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Lajkonik, also called “konik zwierzyniecki” is a folk game organized in Cracow in the octave of Corpus Christi (the eight days after Corpus Christi). It derives from the medieval ceremonies of the rafters’ guild. The legend has it that one evening in the XIII century the Tartar hordes approached Cracow’s gates. The Tartars decided to sleep over by the Vistula, near the village named Zwierzyniec and attack the following morning. However, they were noticed by one of the rafters who in spite of being terrified and in panic called the team and heroically protected the city from attack. Having captured the Tartars, the sailors on the Vistula changed into Asian outfits and to the entertainment of the residents of Cracow entered the town on the backs of the captured horses. Nowadays a Lajkonik parade referring to this event initiates the annual Cracow Days.

“Konik zwierzyniecki” (in the costume designed by S. Wyspiański in 1904) takes the form of a hobby horse attached to the rider’s waist. The route of the parade is unchanged since the XIX century and starts with a jaunty dance with a banner in the Norbertans’ monastery yard. Then it leads through the streets of Cracow: Kościuszki, Zwierzyniecka, Franciszkanska and Grodzka to the Main Square. Being hit with the baton held in Lajkonik’s hand is supposed to bring happiness and prosperity.