Gay Poland: What's like?

Contents:

• THE BEST KRAKOW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS KRAKOW
• LGBTQ+ KRAKóW | GAY & GAY-FRIENDLY GUI TO KRAKóW
• GAY KRAKOW TRAVEL GUI
• IS KRAKOW GAY IENDLY? - KRAKOW FOM
• POLAND - KRAKOW: GAY VENU
• WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … POLAND?
• GAY KRAKOW
• GAY WARSAW
• THE BEST KRAKOW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS KRAKOW
• GAY UPLE TRAVELG TO WARSAW AND KRAKOW - POLAND FOM
• KRAKOW GAY MAP
• GAY KRAKOW · CY GUI
• IS KRAKOW GAY IENDLY? - KRAKOW FOM

THE BEST KRAKOW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS KRAKOW

Poland may get a bad wrap when to homophobia, but for every primive moron, you'll fd two more evolved legends. A gay-themed bar, fe & smoothie heaven which wel all genrs, this Krakow in is snuggled up at the top of Krakow's tear-shaped Old Town.

Gay cisg bar Ciemnia is a myster labyrth of dark and sexy rridors led wh dark, sexy private rooms furnished wh beds, uch, swgs and more. In this elaborate space you'll fd dance floors, a bar sellg low priced alhol, a darkroom, 'oralium', bs, a vio room showg gay films and even a cheeky -hoe shop offerg poppers, ndoms & lubrints.

LGBTQ+ KRAKóW | GAY & GAY-FRIENDLY GUI TO KRAKóW

As you n see om the photo above, this is a super sexy-time oriented gay club.

GAY KRAKOW TRAVEL GUI

BLUE XL is a men's only erotic club signed for purely gay good tim. If you're after an unfettably rowdy time on any night of the week then you n check out: 'Erotic piss Mondays', 'Hercul Party' on Tudays, 'Gay-Straight-Bi Party' Wedndays, Hardre 'Sodoma & Gomora Party' Thursdays, pl a Go-Go Boys show on Friday and weekend-long madns... Krakow's only gay sna and fns centre offers a wi range of servic and activi such as hammam, massage, steam bath, sna, gym, fe/bar & a sunbathg ck (go nu if you like).

Not a gay bar as such, but somewhere super gay-iendly where a lot of gay men like to hang out. Absolute Krakow In 'Esze', as 's affectnately known, is actually even owned & n by a lovely gay uple. Wednday is Gay & Lbian sgl night!

IS KRAKOW GAY IENDLY? - KRAKOW FOM

Dtroyg the stigma around relig stut' views of gay people, the JCC proudly wel everyone through their doors, no matter their self-inty. Here, you n be as flamboyantly gay as you want and noone will probably notice. Although 's one of the few untri which homosexualy has never been directly punished by state law, you'll fd few folks of any sexual persuasn who would scribe Poland as 'gay-iendly.

' Centuri of hard-re Catholicism Poland have ensured a nservative society that isn't fortable speakg about sex of any kd, let alone homosexualy, which is roundly nsired 'wrong' and 'unnatural' by most lols.

In fact, homosexualy was officially listed as a disease until 1991, before which the munist thori alt wh the 'problem' by nyg that existed PRL Poland; serly, acrdg to the thori, there was not a sgle gay person PL om 1947 to 1989. In the years sce mocracy returned to Poland, policians have been all too eager to go on rerd agast homosexualy, makg all kds of flammatory statements rangg om ignorant to sensive to hateful over the years. The current nservative lg party, Law & Jtice (PiS), has been particularly forceful s nmnatn of homosexualy recently, attemptg to ame gay rights and the equaly movement as a foreign vasn threateng the very soul of the natn (much like the immigratn crisis before ).

POLAND - KRAKOW: GAY VENU

" Puttg gay rights issu, and thereby the gay muny, directly the crosshairs, Kaczyński's party has gone so far as to anise and promote s own anti-LGBT events unr the guise of 'fay valu', leadg to vlent nflict when the two sis lli, as occured May 2019 Białystock. Nohels, Kraków's primary gay pri event has grown each year and celebrated s 15th anniversary 2019. Surprisgly, the age of sexual nsent Poland is the same for homo- and heterosexual relatnships - 15.

Gay Marriage is not regnised Poland, and same-sex adoptn is illegal. As attus towards the LGBTQ+ muny have slowly improved recent s, so has the untry's gay scene, pecially the major ci.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE GAY … POLAND?

In terms of queer nightlife, the number of tly queer-first venu Kraków is still que small, and only got smaller the summer of 2019, when Con - Kraków's top gay club of over 18 years - closed down for good. Durg the day, head to Ldo - a straight-iendly gay fe/bar that opens early, or vis Spartak - Kraków's only gay sna (men-only).

GAY KRAKOW

Gay-Friendly venu Kraków.

Although several municipali (particularly south-eastern PL) clared themselv ee of LGBT iology, a urt lg later banned the distributn of the hate stickers, and the outcry they created here Kraków only lead to many gay-iendly lol bs explicly claimg they were plac of tolerance via their own stickers, posters and flags.

For those lookg for a fun, safe environment to go out whout alienatg their straight iends, Barakah, Klub Kabaret and Ogniwo que often host events anised by or support of the queer muny; Lastriko, Movida and Kraa Szeptów (Land of Whispers) tgle the gay-dar at low equenci; while Eszeweria (owned and operated by a gay uple), Piękny Pi, Fom, Pza, Cafe Szafe and Klub Re n all generally be nsired safe spac for diversy and acceptance. For a gay-iendly night on the dancefloor, we'd remend Szpalna 1 and Społem Deluxe. Gay Cisg Kraków.

GAY WARSAW

Mikołajska, has been notor for gay cisg the evengs until que late at night. We hear, however, that 's mostly rent boys and tra n be rough; beware of gay bashers lurkg as well. Out Kraków - Gay Events: Organisers of Kraków gay Pub Crawl.

Gay Gui Kraków: A FB page ( Polish) intifyg LGBT-iendly plac to go, eat, party. Gay & Gay-Friendly plac Kraków. Text 'GAYTRAVEL' to 1-800-GAY-TRAVEL (1-800-429-8728).

THE BEST KRAKOW GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS KRAKOW

— Travel Guis wh a Gay Perspective.

Gay Krakow. Perhaps the most liberal of the Eastern European untri spe s Catholic roots, the gay scene is explodg s ci. The Gay Scene Krakow.

View the Gay Scene Krakow. GAY MEN ON THE GO - GAY TRAVEL - GAY DAY - GAY NIGHT.

GAY UPLE TRAVELG TO WARSAW AND KRAKOW - POLAND FOM

Incredibly, Krakow also has an credible gay night even though ’s have some bars where you n jt go for a drk as well as plac where you n go dancg all night until morng. If you are a sna fan you have the only one town, the Spartak Sna & Fns and you n unt on all the facili of a gay the btle of the cy and don’t stay home at night.

Policians' hostily to gay rights has bee a flashpot, ptg the relig right agast more liberal-md Pol.

And gay people livg the areas are faced wh a choice: emigrate, keep their heads down - or fight back.Magaze edor Tomasz Sakiewicz shows me to his Warsaw office.

KRAKOW GAY MAP

It crimalised homosexualy 1932, s before most European untri. But he is agast what he scrib as "aggrsive iology promotg homosexualy". The stggle for gay rights is a foreign ncept imported om the US and Wtern Europe, he adds, and threatens the tradnal heterosexual Polish fay.

GAY KRAKOW · CY GUI

Fd out moreWh state-sanctned homophobia and a largely hostile media, Polish gay people risk beg phed back to the closet, pecially small towns. Image ptn, Bart Staszewski SwidnikWhen I arrive on a Saturday morng, half a dozen gay activists are the ma square handg out leaflets, "love is love" stickers and iced doughnuts wh multi-loured sprkl.

Their spokman, Bart Staszewski, has anised what he lled a queer tour of Poland's east to show people that gay people are "normal cizens".He adds: "We are the rabow myth-bters.

"Swidnik ee of rabow propaganda," they yell, tryg to drown out the sound of the breezy pop mic g om the speakers of the gay rights activists. And that's what the gays are tryg to do."Between the two groups, there's a long le of rt police all wearg helmets and bullet proof vts and sweatg the hot sun. "We feel much safer." He adds that many gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr Pol have recently emigrated to pe persecutn.In Tuchow, a town of 6,500 people found medieval tim, which has also clared self ee of "LGBT iology", I meet a gay teenager a lol park.

IS KRAKOW GAY IENDLY? - KRAKOW FOM

Still, that don't mean is easy to be gay this part of Poland, 100km east of Krakow.Media ptn, Poland has been lled the worst untry the EU for LGBT rights"Once, when my boyiend and I were holdg hands", he says, "we heard a few people shoutg nam at ." Gay people Tuchow, he adds, n only live peace by stayg "visible". So I refer them to a sexologist at a Church clic."At this pot, her hband Kazimierz terpts to tell that homosexualy is a sickns that n be treated. "It is not as if you're done for and you're a homosexual for the rt of your life.

"Homosexual unns do not guarantee the growth of our fatherland," she tells me.

Durg his re-electn mpaign June, Print Duda signed a "Fay Charter," cludg pledg to prevent gay upl om marryg or adoptg children and to ban teachg about LGBT issu schools.Grzegorz Niemiec, a lol altar boy turned town uncillor who voted for the Rolutn agast "LGBT iology", says he was also worried about sex tn and wanted children to grow up "normal fai".