Kraków withdraws fireworks ban after negative court ruling

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A ban on the use of fireworks that was introduced last year by Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, has been withdrawn after the local authorities decided not to appeal against a court decision revoking it.

Kraków had argued that the ban would boost the safety and health of both humans and animals. However, opponents of the measures, including the provincial governor, who launched the legal challenge against it, argued that it was excessive and undermined constitutional freedoms.

In November 2025, Kraków’s city council adopted a resolution banning fireworks, firecrackers, sparklers and other pyrotechnic materials being set off “for entertainment purposes”.

The ban, which carried an exemption for last year’s New Year’s celebrations, applied in public spaces as well as private properties where the use of fireworks was deemed to impact public places.

The city said the ban aimed to “protect the life, health and peace of residents” and “ensure public safety”, adding that the discharge of pyrotechnics created noise and air pollution and could pose a threat to the health and life of humans and animals.

Some councillors also argued that a ban would benefit residents suffering from trauma, including World War Two veterans and Ukrainian refugees. The city’s then mayor, Aleksander Miszalski, cited a city poll finding that 67.5% of respondents supported a year-round ban on fireworks and 31.2% opposed it.

However, the measures were criticised by the head of the Association of Pyrotechnic Importers and Distributors, Marta Smolińska, who told news service Puls Krakowa that the ban was an “extreme solution” that would hurt local businesses. She called instead for “promoting the responsible use of pyrotechnics”.

In December, Krzysztof Klęczar, the government-appointed governor of the Małopolska province, of which Kraków is the capital, announced that he would challenge the ban in the Provincial Administrative Court.

Klęczar argued that the measures may “violate the principle of proportionality of limiting constitutional freedoms and rights as well as the freedom…to conduct business activity”.

His arguments were endorsed by the court, which, in a ruling in late June, deemed the resolution introducing the ban “invalid” and ordered that the city of Kraków pay legal costs.

The court said the ban “went beyond the competence of the city council” and “violated the principle of proportionality of the protection of constitutional freedoms and rights”. It added that it “was not necessary to protect health, life or public order”.

While Kraków could have appealed against the ruling at the Supreme Administrative Court, it has decided not to take that step. An appeal “would probably have little chance of upholding the resolution,” spokeswoman Dominika Jaźwiecka-Bujalska told the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

At the national level, in 2021, Civic Coalition (KO) – which was then the largest opposition party and is now Poland’s main ruling party – proposed a law that would have banned the use of most fireworks and firecrackers to protect domestic and wild animals.

While that legislation did not proceed beyond a parliamentary commission, two further bills seeking to limit the use of fireworks to protect animals are currently proceeding in parliament, reports local news service Portal Samorządowy.

Several Polish cities have introduced their own restrictions, which in some cases have also faced legal challenges. Wrocław, Poland’s third-largest city, also introduced a ban in January, which was likewise revoked in an administrative court after facing opposition from the provincial governor, reports PAP.

Year-round bans remain in place in the Baltic resort town of Sopot, where there is an exemption for 31 December and 1 January, and the southern mountain resort town of Zakopane, a popular destination for New Year’s revellers, where the New Year period is included.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Paweł Krawczyk / krakow.pl

Olivier Sorgho

Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.