Go Outside and Face the Music: Poland’s Open-Air Concert Venues|travel

Go Outside & Face the Music: Poland’s Open-Air Concert Venues

teatr_letni_lazienki_forum.jpg, default, The Amphitheatre in Łazienki Park in Warsaw from above, photo: Robert Neumann/Forum, Go Outside & Face the Music: Poland’s Open-Air Concert Venues

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Summer and music – they’re a particularly well-matched pair. And where’s the best place to listen to live music on warm summer evenings? At an open-air theatre or bandstand, of course. Let’s take a closer look at some of these venues.

The ancient Greeks and Romans, who built many amphitheatres, knew the virtues of attending open-air performances. Despite the fact that in many climates, open-air stages can only operate for part of the year, such venues are very popular. After all, they offer a unique opportunity to experience culture while enjoying the summer weather. There are many amphitheatres, open-air stages and concert bandstands in Poland. Some are valuable historical monuments, while others are modest venues with a very local scope and character. But all of them are equally suitable for organising summertime concerts or theatrical performances.

Ancient ruins

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The Amphitheatre in Łazienki Park in Warsaw from above, photo: Czeslaw Czaplinski/Fotonova/East News

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Johann Christian Kammsetzer – an architect from Dresden who lived at the court of King Stanislaus Augustus from 1773 onwards and designed many residences for him (together with Domenico Merlini) – was familiar with European trends and fashions. He knew, therefore, that buildings stylised as antique ruins were perfectly suited for royal palaces and their surrounding parks. Thus, he built an amphitheatre in Łazienki Park in Warsaw with a stage that was surrounded by elements inspired by the architecture of ancient Rome. Columns, arcades and triangular tympana formed a backdrop for the stage that was picturesquely surrounded by a large pond. On 7th September 1791, the first audience sat in the Summer Theatre, which could accommodate up to 1,000 people.

In 2020, the management of Łazienki Park held a competition for the design of a roof over the amphitheatre – both the idea itself and the winning design by Czesław Bielecki’s DiM'84 studio aroused a great deal of controversy because people thought it would destroy the space that had been created by Kammsetzer. Fortunately, it turned out to be merely a conceptual experiment and there are currently no plans for the design to be implemented.

An amphitheatre monument

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The Uprising Monument on the Saint Anne Mountain, photo: Błażej Duk/ Wikimedia.org

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In 1934, the Nazi Party decided to turn a quarry on Saint Anne’s Mountain in the Opole Province, which had been closed for about a decade, into a memorial for German soldiers killed during the Silesian uprisings (the largest battle of the third uprising took place there in 1921). In 1938, the slopes of the quarry were transformed into Europe’s largest amphitheatre (7,000 seats and 20,000 standing places). A monumental mausoleum built on a cliff loomed over the stage.

In the winter of 1945, the mausoleum was blown up, and a few months later the Polish authorities of the region of Silesia announced a competition for the design of the Silesian Insurgents’ Monument, which would now serve to honour the memory of Polish Silesians. The winning design was submitted by Xawery Dunikowski, and according to his vision, a monument in the form of four stone pylons decorated with scenes from the Silesian uprisings and relief figures of a miner, a steelworker, a farmer, and a Silesian woman with a child was erected on Saint Anne’s Mountain. Dozens of corridors inside the hill that remain from the German construction of the amphitheatre serve today as a shelter for many species of bats.

Interestingly, this hill was a place of pagan worship in ancient times. It has been a place of Christian worship since the 16th century, when the first church was erected here. Nowadays, Saint Anne’s Mountain is home to a church, a monastery and a calvary hill dating from the 18th century.

Opera in the forest

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Forest Opera in Sopot, photo: Dominik Werner/AG

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In 1909, Paul Walther-Schäffer, the kapellmeister of the Municipal Theatre in Gdańsk, went for a walk to the wooded hills surrounding Sopot. Captivated by the beauty of the place, he decided to create a venue for cultural events in this stunning landscape. That same year, construction was begun of an amphitheatre in the forest, which was one of many new construction projects in Sopot (called Zoppot at that time) that led to the city eventually gaining the status of a luxury resort. Operas, plays and concerts were staged at the Zopotter Waldfestspiel, and it became famous for its Wagner Festivals.

In June 1945, after Sopot had become a Polish city, large events such as Polish Soldier’s Day and the Sea Festival were held here. The Sopot amphitheatre became a venue for popular festivals and musical events. In 1961, the famous pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, who was also the director of the Popular Music Section of Polish National Radio at that time, proposed the idea of organising a festival of songs from all over the world in Sopot. And so, from 1964 onwards, the Forest Opera regularly hosted the Sopot International Song Festival, one of the most popular music events in the country.

Due to its increased popularity, the Forest Opera stage has been extended many times, and its most characteristic element – a roof made of light fabric covering an area of 0.4ha – was stretched over the open-air auditorium in 1963. This complex and modern structure was designed by the architect Janusz Kowalski.

The capital of Polish song

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Amphitheatre in Opole, photo: Ireneusz Sobieszczuk/PAP

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Opole is considered to be the capital of Polish song thanks to an amphitheatre built there in 1963. It was designed by the architect Florian Jesionowski, after the city’s mayor at the time, Karol Musioł, proposed the idea. The stage, which is covered by a concrete roof resembling a sail, hosts the annual National Festival of Polish Song (so far, only two editions haven’t taken place – in 1982 and 2010).

In 2007, the Millennium Amphitheatre, together with a chamber concert hall that was added later, gained the status of National Centre of Polish Song. The multimedia Museum of Polish Song has existed for over a decade in the space under the amphitheatre’s seating area.

Zakopane in Ciechocinek

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Concert bowl in Ciechocinek, photo: Rafał Jabłoński/East News

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Ciechocinek, a town with a population of 10,000 situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province, is Poland’s most famous health resort. Thanks to natural springs of therapeutic sodium-chloride, bromide, iodide, iron and boric waters, tens of thousands of patients and guests of numerous sanatoriums, hospitals and preventoriums regain their health every year. The health benefits of Ciechocinek were discovered in the early 19th century, and the first graduation tower was built in the town in 1824.

Since people stay in this spa town not only for medical treatments but also for rest and relaxation, many attractive facilities have been built, including a concert bandstand. Designed by Waldemar Piotr Fedders in the Zakopane architectural style, the decorative wooden building was constructed in the Spa Park in 1909. To this day it continues to be a venue for concerts, recitals and dance parties.

Under a concrete arch

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XIV Grand Tenor Torunament, 2012, Helena Majdaniec Summer Theatre in Szczecin, photo: Cezary Aszkiełowic/AG

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When a large amphitheatre was built in 1975 in Jan Kasprowicz Park in Szczecin, the local press criticised the project as a waste of money because of the vast amount of cement that was needed in order to construct the huge reinforced arch that towers over the stage and supports the roof. However, it’s this construction that makes the summer stage unique. Designed by Zbigniew Abrahamowicz, the structure is undoubtedly inspired by one of the most famous American monuments and the symbol of the city of St. Louis – Eero Saarinen’s Gateway Arch, erected in 1965.

The stage and seating area of Szczecin’s Helena Majdaniec Summer Theatre are embellished not only with the impressive arch, but also cascading flower stands and numerous sculptures specially designed for this place. Near the amphitheatre, on the slope of the same hill, there’s a famous sculpture by Władysław Hasior called Firebirds.

In 2015, there was an international architectural competition for the modernisation of Szczecin’s amphitheatre. First prize was won by the London-based Flanagan Lawrence studio, which proposed, among other things, a completely new roof over the stage. Work on the project was scheduled to begin in 2019 but has been postponed for the time being.

A bandstand by the sea

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Bandstand in Gdynia, photo: Martyna Niecko/AG

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Although small, the bandstand built in the 1950s in Gdynia’s Grunwaldzki Square has served for many years as a venue for concerts, festivals and events of various kinds. Although entered in the municipal register of monuments, the bandstand was abandoned for some time and fell into disrepair. In 2017, however, an investor was found who leased the structure, giving it a new life.

First, the investor organised an architectural competition for the design of the bandstand’s enlargement. It was won by Paulina Kisiel, Łukasz Pisarek and Bartosz Kisiel, who added a simple, white, modernist pavilion to the bandstand’s existing characteristic shape. In cooperation with a conservator, the bandstand was expanded and carefully renovated. The pavilion includes a restaurant as well as facilities for performing artists such as dressing rooms and storerooms. These changes have enabled concerts to take place on the stage once again, and performers have gained a more comfortable space to work in.

Music in a quarry

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Oratory of the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Kadzielnia Amphitheatre, Kielce, photo: Jarosław Kubalski/AG

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One of the unquestionable attractions and unique features of Kielce is the fact that there is a vast nature reserve within the city. It was created at an excavation site on Kadzielnia Hill, which served as a limestone quarry from the 18th century onwards. In the early 1960s, the former quarry was turned into a nature reserve, and an amphitheatre was built in its southern section that could accommodate up to 5,000 audience members. It was ceremoniously opened in 1971, when the city of Kielce celebrated its 900th birthday. Modernised and enlarged in 2010, it’s a well-known venue for song festivals as well as concerts by famous music stars from all over the world.

In addition to the large seating area, stage and technical facilities, the Kadzielnia Amphitheatre offers something that other stages don’t – the unique surrounding environment of the former quarry, which is said to also have a positive effect on the acoustics. The conditions offered by Kielce’s Kadzielnia are so attractive that for a while, this place was viewed as an alternative to the famous amphitheatre in Opole, and the possibility of moving the National Festival of Polish Song to Kielce was even considered.

A community stage

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Concert Bowl in Czechowicki Park in Warsaw - Ursus district, photo: Bartosz Bobkowski/AG

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We usually associate amphitheatres with large stages for performances by big stars. But summer stages and concert bandstands can also sometimes serve a local community and have an intimate character. In recent years, several venues of this kind have been built, making it possible to organise open-air events for local residents.

For example, a concert bandstand was built in the Warsaw district of Ursus. In 2005, a decision was made to convert a section of Czechowice Park into a local entertainment centre. The isba Design Group designed an exhibition room and bandstand. The latter was intended to offer acoustic conditions that would allow concerts to be held here without a sound system. Although it was the technical requirements that determined the bandstand’s shape, the architects succeeded in creating an intriguing structure. The reinforced concrete canopy of the bandstand brings to mind the body of a large fish. The semi-circular, prefabricated sound-dispersing elements covering its inner walls are also impressive.

Originally written in Polish, Jun 2020, translated by Scotia Gilroy, Mar 2021

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