Hundreds of sheep are expected to take over the streets of a picturesque Polish mountain town on Saturday, 10 October, as one of the country’s most spectacular shepherding traditions returns for its annual autumn celebration. The spa town of Szczawnica, nestled in the Pieniny Mountains of southern Poland, is hosting a procession of sheep, Highland shepherds, horse-drawn carriages and traditional musicians to mark the end of the summer grazing season.
The procession is the centrepiece of the town’s three-day Autumn Redyk festival, which began on Thursday and concludes on Saturday evening.
According to the official programme published by Szczawnica’s municipal authorities, Saturday’s festivities are scheduled to run from 13:00 until 21:00 Polish time.
- Find more news from Poland on our Homepage .
The main procession is scheduled to begin at 13:00, led by shepherd Andrzej Majerski and his flock.
The organisers expect hundreds of sheep to make their way through the town, accompanied by shepherds dressed in traditional Highland clothing, regional musicians, horse riders and decorated carriages.
Although the municipality has confirmed the programme and route, the final number of sheep taking part has not been established.
A river of sheep through the streets
The procession is planned to travel through several of Szczawnica’s main streets before reaching the riverside landing area beside the Dunajec River.
The municipality’s published route takes the flock along Szlachtowska Street, Szalaya Street and Główna Street, finishing at the Piaski landing area on Kozłeczyzna Street.
It is a scene far removed from everyday urban life.
For the duration of the procession, the usually busy roads of the mountain resort are expected to become a passage for sheep, shepherds and traditional Highland performers.
Shepherds will guide the animals through the town while musicians and other participants follow in regional dress.
The backdrop is equally distinctive. Szczawnica lies in the Pieniny region near Poland’s border with Slovakia, an area known for forested mountains, limestone peaks and the spectacular Dunajec River gorge.
The municipality has warned visitors to expect traffic restrictions, including a planned temporary closure of the main approach road from Krościenko nad Dunajcem between 12:30 and 14:00.
Spectators may watch the procession, but organisers have stressed that only authorised participants can join the moving column or walk among the sheep.
What is a Polish redyk?
For international visitors, the word redyk may be unfamiliar, but the tradition has deep roots in the mountain communities of southern Poland.
A redyk is the seasonal movement of sheep between grazing pastures.
In spring, shepherds take their flocks into higher mountain areas, where the animals spend the warmer months grazing.
When autumn arrives and conditions become less favourable, the sheep are brought down from the mountain pastures.
These journeys traditionally involve a baca, the senior shepherd responsible for the flock, supported by juhasi, the shepherds who help care for and move the animals.
The practice forms part of the wider pastoral heritage of the Carpathian Mountains, where livestock farming has shaped local customs, food production and community life for generations.
The autumn return is traditionally a time for celebration.
Shepherds reunite with communities in the valleys, while the end of the grazing season provides an opportunity for music, gatherings and the sharing of regional food.
In Szczawnica, the working tradition has also become a public cultural event, bringing shepherds and their animals into the centre of a modern mountain resort.
The municipality describes the festival as an opportunity to preserve the skills, customs and knowledge associated with shepherding, rather than simply stage a tourist spectacle.
Three days celebrating Poland’s mountain heritage
This year’s Autumn Redyk is particularly ambitious.
For the first time, organisers have expanded the event into a three-day festival, running from 8 to 10 October.
Thursday’s programme focused on traditional shepherding culture, with demonstrations explaining how regional sheep’s milk products are made.
Visitors were invited to learn about oscypek, the distinctive smoked cheese associated with Poland’s mountain regions, as well as redykołki, small traditional cheeses, and żętyca, a drink made from sheep’s milk whey.
The activities also featured shepherding instruments, regional clothing and educational workshops.
Friday’s programme turned to another prominent shepherd, Józef Klimowski, known for making an unusually long seasonal journey with his animals.
According to the municipality’s programme for Friday, his traditional route from the Low Beskids towards Nowy Targ extends for more than 180 kilometres.
That travelling flock is separate from the procession scheduled to be led by Andrzej Majerski on Saturday.
The festival’s final day brings together the largest public celebrations, with Highland musical performances and an evening entertainment programme.
Polish band Pectus is scheduled to headline Saturday’s concert.
A living tradition recognised beyond Poland
The timing of this year’s festival also carries wider significance.
The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, highlighting the importance of traditional grazing systems and the people who maintain them.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pastoral communities play an important role in food production, biodiversity and the management of grazing landscapes.
The international initiative also aims to draw attention to the pressures facing traditional herding communities, including climate change, changing land use and economic challenges.
Szczawnica’s festival offers a Polish example of how pastoral traditions continue to form part of local identity.
The annual procession connects everyday agricultural work with a public celebration of culture, music and regional heritage.
It also introduces visitors to practices that might otherwise remain largely invisible beyond Poland’s mountain communities.
From mountain pastures to a town-wide celebration
The Autumn Redyk has become one of Szczawnica’s best-known cultural attractions, drawing visitors interested in the region’s distinctive Highland traditions.
The event has also received recognition through Małopolska’s regional tourism initiatives.
This year’s expanded programme brings traditional shepherding demonstrations, music and the main sheep procession together over three days.
For visitors, the spectacle lies in seeing hundreds of animals moving through an ordinary town, accompanied by the people whose livelihoods and traditions remain connected to mountain grazing.
For the shepherds, however, the procession represents something more familiar: the end of another season in the mountains.
And as the flocks return from the pastures, Szczawnica is preparing to celebrate a tradition that continues to link the Pieniny region’s present with its rural past.
