exhibition trailer (in Polish)
„Kunszt i fach. Kraków rzemieślników”
Museum of Kraków · watch on YouTube
Kraków, a stronghold of Polishness
The theme of the XX edition
This year's theme marks the 180th anniversary of the Kraków Uprising, but it leads much further — through the history of the city and the Polish struggle for freedom and independence.
History is not written in battles and high politics alone. It is made by people, places and everyday life: scholars and artists, merchants and craftsmen, teachers, students and the ordinary residents of a city.
This year we travel to the Kraków of the mid-19th century, to the Free City of Kraków, the events of 1846 and what followed them. We cross the Vistula, which was then a border between two states. We look at how the Polish language, culture, learning and art grew in a city that had lost its freedom, and how crafts, trade and technology shaped daily life on both banks of the river.
Look, ask, discover. What you notice and remember may turn out to be an important clue on 5 November.
Walk across the Main Market Square, listen to the trumpet call from St Mary's tower, look up at the tenement houses, visit the Kleparz market and look for traces of old trades.
We also recommend the exhibition at the Museum of Kraków „Kunszt i fach. Kraków rzemieślników” (Skill and Craft: the Kraków of Artisans) at Krzysztofory Palace — the very place where the game starts on 5 November.
Places worth knowing
Checkpoints are announced on game day, but these addresses will certainly come in useful.
Seat of the Museum of Kraków and the start of the game. Teams collect their task cards here.
Where Kościuszko swore his oath in 1794 and where people gathered in February 1846.
The cathedral and the royal tombs. In the 19th century this is where Kraków „remembers” Poland.
A town within a town: craftsmen, merchants, two cultures under one sky.
A few dozen steps between two states. Today the Bernatek footbridge and the Piłsudski bridge stand here.
A triangular square below the church of St Joseph. The centre of an Austrian town that joined Kraków in 1915.
Materials in Polish
Two parts of the site are in Polish only: three interactive lessons before the game and the character creator, where students dress a figure from the Kraków of 1846 and print a character card. Both work well with a teacher translating as you go.
Tips for teachers
Create your own historical style! As part of the anniversary campaign „History is in fashion. History has style.” we encourage the teams to bring, on 5 November, details inspired by Kraków and Małopolska, by nineteenth-century fashion, folk dress, old crafts and local tradition. This is not about historical costume — what counts is the idea, the imagination and one telling detail.
- Split the class into teams before the Game and choose a team of four for the quiz.
- Watch the talks together. The tasks reward understanding and connecting facts, not memorised dates.
- Practise reading a map. The game uses a city plan, not phone navigation.
- Classes 1–3: the tasks are stories and movement. A walk across the Main Square is good preparation.
- Classes 7–8: it helps to know the terms „partition”, „autonomy” and „Free City” and to be able to explain how they differ.
Teachers' questions
Preparation, sign-up and game day — in one place.
Does the class have to know all the dates?
No. It is enough to understand why 1846 mattered and what Kraków did over the following seventy years. The tasks are about places and people, not dates.
How long does preparing a class take?
Two lessons: one for the talks and a discussion, one for the map and splitting the class into teams.
Can I sign up only part of a class?
No. The whole class takes part under the care of a teacher. Taking part does not depend on consent to the use of a student's image — a lack of such consent cannot be a reason for refusing a place.
Can we sign up a team of students from different classes?
Yes. If no single class can take part in the Game, the school can sign up a school team made up of students from different classes.
In the application form, choose “School team” in the “Year group” field and use the “Notes” field to tell us how old the team members are or which classes they attend. This lets us match the trail and the difficulty of the tasks to the participants’ age.
How many classes can one school sign up?
As many as the trails can take — the number of places is limited. The final list is announced after 9 October; the qualification rules are in § 4 of the regulations (in Polish).
What should we bring?
Comfortable shoes, warm clothes, water and a charged phone for the supervisor. The map, task cards and badges are handed out at the start; the organiser provides the devices for the digital quiz.
Can the teacher help with the tasks?
The teacher is a supervisor, not a player. They help with practical matters and look after safety, but do not give answers. The students' independence is part of the assessment.
What does the final quiz look like?
Back from the trail the class splits into small teams and each one takes a digital quiz on the organiser's devices. The class score is the average of the teams, and the final result comes half from the field game and half from the quiz.
Can students with special needs take part?
Yes. Mark the need for an adjustment in the sign-up form — without giving a diagnosis. We will match the trail and the stations, and if in doubt write to us before you sign up.
Are the materials available in other languages?
Yes. Task cards can be prepared in English and Ukrainian — tick the language in the sign-up form. The scope is announced before the game.