St. John's Day Festival

The annual St. John's Day (Swietojanskie Swietowanie) celebration has become a regular event in the Gdansk cultural calendar. It takes place around St. John's Day and brings together old Slavic and pagan rituals and Christian traditions, as well as various forms of art.

21st June

The festival will open with a concert by German avant-pop band Donna Regina. The band has been very successful in Germany but has also gained many fans in Poland. Their music is based on warm, analogue compositions containing ethereal accents of indie-rock inspirations. Though the band frequently performs in Poland, it's their first concert in Gdansk. It starts at 8:00 p.m. After the performance (around 10 p.m.) everybody is invited to admire a special light installation, designed to emphasize the beauty of the freshly restored windows of St. John's Church.

22nd June

On Sunday you are invited to St. John's Church to take part in the festive mass at 12 p.m. after which everybody can have fun during the St. John's Fair. The fair is a great opportunity to buy original handicraft, taste some local dishes and listen to folklore bands.

24th June

For the first time in the St. John's Festival tradition, a spectacle prepared especially for this occasion will be presented. The National Baltic Opera will perform an opera by Richard Strauss, "Salome," a story about the passion and death of St. John. If you can't make it on 24th, you have another chance to see the spectacle on June 26th.

27th June

The festival will be closed on Friday with a concert by the Gianadreo Gavazzeni Symphonic Orchestra, with the participation of Alberto Gazale, Sarah Maria Punga and Vittoria Vitali, who are going to perform several arias from Italian operas. It all starts at 8:00 p.m.