Isn’t it just beautiful here! I know it’s windy, but that’s the sort of climate we have here. The “Halny” wind can knock you off your feet. You just look around you and delight in the beautiful scenery of the Beskid Mountains and I, as promised, will tell you all about when to come to Bielsko-Biała if you want to experience something wonderful, something which you won’t often find elsewhere in Poland.

OLDIES BUT GOODIES

One of these events is definitely the Bielsko Vintage Car Rally. You’ll see fantastic cars here, some almost a hundred years old. Alongside these you’ll see the ever-elegant Mercedeses from the ‘50s, Chevrolet cabriolets, and the Fiat 126p. You probably don’t know that this popular “maluch” (tiny tot) was made in the Compact Car Factory in Bielsko-Biała, where the Syrena car was also made. All this is waiting for you at the beginning of July every year. If you can’t come to visit us then, you can still see many beautiful old cars in the private Bielsko Automotive Museum whenever you want.

Bielsko Vintage Car Rally

A WEEK OF FOLKLORE

Another event you won’t find anywhere else is the Week of Beskid Culture, the biggest folklore event in Poland. It takes place simultaneously in several towns in the Beskid region. Around one hundred song and dance groups from dozens of countries take part. Unfortunately, in Bielsko-Biała we don’t have any of the main stages of the festival, but the foreign groups in their colourful costumes always give guest performances and present their country’s folklore in Bielsko-Biała. Fortunately, large open-air stages are but a stone’s throw away in places like Żywiec, Wisła or Szczyrk. It’s really worth taking a few days off work and visiting us in the second week of August.

Week of Beskid Culture, the biggest folklore event in Poland

TANKS IN THE STREETS

Going back to the subject of motorised vehicles, I’ve already mentioned tanks rolling down the main street of town. It’s an incredible sight! The tanks are followed by armoured amphibious vehicles, second world war motorbikes and dozens of other vehicles among which we find unique examples on a European scale. All this is part of the International Military Vehicles Rally “Operation South”. It’s the biggest event of its kind in Poland, bringing together collectors and enthusiasts of military vehicles. Visual displays and battle scenes are put on. If this is your thing, pop over the second weekend of July.

Operation South

A MUSICAL FEAST

And now something music lovers wait for all year round – the Lotos Jazz Festival. At the end of February and the beginning of March, at the bottom, and at the top, of the mountains we have a veritable musical feast otherwise known as the Bielsko Jazz Blizzard. If you are tempted you can expect to see the biggest jazz stars from Poland and around the world. The top attraction of the festival is a concert in the Szyndzielnia mountain refuge. Can you just imagine the atmosphere!
Let’s stay with music because “Sacrum in Musica” is an event worth mentioning. The International Festival of Sacred Music usually takes place in April. Guest artists have included such exotic performers as Peruvian Indians from the Quechua tribe or the well-known Ladysmith Black Mambazo Choir from South Africa. The people of Bielsko-Biała particularly love the Gospel concerts during which they enjoy themselves more than at any evening party.

Międzynarodowy Festiwal Muzyki Sakralnej „Sacrum in Musica”

DOLLS NOT ONLY FOR CHILDREN

You mustn’t miss the Bielsko International Puppetry Festival which is one of the most important and most prestigious puppetry festivals in the world. Held at the end of May every two years, it’s organised by the Bielsko Puppet Theatre ‘Banialuka’. For this event Bielsko-Biała, the capital of the Podbeskidzie region, welcomes theatre troupes from all over the world. Audiences can watch various performances for almost a week. The shows, with a variety of visual effects, which take place on Chrobry Square normally after dark, are an incredible experience.
I especially urge you to take part in the above events because you won’t find anything like it anywhere else. Only in Bielsko-Biała!

Bielsko International Puppetry Festival