Consecrating palms for Palm Sunday is a Christian tradition that takes place yearly before Easter. In Lipnica Murowana, the villagers create gigantic palms that they exhibit in a contest for the most beautiful palms. For another consecutive year, the grand-prix winner was Andrzej Goryl, whose palm measured 25m 25cm.
The contest was initiated in 1958 by Józef Piotrowski. After Piotrowski’s death in 1999, the event was renamed in his name. In 2020, it was cancelled due to pandemics, and in 2021 there was no audience. However, this year the tournament came about in all its glory. 55 palms were submitted in the main category and another 174 in the children’s palms (up to 3 meters tall).
The villagers compete for the tallest and most beautiful palm. Classic creations have to be made from wicker and decorated with natural materials and flowers characteristic to this time of the year. The palms also have to be put up without using a lift.
The winners were decided into 4 categories according to the height of the palms: short (3-7m), medium (7-14m), tall (14-22m) and the tallest (over 22 meters). In the last category, there was just one participant: Andrzej Goryl with his family. His palm measured 25.25 meters. He also set the record for the tallest palm in history: in 2019, his work was 37.78m tall.
In the tall palms category, the winner was the Leszczyńscy family, with a 19-meters-tall palm. In the medium palms won class IB from Primary School in Rajbot (7.6m), and in short palms – Natalia and Bartłomiej Machał. In the children’s palm category there were three winners: Martyna Nowak, Milena Mirek and Lidia Trojanowska.