Kortowiada

What it is

Kortowiada is a Juwenalia, the kind of student festival that Polish universities hold each year. Olsztyn's version takes its name from Kortowo, the part of the city where the events happen. It runs for several days and mixes live music with competitions between faculties. The programme is arranged by the student council at Olsztyn's University of Warmia and Mazury, and the biggest concerts bring well known Polish acts to the campus. Students travel here from all over the country.

Origins and history

Student days in Kortowo began in May 1958, when the Agricultural and Technical University held its own Juwenalia. For a long stretch afterwards, that school and the Higher School of Pedagogy ran the celebrations together and called them Żakinada. When the two merged into the University of Warmia and Mazury, the festival was reorganised and gained a fuller programme. The event now draws more than ten thousand students from all over Poland, together with hundreds of bands.

Music and stages

Concerts run on three evenings of the festival, each with a different flavour. The first is given to sea shanties and folk, the second to pop and rock, and the last to the main stars of the bill. Hundreds of bands and amateur groups take part, and Polish performers such as Maryla Rodowicz, O.S.T.R. and Kamil Bednarek have appeared. The festival also has its own song, called Kortowiada, performed by Enej, a folk band from Olsztyn, and it works as the gathering's anthem.

Signs and belonging

Wearing the festival T-shirt is a sign that a student belongs. Every faculty has a design of its own, chosen by the students each year, so the shirts also mark out the rival groups taking part. They can be bought at the event's shop, and anyone who wants one may have it. The opening ceremony carries a similar meaning: the authorities of Olsztyn give the students a key to the city, a symbolic handover that has become the official start of the whole event, followed by a parade of the faculties.

Today and change

The festival has changed shape over the years. It began as Juwenalia at the Agricultural and Technical University, was known for a time as Żakinada when two schools ran it together, and was rebuilt after those schools joined into the University of Warmia and Mazury, with a wider programme. Today it lasts a couple of days and fills the campus with concerts, competitions, sport, comedy, poetry, computer game championships and agility tournaments. More than ten thousand students attend, and hundreds of bands and amateur groups appear.

How Kortowiada is kept

The city authorities open the festival by handing a key to Olsztyn over to the students, and a parade of the faculties follows. Thursday brings the Venus show, a contest to choose the most attractive female student, and a concert of sea shanties and folk. On Friday students compete over the best decorated hall of residence and in the Battle of the Faculties, with pop and rock in the evening. Saturday is given to sport and to the biggest concert. Comedy and poetry close the event on Sunday.

When and where

It is arranged every year and lasts a couple of days, from Thursday to Sunday. The first Juwenalia in Kortowo fell in May 1958, and the event has grown since then, drawing more than ten thousand students and hundreds of bands.

Kortowiada belongs to Olsztyn, a city in northern Poland, and its parties are held in Kortowo, the district that gave the festival its name. Students travel to it from all over the country. The concerts and contests happen on campus and in the halls of residence, with the main concert stage known as the Hill.

What Kortowiada means

For students, Kortowiada marks a few days when the usual order loosens and the city is theirs. The key handed over at the opening makes that idea visible. Faculty T-shirts show which group a student belongs to, and each year's design is chosen by the students themselves. The festival song, played by a band from Olsztyn, gives the whole gathering one tune to share.

Questions people ask about Kortowiada

See also

Christmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.Christmas EveThe evening before Christmas, marked by church services, family meals, and gift preparations across Christian cultures.April Fools' DayAn annual day of lighthearted pranks, hoaxes and teasing kept on the first of AprilFat ThursdayA Thursday before Lent when doughnuts, grilled meat and Carnival take over

Good reading and sources

• Kortowiada on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

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