Lowicz Folk Traditions

The Lowicz region has the most recognisable folk costume in Poland: woollen skirts and aprons woven in narrow vertical stripes of orange, pink, green and violet, worn with embroidered bodices and, for men, striped trousers. It is the version that appears on packaging and in tourist shops nationally, and it is still worn here on the right occasions. The other Lowicz form is the wycinanka, a paper cut-out made with sheep shears, in symmetrical rounds and strips of layered coloured paper - the technique is regional and the Lowicz style is the most elaborate. Both are on display at the Corpus Christi procession in June, when the town's parishes process in full costume behind banners, which is the single best day to be here. The museum in the former missionary seminary holds the collections and has two eighteenth-century farmsteads behind it as a small skansen.

What you actually see

• Vertically striped costume - the woollen skirts and aprons that stand for Polish folk dress.
• Paper cut-outs - layered symmetrical wycinanki cut with sheep shears.
• The Corpus Christi procession - parishes in full costume through the town.
• A museum with farmsteads - collections plus two eighteenth-century buildings behind.

When to go

Corpus Christi, in late May or June. A day.

Honest expectations

Outside the procession day, costume is seen in the museum rather than the street. The date moves with the church calendar - check it. The museum closes on Mondays. The town is otherwise ordinary.

Nearby

Nieborow and Arkadia are ten kilometres south.