Lajkonik 2016

The Lajkonik parade is a tradition dating back to the 13th century, celebrating the time when Krakow repelled one of many attempted Tartar invasions. It is always held on the first Thursday after Corpus Christi, and features characters in brightly coloured costumes marching from the Norbertine Convent in Salwator to the Main Square. The parade is headed by the Lajkonik himself, a figure of an Asiatic warrior with a model of a horse attached to his belly. He will prance through the streets, tapping the onlookers on their heads for luck with a make-believe truncheon.