Lublin Christmas Market 2026: dates, opening hours, tips

The dates of the Lublin Christmas Market 2026 have not been announced yet. In 2025 the market ran from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 December in the Old Town, behind the Crown Tribunal building on the Market Square. It's the most intimate of Poland's city markets: about 30 stallholders in 20 wooden huts, folk artists, free ornament-making workshops, carol singers and traditional nativity plays instead of big fairground rides. We'll update this article as soon as the city publishes the 2026 dates.

The market is part of the city's Christmas Festival, which in December also brings an ice rink on plac Litewski, a carousel on the Market Square and a nativity scene on plac Po Farze. Below you'll find what the 2025 edition looked like, opening hours, a map and tips for planning your visit. To compare other cities, see our guide to Christmas markets in Poland 2026.

At a glance: Lublin Christmas Market

2026 dates	not yet announced (as of 16 October 2026)
2025 dates	18–21 December 2025 (Thursday–Sunday)
2025 hours	Thu–Fri 2pm–8pm, Sat–Sun 11am–8pm
Location	Old Town, Market Square – the area behind the Crown Tribunal
Entry	free; the drop-in workshops were free too
Getting there	about 10 minutes on foot from plac Litewski through the Kraków Gate
Organiser	City of Lublin, run by Warsztaty Kultury w Lublinie

The 2025 details come from the Christmas Festival pages on the city's website. We include them to show what to expect; the 2026 dates and hours may differ.

What the 2025 market looked like

Folk artists and food stalls

Nearly 30 stallholders filled 20 wooden huts behind the Tribunal: folk artists, craftspeople and local producers. They sold handmade crafts, natural decorations and gifts, along with traditional dishes, and there were stalls with hot food and mulled wine. This is a market for people who would rather buy a straw star from a Lublin-region artist than a plastic bauble.

The Bearded Man's Hut

The most Lublin-specific attraction was the Chata Brodacza, a hut where you could meet the Brodacz (Bearded Man) of Sławatycze, a character from a more than century-old folk tradition along the Bug River, dressed in a hand-made costume full of symbols. Visitors took photos with him, and in the evenings the hut hosted carol singing with songbooks and herody, short folk nativity plays performed from a suitcase that once held an accordion.

Christmas workshop tent

A tent next to the Tribunal ran an open ornament workshop for the whole market. New groups started every 30 minutes, each session lasted about half an hour and took up to 20 people, free and without booking. Separate workshops with folk artists required online registration: straw angels, painted wooden birds from Stryszawa, small carol stars, straw animals and double straw stars.

Carol singers in the Old Town

At the weekend a parade of wandering carol singers toured the Old Town: twelve costumed figures including Angels and Death, a Stork and the Devil, a Goat and a Bear. Folk bands and singing groups performed old carols and pastorals from the Lublin region, and the windows at the back of the Tribunal held "Skład gwiazd", a Christmas installation by artist Jarosław Koziara.

Where it is and what else happens in December

The market stands in the middle of the Old Town, on the Market Square around the Crown Tribunal. In 2025 the same festival included three more places that are easy to combine in one walk:

• Ice rink on plac Litewski – in the 2025/26 season open from 14 December to 14 February, daily 12pm–10pm, tickets 5 zł, with skate, helmet and skating-aid hire.
• Carousel on the Market Square – part of the Christmas lights, pushed by an adult rather than a motor, with a speed limiter. Children under 7 ride with a carer.
• Nativity scene on plac Po Farze – in 2025 nurseries, schools and choirs sang carols there in the second half of December, with free entry.

All locations are on the map. The dates on the markers refer to 2025.

Gift idea: a straw star from the workshop goes on the tree, and a Lublin map poster goes on the wall. Put a heart on the Market Square or the Castle and download the print file.

Practical tips: when to go and how to get there

When to go

In 2025 the market lasted only four days just before Christmas, so you need to plan for it. On Thursday and Friday the stalls opened at 2pm, at the weekend at 11am, and everything closed at 8pm. If the city keeps a similar format in 2026, Saturday is the best day: workshops and carol singers during the day, and after dark (around 3:30pm) the lights on the Kraków Gate. The first half of December has its own events: on 6 December 2025 St Nicholas visited the Tribunal, and festive projections and a mapping show of Lublin legends lit up the Kraków Gate and the Trinitarian Tower.

Getting there and around

Lublin station is about 2.5 km from the Old Town. The easiest way is a bus or trolleybus to plac Łokietka or Krakowskie Przedmieście, then a walk through the Kraków Gate. The Jakdojade app helps with routes. Warsaw is about two hours away by train, so you can easily combine Lublin with the capital: see our Warsaw Christmas Market 2026 guide. Leave the car outside the Old Town, as most of its narrow streets are closed to traffic.

With children, buggies and dogs

Kids love the workshops, the nativity plays and the Bearded Man, and on the days around the market there's the ice rink and the carousel. The Old Town is cobbled and has a few steeper stretches, for example near the Grodzka Gate, so with a buggy stick to the Market Square and Bramowa Street. The festival pages say nothing about dogs. The square gets tight, especially during the carol parade, so bring your dog before 4pm.

What to eat in Lublin

Try a cebularz, a flat yeast bread topped with onion and poppy seeds that has protected regional status in the EU. You'll find it in bakeries in the Old Town and along Krakowskie Przedmieście. As part of its Christmas project, the city has also published its own recipe for Lublin gingerbread biscuits made with honey and rye flour.

Where to stay

The Old Town and Krakowskie Przedmieście are the best bases, as you can walk back from the market in the evening. Because the market runs for only a few days before Christmas, book as soon as the dates are announced.

A Saturday plan for Lublin

Start the morning in the Lublin Underground Route, which begins by the Tribunal, then climb the Trinitarian Tower to see the Old Town rooftops from above. After 11am, when the market opens, drop into the workshop tent: new groups start every half hour, so there's nothing to book. In the afternoon walk through the Grodzka Gate to the Castle and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity. Be back on the Market Square before dark for the carol parade and the nativity plays in the Bearded Man's Hut, and in the evening go skating on plac Litewski if the rink is already open.

Nativity plays and carols: a living tradition

The Lublin market leans on customs that have faded in many places. Herody are old folk plays about King Herod in which good fights evil and Death and the Devil take the stage. In 2025 the full show was based on an authentic script from a village in Podlasie, and short versions were performed several times a day. Add folk carols from the Lublin region and straw decorations that villages around the city have made for generations. If you're after an old-fashioned Christmas, Lublin is a good choice.

Nearby: what to see while you're there

• Lublin Old Town – townhouses, gates and courtyards, with the market at its heart.
• Market Square with the Crown Tribunal, starting point of the Underground Route.
• Lublin Underground Route – cellars beneath the townhouses, a good plan for a frosty morning.
• Kraków Gate – the Gothic gate used for festive projections in December.
• Trinitarian Tower – a viewpoint over the Old Town rooftops next to the cathedral.
• Lublin Castle and the Chapel of the Holy Trinity – medieval Byzantine-Ruthenian frescoes, a few minutes from the square through the Grodzka Gate.

More ideas: things to do in Lublin.

FAQ: Lublin Christmas Market 2026

When is the Lublin Christmas market in 2026?

The city hasn't announced the dates yet. In 2025 it ran from 18 to 21 December, the last Thursday, Friday and weekend before Christmas.

What were the opening hours?

In 2025: Thursday and Friday 2pm–8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am–8pm.

Is there an entry fee?

No. In 2025 the drop-in workshops in the workshop tent were free as well; the folk-artist workshops needed registration.

How much is mulled wine?

The city didn't publish stall prices. The only price on the official festival pages is the ice rink ticket on plac Litewski: 5 zł in the 2025/26 season.

Can I bring my dog?

The festival pages don't mention dogs. The area behind the Tribunal is small and crowded during performances, so come earlier in the day with a dog.

Is there an ice rink in Lublin in December?

Yes. In 2025/26 the city ice rink on plac Litewski was open from 14 December to 14 February, daily 12pm–10pm, with shorter hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Finally: Lublin makes for a gift with character: a Lublin map poster with a heart on the Old Town will outlast any Christmas decoration. Other markets are in our guide to Christmas markets in Poland 2026.