The official opening will take place on 13 November: Konrad Bogusław Bach reads from his novel ‘Der Wisent’ (The Bison), musically accompanied by Hania Nafali, whose folk and world music will resonate once more the following day in a separate concert. On 17 November, Prof. Karol Sauerland will take a look into the past and focus on the first months of the German occupation of Poland in 1939/40. The documentary film ‘Das Stoewer-Imperium’ (The Stoewer Empire) being presented on 18 November then takes us on a journey into Szczecin's industrial past. The audience can look forward to an evening of sensory delights on 20 November: Aleksandra Gisges-Dalecka will present her costumes in an impressive show, followed by the opening of ‘Soft Story’, which combines textile art and emotional storytelling at STRAZE (Stralsunder Straße 10, Greifswald). At the same time, journalist Beatrix Flatt will be reading from her book ‘Grenzraum. Begegnungen an Oder und Neiße’ (Borderland: Encounters on the Oder and Neisse) in Ueckermünde – stories about neighbourship, everyday life and coexistence along the border (Kulturspeicher, Bergstraße 2).
Films also enrich the programme: On 21 November, animated films by young artists from Krakow will interact with works from the Szczecin Film Festival. The following day, the band Queen Anne's Revenge will bring rousing Celtic folk and shanties to the stage before the night ends with dancing to the Zonic Dizko Zystem.
Dirk Oschmann and Dr. Justyna Schulz will discuss public perceptions of East and West in Germany on 24 November. On the same evening, filmmaker Arjun Talwar presents ‘Briefe aus der Wilcza – Listy z Wilczej’ (Letters from Wilcza), a poetic look at his street in Warsaw and its residents (STRAZE, Stralsunder Straße 10).
The festival will conclude on 29 November with a discussion entitled ‘Stettin/Szczecin. Eine Stadt – viele Geschichten’ (Stettin/Szczecin. One city – many stories) with writer Brygida Helbig, chronicler for the German Culture Forum for Eastern Europe in Sczecin in 2025, and Jörg Hackmann (University of Sczcecin) at the Koeppenhaus (Bahnhofstraße 4/5).
The festival will be accompanied by exhibitions of contemporary art in Greifswald's galleries and art showrooms: CRUSH / CRASH – Michał Sikora & Maja Stankiewicz Sikora at the CUBIC art space (27 October–8 December); ‘Enthüllte Leidenschaften’ (Unveiled Passions) – Beata Ewa Korzeniowska at the PKB-KunstLaden (8 November–29 November, opening on 8 November, 3 p.m.) and Magic Serpent – Katarzyna Zimnoch & Paweł Kleszczewski, KONIK STUDIO, Kulturschaufenster Martin-Luther-Straße (9 November–4 December).
In this way, polenmARkT 2025 builds bridges between the past and the present, between Greifswald and Szczecin, between art and life. From children's books to shanties, from stories to film, from literature to dance, a panorama of cultural diversity and vibrant neighbourly relations unfolds.
Further information
The complete programme is available online at https://www.polenmarkt-festival.de.
Contact
Dr. Marek Fialek
polenmARkT e.V.
c/o Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Greifswald
Ernst-Lohmeyer-Platz 3, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 3213
www.polenmarkt-festival.de