We talk to Katarzyna Piotrowska and Krzysztof Żwirski about Kraków’s intangible heritage.
Grzegorz Słącz: When we talk about “heritage”, we tend to think about monuments, artworks and other artefacts of history. In this context, the concept of intangible heritage seems almost self-contradictory…
Katarzyna Piotrowska: When it comes to intangible heritage, we note processes, skills and practices which are so ingrained that they are handed down the generations. Material elements may be an integral part of such processes or their outcomes. For example, Cracovian nativity scenes are listed by UNESCO, but the point is their entire process of design, construction and so on rather than just the cribs themselves as a standalone product.
Krzysztof Żwirski: The lineage of this custom dates back to a completely different time, when stonemasons lived and worked on the outskirts of Kraków. They had little to no work in the winter, so they earned money by making elaborate models of the nativity scene and sold them to wealthy burghers. Over time, interest in their constructions diminished as people started to buy mass-produced Christmas decorations instead. However, in the 1930s, Jerzy Dobrzycki, director of the Municipal Office of Artistic Propaganda and later director of the Museum of Kraków, decided to preserve the tradition by launching a competition.
This was the first intervention of this kind, wasn’t it?
K.P.: The idea helped reanimate the custom – if it weren’t for the competition, it’s likely no-one would be making nativity scenes any more. The format had to change, and today we have a beautiful festival starting on the first Thursday of December at the foot of the Adam Mickiewicz statue at the Rynek Główny.
K.Ż.: But if we are to consider the tradition in categories of intangible heritage, then we must also think about the links and relationships between a given contemporary community with the tradition itself, and their desire to hand the custom down the generations. The Intangible Heritage Interpretation Centre, branch of the Museum of Kraków, works on just such issues; the museum is in frequent contact with groups maintaining special traditions. When we look at lists of intangible heritage – both UNESCO’s and Poland’s own – we should also add the Lajkonik, bobbin lacemaking and national dances: the polonaise has recently been added to the international list, while the krakowiak to the Polish. But whether we think in terms of lists or not, this is one of the first problems faced by the team working on Kraków’s intangible heritage, founded by the Mayor of Kraków.
What is the idea behind this team?
K.P.: We are aiming to take a broader look at intangible heritage to make sure we don’t treat it as a kind of folklore – something rural, even if it is based in cities. We want to examine all aspects of our lives: we talk about music, about language as one of the ways of conveying intangible heritage, about how we spend our free time. We decided that our team will focus on the “Kraków lifestyle” – various activities we identify with as Cracovians. We also need to step away from seeing intangible heritage as a tourist product.
K.Ż.: I hope that the team’s work will result in outlining recommendations for various aspects of how the city functions, such as education; that they will become important for local residents and bring to the fore ideas we don’t think about every day because they are generally linked with individual districts and their identities. I hope that those people who live beyond the strict city centre – 97% of all Cracovians – will feel more closely linked with the city. Let’s remember that Kraków underwent a major shift after 1945: the relatively small city suddenly expanded its border and saw a vast increase in the number of residents. Unfortunately successive municipal authorities saw these new districts as secondary, peripheral even. Shifting away from this attitude remains a real opportunity for Kraków, yet to be fully made.
So you are talking about intangible heritage in its broadest sense?
K.P.: We are closely following the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of 2003. Its aim is to respect intangible cultural heritage of communities, smaller groups and individuals. We must strive to respect one another and respect how we see our reality and our existence within it, looking both towards the past and into the future. Let’s hope this Cracovian spirit which our team will work to define is reflected in the city’s policies, whether overall development strategies or more specific programmes. And we have one more goal: improved awareness on local, national and international levels of the importance of intangible cultural heritage and making sure that it is appreciated. The word “appreciated” is key, because we are not trying to assign value. It’s not as though nativity scenes are “better” than the Victorian merry-go-round in Podgórze.
K.Ż.: We are also not trying to assign different values to, say, the traditional Rękawka Festival – whose popularity has increased recently and become a celebration for fans of mediaeval customs – or the Pentecost indulgence held in the Bielany district since the 18th century. The event lives on simply because people are fond of it and continue the practice.
So what do you look for in our everyday lives?
K.Ż.: My roots are in smoky Cracovian music clubs. Clubs and cafés are an integral part of Kraków’s life, and to an extent this is because how cramped the city centre is. This, in turn, is the result of many years of partitions and forts constructed by invaders, corralling Kraków for the best part of the 19th century. As it concerned the most densely populated part of Austria-Hungary, a habitat where everything was just a short stroll away arose. This fuelled the café lifestyle – and also Kraków’s marketplaces, such as the ever-evolving Kleparz.
K.P.: Our main aim is to preserve the city’s atmosphere and the local, closely-knit communities; I’m talking about smoky clubs or other places where Cracovians feel at home. It may be great for meeting tourists’ expectations, but they are not our priority or main reference point.
K.Ż.: We all know that when something is working well, it attracts attention from the outside. However, our starting point is the relationship between people and where they live. This relationship is affected by various customs and lifestyles. One part of the Cracovian lifestyle is walking on the mounds on the city outskirts, especially at weekends and especially those when our city is shrouded in smog – there is fresh air there, and green spaces near the forts.
What are you expecting the outcome of this project to be? What are you aiming for?
K.P.: Our overall goal is to develop recommendations for the city authorities in terms of policies protecting intangible heritage. It’s likely that there wouldn’t have been these conventions or other mechanisms safeguarding intangible heritage if it wasn’t under threat – if everything was going well. No-one would have been thinking about creating international mechanisms supporting or changing how we think. However, these threats do exist and we have to change the way we think to notice important things so that we do not become increasingly homogenised.
K.Ż.: That’s why we are trying to keep our distance from heritage lists; in the longer term they tend to mean heritage simply becomes a tourist attraction or even an element of rivalry. On the other hand we are aware that adding specific customs to lists makes it easier for the city to support them. When nativity scenes were added to UNESCO’s list, we developed regulations helping their makers rent workshop space. Since Kraków was awarded the title of UNESCO City of Literature, we have created mechanisms supporting independent bookshops.
So you are trying to find a balance between the formalised and the spontaneous – between heritage which is “listed” and that which is simply a part of our own Cracovian lifestyle?
K.P.: That’s right, and to remain flexible and open to ideas. We are talking about a living organism and an ongoing process whose elements continue to change and evolve. It’s natural that traditions which have been cultivated over generations must also change, perhaps to maintain their freshness and inclusivity or to make sure they do not become offensive.
K.Ż.: There are certain customs whose presence on lists of intangible heritage is controversial; for example, the Carnival of Aalst in Belgium was removed from UNESCO’s list in 2019 following accusations of racism.
K.P.: Poland isn’t exempt from such problems: we may hide away from them, but there are certain aspects rooted in tradition which we should adapt. The world is changing, as is our perception which affects our development and, in turn, changes the world.
A while ago, at an international conference, the organisers were welcoming guests from Czechia, Germany and Poland; someone raised their hand and said, “And there’s also us, we’re from Kraków”. And in the context of a discussion of intangible heritage, I can still hear these words: “we’re from Kraków”… It’s hard to find a better example of how powerful this identity is.
Dr. Katarzyna Piotrowska – landscape architect with over 20 years of experience protecting cultural heritage. She has worked at the Centre for the Protection of Historic Landscapes in Warsaw and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage. She is currently deputy director of the Department of Culture and National Heritage at the Kraków Municipal Office. President of the Team of Intangible Heritage in Kraków.
Krzysztof Żwirski – cultural manager with long ties to KBF and the Kraków UNESCO City of Culture programme. At the Kraków City Office, he focuses on intangible heritage. Secretary of the Team of Intangible Heritage in Kraków. Author of books and essays.
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In 2023, the traditional dance polonaise was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The idea was put forward by Romana Agnel, director of the “Cracovia Danza” Courtly Ballet, selected by members of dance circles to represent Polish national dance. Let’s hear what she has to say.
The roots of the polonaise date back to the 16th century; originating in folk traditions, it has been a favourite at royal and noble courts and formal events for centuries. It is a slow walking dance performed in pairs, with all dancers joining in with numerous figures. It is a ceremonial, noble dance, abounding with dignity and gallantry. In the late 18th and throughout the 19th century, when Poland was under partitions, it became a symbol of national, patriotic and social values. Today the polonaise epitomises the Polish spirit and carries on tales of Poland’s history through the ages. It is a living tradition and its social and artistic values means it is practiced throughout Poland by all social groups.
The “Cracovia Danza” Courtly Ballet holds regular events based around the polonaise. Our repertoire includes spectacles Time to start the polonaise, Polonaise: our trail and From the polonaise to the mazur, as well as dozens of choreographed polonaises from different eras and in different styles. This season we will introduce our latest cycle, Four seasons of the polonaise. The spring instalment falls on the International Day of Dance (29 April), in summer it coincides with the finale of the 25th Courtly Dance Festival (20 July), in autumn it is held on Poland’s independence day (11 November), while the winter instalment will be held during the 2024/2025 carnival. We will host Polonaise through theatre as part of Kraków’s Theatre Night (15 June) in collaboration with the Kraków section of the Union of Polish Stage Artists. As a ballet, we recall Cracovian traditions of the polonaise by representing all social groups through dance.
Whenever I lead and dance the polonaise, I am always fascinated by the magic which brings together all who dance it, regardless of age or background.
Romana Agnel
Article published in 1/2024 issue of Kraków Culture quarterly.
