Folklore Festival under Poľana

The festival

What is Folklore Festival under Poľana

Detva is a small town in the Podpoľanie region of central Slovakia, known for its embroidered costumes, the fujara—the large shepherd’s flute—and the music of its folk ensembles. On the second weekend of July it holds the Folklórne slávnosti pod Poľanou, the Folklore Festival under Poľana, held since 1966 and counted among the three biggest folklore festivals in the country.

The festival celebrates the culture of Podpoľanie, which has been kept alive in the villages and hamlets scattered across the slopes of the Poľana massif, and it also gives the stage to groups from other regions and other countries. The festival is organized by the Detva municipality and takes place one week after the Východná festival, which makes early July the folklore season in Slovakia.

The heart of the festival is the town’s natural amphitheater, where at night music and dance ensembles in costumes from various regions perform. During the day there are programs on smaller stages, a craft fair, exhibitions at the regional museum and musicians’ meetings. A distinctive tradition is the Krajanská nedeľa, the Sunday dedicated to Slovaks living abroad, such as those from Vojvodina in Serbia and other communities from the former Hungary.

The festival also recalls local history: in recent editions one program honored Detva groups’ participation in the Prague Ethnographic Exhibition at the end of the 19th century, when the region’s culture became known beyond its borders.

For travelers in central Slovakia in early July, Detva is a chance to see the folklore of one of the country’s most traditional regions in its original setting, alongside the mountain scenery and pastures that inspired it.