Lipnica Murowana Palm Contest: giant Easter palms and fair

Lipnica Murowana is a tiny historic town on the Wiśnicz Foothills, among orchards and hills between Bochnia and Limanowa. Once a year, on Palm Sunday, its market square turns into a forest of giant colourful “palms” — Easter palms that local families build all winter. The Contest of Lipnica Palms and Artistic Handicraft named after Józef Piotrowski (Konkurs Lipnickich Palm i Rękodzieła Artystycznego) has a long history: in 2026 it was already the 67th edition, tied to the 700th anniversary of Lipnica’s town charter. The event is part of the “Wizytówki Małopolski” (Showcases of Lesser Poland) programme and is organised by the commune, the commune culture centre and the parish.

A Lipnica palm is not a sprig of willow but a real structure: a long wicker pole bound with willow withies and decorated with handmade paper flowers. The jury (an ethnologist, an artist and a museum curator) checks each year whether the palms follow local tradition — in 2026 almost all of them did. Palms are made not only by families: entrants include schools and kindergartens, rural women’s circles, young firefighters, local councillors and even a Kraków student mountain-guides’ club, so the contest brings the whole area together.

Why go

• Watch the palms being raised to the height of an apartment block: in the morning they are measured, judged and hauled upright with ropes right on the square.
• Join the live palm-making workshops and buy willow palms and handicraft at the Easter fair.
• Taste “lipnicka lipina” — a local traditional product of Lesser Poland — and listen to regional folk groups.

What to see and buy

In 2026, 49 palms were entered in five categories: the tallest (over 22 m), tall (14–22 m), medium (7.05–14 m), jubilee palms of exactly 7 m and low (3–6.94 m); 208 children’s palms up to three metres were judged separately. The Grand Prix for the tallest went to Andrzej Goryl’s family from Lipnica Górna for a palm 35.80 m high; second was 28.18 m and third 24.95 m. The fair sells Easter palms of all sizes, folk handicraft and local treats.

Practical information

When: every year on Palm Sunday. The 2026 schedule: from 7:30 — measuring, judging and raising the palms, 10:50 — blessing, 13:00 — winners announced, in the evening — a concert in St Leonard’s church. In 2027 Palm Sunday falls on 21 March — the commune publishes the programme in advance. Where: Rynek, 32-724 Lipnica Murowana — the market square in the town centre. It is easiest to come by car from Bochnia (about 20 km) or from the Kraków–Nowy Sącz route; traffic is reorganised on contest day, so arrive early and park on the edge of town. Free entry. Commune contact: +48 14 634 85 50, [email protected].

The event is outdoors at the end of March and can be cold and windy, so dress warmly. It is a good family outing — children can make a small palm themselves. The best time for photos is around noon, when all the palms are already standing.

Nearby

• The wooden church of St Leonard — one of the best-known wooden churches of Lesser Poland, a few minutes’ walk from the square.
• The Wiśnicz-Lipnica Landscape Park and the Plum Trail (Na Śliwkowym Szlaku) — orchards, apiaries and local products of the foothills.
• Winnica Nowizny in Połom Mały — wine tastings nearby.

Official website: lipnicamurowana.pl

Photos: lipnicamurowana.pl.