The Mayor of the City Award for promoting Bolesławiec has been associated with Piotr Roman since 2002, but it was created during the development of local self-government in Poland, and its originator was Józef Król.

– When building local self-government from 1990 onward, we looked at various solutions, and that is probably where the idea of rewarding people for promoting the city came from – Józef Król recalls.Józef Król. – We had our hands full, and our weakness was the lack of documentation of those pioneering efforts. The first ceremony took place on 4 June 1997, and the awards were presented for 1996. It was a very modest ceremony. We met at the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre with Olympiad winners and the best eighth-grade students. We presented flowers and diplomas. These were the mayor’s awards, and the entire history began with that modest event – adds the mayor and originator of the award.

The awards for promoting Bolesławiec are presented for outstanding achievements in artistic work, the dissemination and protection of culture, the development of science, outstanding sporting results, and social initiatives contributing to the promotion of the city.
The award always arouses strong emotions. But this only shows how important it is to residents. Over 30 years, it has been presented to the people and institutions most committed to promoting the city, although the criteria for awarding it have often been criticized.

A broad range of award winners

The range of award winners is enormous. To illustrate how many different people and institutions have received this award, let us recall a few of them:

  • The “Sumptuastic” band, consisting of Andrzej Janusz, Marek Zając, Robert Opała, Iza Tarka, Tomek Bubieńczyk, Asia Iwanowska and Wojtek Szajwaj, as well as manager Maciej Durczak.
  • Ewa Lijewska, as director of the Youth Cultural Centre in Bolesławiec.
  • Bolesławieckie Centrum Inicjatyw Lokalnych Via Sudetica, organizer of Gliniada from 2007 to 2013 and of the finals of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.
  • The Congregation of the Sisters Adorers of the Blood of Christ, for the idea and commitment involved in establishing Saint Maria De Mattias as the patron saint of Bolesławiec.
  • Telewizja Łużyce Sp. z o.o., for producing the film “Saint Maria de Mattias – Patron Saint of Bolesławiec”.
  • University of the Third Age in Bolesławiec
  • “Wspierajmy Zdrowie” Foundation
  • tennis player Łukasz Kubot

It would certainly be worthwhile for someone to examine the history of such an important award and compile all the data, even if only for the Bolesławiec Yearbook.

The award today

Today’s rules for granting the award are set out in a 2011 resolution of the Bolesławiec City Council. The regulations provide for two types of distinctions: financial awards for outstanding achievements and honorary awards for supporting social, scientific and cultural initiatives. Both individuals and groups may apply, and applications must be submitted by authorized entities by the end of each calendar year.

The mayor decides on the selection of award winners after obtaining the opinion of the relevant city council committee. The new regulations are intended to systematize the long-standing tradition of honoring people and institutions that build Bolesławiec’s positive image.
The key assessment criterion is how a given achievement contributed to promoting the city and what initiatives were carried out for its benefit.

These awards recognize, among others, creators, artists, cultural animators, scientists, athletes, coaches and grassroots initiative groups whose activities consistently broaden the scope of Bolesławiec’s promotion.

The “Romany” awards presented. Winners in 2026

Because of the form of the statuette, which is associated with an Oscar, and the surname of the mayor who has governed the city since 2002, the awards may be named in his honor.

In 2025, 26 people and teams were nominated for financial awards and five for the honorary award. The financial award is worth more than 2,000 zlotys. In 2025, 17 winners were selected.

The honorary award was presented, among others, to the district-level nationwide Wielogłosy Festival, namely the Youth Cultural Centre ensemble.

Financial awards were presented, among others, to Magdalena Szwed (science category), Jan Samerdak, Mateusz Boduch, Emilia Kalinowska (culture), Piotr Bajdecki, Karol Lisiecki (social award), Roland Kupił, Kazimierz Zając, Dawid Barański, Paweł Wiśniewski, Eliza Psiuch, as well as the Special Olympics Club and Klaudia Peters (sport).