Autumn Redyk in Szczawnica: sheep drive, oscypek and shepherds

Redyk is an old Carpathian shepherding custom: in spring the flocks are driven up to the mountain pastures (hale), and in autumn, after the cheese-making season, they come back down to the villages. In Szczawnica, a spa town in the Pieniny, the autumn redyk has become a great festival: a sea of sheep flows through the streets, hundreds of shepherds’ bells ring, and at the front the bacas and juhasi (shepherds) walk or ride in festive highland dress. It is the largest autumn redyk in Poland, and the town stresses that this is not folklore for show but living pastoralism — work, customs, music and food handed down through generations and rooted in the Wallachian shepherding tradition of the Carpathians.

The festival is organised by the town and commune of Szczawnica with the local centre for culture, sport and promotion. In 2026, for the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the redyk ran for three days for the first time — 8 to 10 October — and was nominated for the Polish Tourist Organisation’s Internet Users’ Certificate.

Why go

• See how oscypek is born. The first day, “Żywa Bacówka” (Living Shepherd’s Hut), brings a mobile hut and a mini sheep pen where you see oscypek and redykołka being made, taste żętyca (sheep’s whey) and hear about life on the pastures; shepherds’ instruments and costumes are shown, with workshops and activities for children.
• Meet the bacas. In 2026 the second day honoured baca Józef Klimowski, who for decades has walked his flock along one of the longest redyk routes in Poland — over 180 km from the Beskid Niski towards Nowy Targ; in 2025 his flock numbered about 1,200 sheep.
• Experience the climax — the great drive through town: baca Andrzej Majerski and his juhasi lead the kierdel (flock), followed by highlanders in costume, horse carriages and a mounted escort. A kierdel is the big mountain flock made up of many owners’ sheep, which the baca grazes all summer.

What to taste and buy

At the festival the best things to try are those made on the pastures: smoked oscypek and small figurative redykołka cheeses — both hold EU Protected Designation of Origin status — and żętyca. On stage you hear Szczawnica’s highland groups: “Naso Gròmada ze Scownic”, the “Jaworcanie” band, the Jan Malinowski Regional Ensemble, “Z Doliny Grajcarka” and the choir of the Polish Association of Pieniny Raftsmen; invited bands play in the evening.

Practical information

When: every autumn, in October (2025 — 11 October, 2026 — 8–10 October); the town announces the next date on its website. There is also a spring redyk: in 2026 it ran from 30 April to 2 May, ending in Jaworki with a Mass, traditional rites in the sheep pen (kosor) and the driving out of the flock — the formal opening of the grazing season. Where: the first two days — the square below the lower station of the Palenica chairlift; the climax — the stage by the final landing of the Dunajec raft trip (Przystań Flisacka, ul. Pienińska) and the town streets. Free entry. Thousands come and every car park fills up, so arrive by bus or leave the car in Krościenko and walk over the pedestrian-and-cycle bridge. Contact: [email protected], +48 18 262 22 03.

It is an outdoor event suitable for the whole family, but keep children close in the crowd and do not get too near the flock.

Nearby

• Szczawnica — a spa with mineral waters and wooden villas.
• The Dunajec raft trip — it ends right by the redyk stage.
• Homole Gorge in Jaworki — flocks graze above it in summer.
• The shepherd’s hut on Hala Majerz — oscypek straight from the baca.

Official website: szczawnica.pl

Photos: Happa, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.