– The Lower Silesian Voivodeship Holiday unites all the region’s residents because Lower Silesia is our common good. The openness, hard work and kindness of the people of Lower Silesia testify to the true energy of our region. This year’s Lower Silesia Holiday is exceptional! To mark the 25th anniversary of the regional government, many cultural events will be held to highlight our regional identity and attachment to our small homeland. On the occasion of the Voivodeship Holiday, I extend my warmest wishes for prosperity and many successes in the future to all the people of Lower Silesia – says Marshal Cezary Przybylski.
Until now, the Voivodeship Holiday had been associated with the feast day of its patron saint, St Jadwiga, which falls on 16 October. This year’s anniversary provided an excellent opportunity to break with convention and create a programme whose shape could be influenced by every resident of the region. Representatives of the Marshal’s Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship are encouraging this and have made the necessary tool available.
A holiday that unites
– We were guided by the idea of unity in diversity. We did not want to confine ourselves to the narrow framework of a single event, but to give residents and supporters of our region the opportunity to choose flexibly the place, time and way of celebrating – says Krzysztof Maj, Member of the Board of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. – I persuaded the voivodeship board to extend this year’s celebrations over the entire month and devise them together with the people of Lower Silesia. I watched with great satisfaction as the events calendar filled up so dynamically and as many institutions and organisations shared our vision and broad perspective. As a result, we already have around 200 events planned, and we are waiting for further proposals. We want to “energise” Lower Silesia. We want the people of Lower Silesia to go into the mountains, get to know their towns and cities, visit historic sites, and for us to discover legends and facts and uncover mysteries.
The platform intended to organise information about the anniversary and serve as a guide for everyone interested will be the specially prepared website dolnyslask25lat.pl. What is more, it is also a place where anyone who completes a form can submit their own initiative and add it to the official programme.
Something from Lower Silesia for everyone
Many guests were invited to participate in Friday’s event, and they took turns discussing their ideas and plans.
Michał Znaniecki, artistic director of the Wrocław Opera, spoke about a special performance that will be one of the first events in the anniversary calendar. – We have prepared a classical opera for you, but in a new version. We invited a person emblematic of Lower Silesia and Wrocław, Marek Krajewski, to write the dialogue. This is how “The Magic Flute in Breslau” came about. But this is not the only proposal we have prepared as part of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Holiday. We want to go beyond the walls of the opera house and promote our repertoire throughout the region.
Bartosz Huzarski, a road cyclist, highlighted the region’s terrain-related advantages for cyclists and announced new projects launched in cooperation with the marshal’s office: – We have excellent conditions for cycling tourism and for organising events aimed at both more and less professional competitors. Thanks to many years of cooperation with the regional government, we have organised many interesting initiatives and are planning more. An enclosed road-cycling track will be built in Bielawa. This year and next year, we plan to launch the Lower Silesian Cycling Skills Parks programme in 14 municipalities. It is also worth mentioning the most important events for amateur cyclists, such as Bike Maraton and the VeloBank Via Dolny Śląsk series, which is one of the 200 anniversary events. We invite you to Sobótka on 8 October.
Potential turned into success
– Lower Silesia is an exceptionally welcoming, multicultural place that delights with its diversity of traditions – emphasises Krzysztof Maj. – It is also a region that is growing stronger economically, attracting investors and business partners. We are dynamically developing industry, transport and tourism, implementing innovations and creating more jobs.
The figures best illustrate Lower Silesia’s dynamic development over the past 25 years. Budget revenues have increased more than fivefold, from PLN 329.8 million in 1999 to PLN 1.674 billion in 2022. In 2000, the region’s GDP amounted to PLN 58.6 million, representing 7.8% of national GDP; today, this figure has risen to PLN 221 million, or 8.4% of national GDP. Expenditure on investment in the region has almost tripled, from PLN 3,492 per resident in 2000 to PLN 10,468 in 2021.