Juwenalia is a festival organized for students of Polish universities and is definitely an event one should not miss! This holiday is usually celebrated every year in May, before the summer exams, sometimes at the beginning of June.

I’m pretty sure every student in Poland loves the month of May! The month is filled with concerts, parties , food and drinking! It is the time for students, who gladly take the last official leap in the fun world before intense studying for the summer exam session.

The tradition of celebrating Juwenalia goes all the way back to the 15th century! Juwenalia festival customarily begins with a triumphant parade of colorfully dressed students marching from a college’s campus to the city’s Main Square (Główny Rynek), where in a symbolic gesture, the president of the specific city will hand the keys to the city’s gates to the students. And fun begins!

Juwenalia. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Most of the universities in Poland’s biggest cities have their own version of Juwenalia. There are tickets (and people coming from the organizers’ University get special discounts), dining areas are all over the city/town. Festival is organized mainly by students. Each university has a student organization that is responsible for everything from talking to the artists’ managers, through making deals with potential sponsors.

Different types of universities will focus on slightly different events during the festival. For example, art schools will make sure there are plenty of artistic happenings, like theatre performances, art exhibitions, movie screenings, etc. Music schools will definitely focus more on concerts and agricultural universities might include more of nature in their festival, like flower shows. Sports schools will include more sporting events, etc.

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Whatever each different Juwenalia has to offer, there is always food and drinks! You can expect to taste some of the best beer, try a variety of amazing Polish food from food trucks and of course listen to the best Polish music stars! And yes, people get very drunk.

Whether you are a student or you not, the event is available for everyone who is interested in it. Just make sure to get your tickets early!

Have you been to one of these events in Poland? If yes, let us know how you liked it!