaves to arrange intricate patterns on the path along which the priest carrying the Blessed Sacrament will walk. Each family is responsible for their own section of the street, on which the flower carpet is laid.
Combined into one whole, they create a majestic carpet. The most elaborate compositions are located in front of the four altars, at which the procession stops.
This tradition has shaped the identity of many generations and has become an important symbol of the towns where the custom of laying flower carpets is practiced. Thanks to the efforts of the depositaries, the Corpus Christi procession with the tradition of flower carpets in Spycimierz was entered on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018. The arrangement of flower arrangements in other towns of the Opole province has been on this list since 2020.
A joint initiative of the residents of all five towns was to submit the custom of arranging flower carpets in a joint application for the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, maintained by UNESCO.
- There are five Polish entries on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO: Krakow nativity scene crafts, beekeeping culture, falconry, rafting traditions and flower carpets prepared for Corpus Christi processions. The application was officially submitted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in March 2021, and in December of the same year it was entered on the list under the name "Traditions of flower carpets for Corpus Christi processions". This would not have been possible without the efforts of the depositaries, i.e. people who undertook to document the custom and took responsibility for preserving it. The attitude of the residents proves that intangible cultural heritage is particularly important, and its preservation for future generations depends on the attitude of people who cultivate given traditions, know their value and want to share it with others – reminds the director of the National Heritage Institute, Dr. Katarzyna Zalasińska.
source: National Heritage Institute
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