Kraków’s Polish midsummer festival of floating wreaths is called Wianki.
The name Wianki means “wreaths,” referring to flower garlands traditionally floated on the Vistula River. The event is held around the summer solstice and is connected with older Slavic customs involving young women, flowers, water, fire, and fortune-telling. In Kraków, the celebration developed into a large public festival with concerts and outdoor entertainment.
A well-known traditional motif is the wreath released onto the water, sometimes with a candle. Its movement was once interpreted as a sign concerning love or marriage. Bonfires and jumping over flames also belong to the wider midsummer symbolic tradition.
Wianki should not be confused with Juwenalia, Poland’s student festival, or Dożynki, the harvest festival. Andrzejki is another Polish fortune-telling celebration, but it takes place in late November rather than around midsummer.