V 'Days of Zakopane' Festival

Visits to the main Catholic church at the foot of the Tatras by the late Pope John Paul II had become the biggest events in the city. The former Pope was tied to Zakopane and the Tatras since the days of his youth, and he never forgot his passion for the mountains when he took over the bishopship of Krakow. In the Tatras, John Paul II was especially fond of the Chocholowski Valley, which – already as Pope – he visited in 1982. His next visit to Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains didn’t occur until 1997. During this time the Pope visited Kasprowy Wierch, Morskie Oko Lake, and rode the Gubalowki cable to Ludzmierza. Several reminders evoke his stay in Podhale – among them an alter on which he preformed a mass next to Krokwia, which was moved to the gardens of the St. Mary Sanctuary at Krzeptowkach. Another memento from John Paul II’s visits to Zakopane are the Days of Zakopane, organized with the goal of commemorating his last visit to the Tatra region. This year is the tenth anniversary of this significant event, and the fifth year of the festival. During the celebrations of the Days of Zakopane, the II All-Poland Christian Artwork Festival will take place, featuring the works of teenagers from all over Poland. This year’s festival is marked by the late Pope’s words spoken in Zakopane on June 6th, 1997, at the end of the Holy Pass by Krokwia, "We need all of Poland, from the Baltic to the Tatras, to look towards the cross at Giewonic, to hear and repeat: 'Sursum corda! - Lift up your Hearts!'"