The second edition of the Kraków Celtic Festival takes place from September 4 to 6 in Kraków, Poland. For three days, musicians and dancers from Poland, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Brittany gather in the former Polish capital. A Celtic presence that may be surprising nearly 1,500 kilometers from Brittany, but which is based both on a very active local music scene and on a much older history.
Created in 2025, the "Kraków Celtic Festival" offers concerts, dances, workshops, lectures, and historical reenactments. All events are free of charge. The festival is organized by the Polish Celtic Association and the cultural center Dworek Białoprądnicki, with the support of the city of Kraków. The success of the first edition led the organizers to renew the experience this year.
photo https://krakowcelticfestival.pl/The 2026 edition began on Friday, September 4, with a grand Celtic parade in the historic center of the city, followed by the first concerts.
Brittany represented
Cultural relations between Brittany and Poland are not new. A House of Brittany has existed in Poznań since 1993, organizing events around Breton culture and exchanges between the two countries. ABP already dedicated an article to it in 2009.
On Saturday, September 5, several groups will perform, including the Kraków Céilí Band, Los Paddys, which blends Celtic music with South American rhythms, the Polish group Saint Patrick's Drum, as well as Elizabeth Davidson-Blythe and Daniel Quayle, who come from the Isle of Man.
Brittany is represented by the Duo Le Pottier-L'Haridon, consisting of Floriane Le Pottier on violin and Yann-Ewen L'Haridon on soprano saxophone, vocals, and bombarde. Their repertoire is dedicated to danceable Breton music.
The festival is not limited to concerts. Workshops on Breton, Irish, and Scottish dances are also offered, as well as lectures and activities focused on the history of the Celts. On Sunday, the Duo Le Pottier-L'Haridon will host a meeting titled "Brittany, then and now," dedicated to the musical culture of Brittany and its contemporary evolution.
When all non-Mediterranean Europe was Celtic
Kraków is quite far from the Celtic nations of the Atlantic coast. However, there is already an established scene of Celtic music and dance in Poland. Irish and Scottish dance groups have been active there for several decades, and regular Irish music sessions have been organized in Kraków for about ten years. It is in this environment that the idea for the festival was born.
But the connection to the Celtic world is also much older. The Celts actually lived in the Kraków region. Archaeological discoveries attest to their presence in the south of present-day Poland from the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Excavations in the territory of present-day Kraków have uncovered dwellings, characteristic ceramics, and traces of Celtic coin production.
The Polish Celtic Association, established in 2024, aims to promote the various Celtic cultures in Poland and develop the local Celtic scene. This second edition of the festival thus brings together artists from Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Brittany, and Poland.
Between historical heritage and contemporary interest in Celtic cultures, Kraków is thus attempting to establish a new interceltic meeting point in the heart of Central Europe. The Kraków Celtic Festival continues until Sunday, September 6.
