28th SIMCHA Jewish Culture Festival

SIMCHA — the Hebrew word for joy — has been the name and the spirit of Wrocław’s annual Jewish Culture Festival since its first edition in 1998. Now in its 28th year, the festival is one of the oldest and most significant celebrations of Jewish culture in Poland, second only to the Kraków Jewish Culture Festival in age. From 27 June to 3 July 2026, Wrocław’s historic Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem (White Stork Synagogue) and the surrounding Dzielnica Wzajemnego Szacunku (Quarter of Mutual Respect) once again become the heart of a week-long programme of concerts, workshops, guided walks, film screenings, literature events, children’s activities and the beloved Jewish Market.

This year’s edition is especially significant: the 2026 festival marks the 80th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Jewish Religious Community (Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska) in post-war Wrocław. The theme of memory — of people, places and history — runs through the entire week. Artistic director Stanisław Rybarczyk, a scholar of synagogue music who has led the festival since its very first edition, returns to programme an extraordinary week of events.

The music programme spans the full breadth of Jewish musical tradition: klezmer, synagogue chant, Hasidic melody, Sephardic song, Yiddish cabaret and the contemporary fusion of all these streams with jazz, Mediterranean and folk music. Evening concerts in the Synagogue are joined by free events — morning workshops, afternoon walks, evening dance sessions and late-night cinema — spread across multiple unique venues throughout the city.

SATURDAY 27 JUNE — KLEZMERSKA HAWDALA (Opening Day)
10:00–14:00 — SIMCHA Breakfast (in partnership with UWr Judaics Dept): food tasting, dance workshops and children’s activities | Katedra Judaistyki courtyard | FREE
11:00 — SIMCHA Dzieciom: children’s workshops by Hillel Polska Wrocław | FREE
12:00 — Jewish dance workshops — Maria Grzegorowska | FREE
13:00 — SIMCHA Dzieciom: ABC of the Hebrew alphabet — Sylwia Lubiejewska | FREE
14:00 — Guided tour of the UWr Katedra Judaistyki — dr Monika Jaremków | FREE
15:00 — Book meeting with dr Agnieszka August-Zarębska (UWr Judaics Dept) | FREE
16:00 — SIMCHA spacerkiem: “Jewish life in pre-war Wrocław” — guided walk led by Maciej Wlazło/Beard of Breslau, with Polish Sign Language interpretation (Fundacja Katarynka) | FREE, registration via Evenea
18:00 — SIMCHA spacerkiem: “Jewish life in pre-war Wrocław” — second departure, led by Maciej Wlazło | FREE, registration via Evenea
20:30 — KINO SIMCHA: evening film programme | Muzeum Teatru, pl. Wolności | FREE
21:30 — Evening Jewish dance workshops — Dorota Herok | Synagogue courtyard | FREE
22:24 — Opening Concert: KLEZMERSKA HAWDALA — BUM BUM ORKeSTAR | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN concessions
The opening concert begins precisely at 22:24 — Havdalah time in Wrocław, marking the symbolic end of Shabbat. BUM BUM ORKeSTAR brings an electrifying klezmer-brass sound: Mateusz Wachowiak (accordion), Piotr Janiec (tuba), Mateusz Sieradzan (tapan and percussion), Oliwier Andruszczenko (clarinet and saxophone), Bartosz Stępień (tenor sakshorn), Damian Marat (trumpet).

SUNDAY 28 JUNE — “Powróćmy jak za dawnych lat…”
10:00–18:00 — Jarmark Żydowski (Jewish Market) | Synagogue courtyard | FREE all day
11:30 — SIMCHA Dzieciom: art workshops — Sylwia Lubiejewska | Synagogue courtyard | FREE
14:00 — SIMCHA spacerkiem: “Architecture in the service of health — Jewish architects and the development of medicine in pre-war Breslau/Wrocław” — dr Tim Buchen (UWr Judaics Dept) | FREE, registration via Evenea
15:00 — Language workshop: Yiddish — mgr Julia Wolna (UWr Judaics Dept) | Mykwa | FREE
17:00 — Panel discussion: “History of the Jewish Religious Community in Wrocław” — moderated by Tamara Włodarczyk (TSKŻ); panelists: Jerzy Kichler, Krzysztof Korzonkowski, Lucyna Rojzen, Mira Żelechower-Aleksiun | Synagoga | FREE
18:30 — Robert Gonera czyta Bubera (Robert Gonera reads Martin Buber) | Piwnica Mleczarni | Tickets: 20 PLN
Actor Robert Gonera reads selected texts by Martin Buber — one of the most important Jewish philosophers of the 20th century — in an intimate cellar setting.
20:00 — “Powróćmy jak za dawnych lat…” — pre-war cabaret songs
Emilia Klimczak (vocalist, Teatr Muzyczny Łódź) · Michał Półtorak (violin) · Jacek Bylica (piano) · Oleg Dyyak (percussion, clarinet, accordion) | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN
20:30 — KINO SIMCHA: evening film programme | Muzeum Teatru | FREE
21:30 — Evening Jewish dance workshops — Maria Grzegorowska | Synagogue courtyard | FREE

MONDAY 29 JUNE — KONCERT ŚPIEWÓW SYNAGOGALNYCH
20:00 — Synagogue Song Concert featuring Israel Nachman Turgeman (Israel); Chór Synagogi Pod Białym Bocianem we Wrocławiu; Magdalena Dynowska (soprano); Piotr Bunzler (tenor); Piotr Rojek (organ and piano); Stanisław Rybarczyk (conductor) | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN
One of the most important events of the festival — an evening of synagogue liturgical song rooted in centuries of Ashkenazi tradition, co-produced with Agencja Hallelujah Yosef Notkovitz.
Evening: Opowieści chasydzkie (Hasidic Tales) — Edwin Petrykat | Synagogue courtyard | Tickets at the courtyard box office

TUESDAY 30 JUNE — THE MYSTERY OF LIGHT
18:00 — Documentary screening: “Wnuczka Naczelnej” (The Editor-in-Chief’s Granddaughter), dir. Masza Makarowa + meeting with Ewa Heller-Ekblad (Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivor, the film’s protagonist, now living in Sweden) | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | FREE
20:00 — THE MYSTERY OF LIGHT — KLEZMORET | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN
KLEZMORET is a quartet of musicians long active on the Polish and international Jewish music scene, presenting a programme of modern klezmer rooted in deep tradition.

WEDNESDAY 1 JULY — KLEZMEDITERRANEA
20:00 — KLEZMEDITERRANEA — NefEsh Trio (Italy) | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN
NefEsh Trio is one of the most celebrated European ensembles performing contemporary Jewish music. The group has been developing a unique musical language that interweaves klezmer and Sephardic influences with jazz and Mediterranean music, creating something entirely their own. “KLEZMEDITERRANEA” is their signature programme.

THURSDAY 2 JULY — Muzyka żydowska z Białorusi i Litwy
20:00 — “Jewish music from Belarus and Lithuania” — Kapela Kotra | Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem | Tickets: 100 PLN / 70 PLN
Kapela Kotra is one of the most original ensembles devoted to the reconstruction of traditional Jewish music from the borderland cultures of Belarus, Lithuania and Poland — restoring rarely performed repertoire to living memory.

FRIDAY 3 JULY — Closing Day
The festival closes with a Kabbalat Shabbat gathering and final events. Full closing programme available at simcha.art.pl.

KINO SIMCHA — every evening from 20:30 at Muzeum Teatru (pl. Wolności), free entry. Screenings of archival films on the history of Jews in Lower Silesia and documentary footage from the early editions of the SIMCHA Festival.
Wieczorne warsztaty tańców żydowskich (Evening Jewish dance workshops) — every evening after concerts in the Synagogue courtyard | FREE.
Jarmark Żydowski (Jewish Market) — open during daytime hours at the Synagogue courtyard; craft stalls, regional food and artisan products.

Concert tickets (100 PLN / 70 PLN concessions) available at: Restauracja Sarah (ul. Włodkowica 5), Ticketmaster.pl, and at the Synagogue courtyard box office (2 hours before each concert). Tickets for “Gonera czyta Bubera” and “Opowieści chasydzkie” available at the courtyard box office only. Many events are FREE. Registration for selected free events (SIMCHA spacerkiem walks and some workshops) via Evenea: app.evenea.pl/event/28simcha/. Main venue: Synagoga Pod Białym Bocianem, ul. Włodkowica 7, Wrocław (Dzielnica Czterech Świątyń / Quarter of the Four Denominations).