One Day in Białystok, Poland. Mural and Street Art Tour

Spend a day with me hunting for street art in mural in Białystok. This city is totally off the beaten track but absolutely worth a visit. Even if only to see one of Poland’s most famous murals.

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One Day in Białystok: a Mural Walking Tour

I’d been planning a trip to Białystok for quite a while. Back in the day, this was the city where murals gained worldwide fame. Some people even compared Białystok to Łódź! So, I thought I still had time to visit. But then the trend for patriotic and commemorative murals started creeping in, and I knew that the time had come.

map of Bialystok with murals
my Google map prepared before trip

We took the train from Łódź a little after 8 a.m. and arrived in Białystok before 11 a.m. The two cities are almost 300 kilometers apart, so the trip was quite smooth. We got off at Białystok Zielone Wzgórza, one stop before the main station because we wanted to start out mural hunt on the outskirts of the city. 

The walk from the station to the first mural took about 20 minutes. Still, if a bus had come by, we would’ve hopped on it — the route runs along a rather wide street and, unfortunately, it’s not very green or pleasant. Also, right from the start, the sun greeted us with full force . 😉

A Mural by Chekos’art, Batalionów Chłopskich 1 Street

This mural was created in 2013 as a response to racist attacks that took place not far from here.

mural with a girl with a mask in Białystok

A Mural created as part of the KALEJDOSKOP Dance Festival, design by Paweł Dudko, Szarych Szeregów 14C Street

mural with symmetric design
Kalejdoskop in English means kaleidoscope

M. Cejrowski and kids, Armii Krajowej 29

In high-rise neighborhoods it’s always worth looking not just up. Sometimes art is hiding much lower.

mural with two peacocks
You can see the imprints of children’s hands on the peacock’s tail

House of Cards by MILLO, Swobodna 60

One of the three reasons I came to Białystok. If you want to see it with your own eyes you need to hurry. The mural sits on a sun-drenched wall, so it’s only a matter of time when before it fades away.

black-white mural with house of cards and kids

BASE23 & Tobias Kroeger, Gajowa 77 Street

mural with a man
The mural might seem a little bit creepy at first but take a closer look at the details and perfectly matched colour palette.

A mural dedicated to Zofia Nałkowska designed by Sylwia Kaczanowska & Karolina Kowalska, Hallera 21 Street

I’m not usually into murals dedicated to someone but in Białystok I came across a few that really caugh my eye. One of them was dedicated to the writer Zofia Nałkowska. The technique moved my – it made the mural both simple and strange. Even the destroyed wall didn’t matter. 

mural with a women and an owl with flowers

A mural featuring Zenek Martyniuk by Rafał Roskowiński, Hallera 25 Street

A “king” of Polish dance-pop. The mural was created thanks to the efforts of the Facebook group “Nienormalny Białystok” and funding from the Podlasie Voivodeship authorities. The mural is a love-it-or-hate-it topic in Bialystok. 

mural with a man with a guitar

Let’s continue our walk. Along the way we passed some murals but most of them were of the hooligan or patriotic type. I didn’t capture them because of the uncompromising narrative they impossed. Luckily we found a few gems.

A Boy with a Fishing Rod by Sweet Damage Crew, Antoniukowska 42 Street

mural with a boy and a fishing rod

Liberecon por la Mundo by Maciej Szupica, Broniewskiego 23 Street

typo mural
Liberecon por la Mundo means Freedom for the World. 

A mural depicting Izabela Branicka by Wallart, Broniewskiego 9 Street

mural with a woman

A Mural depicting Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Broniewskiego 1 Street

It’s common here to create murals of school patrons on school walls. Here’s an example: a mural of Maria Skłodowska-Curie. Spoiler alert – there are more patron murals to come!

mural with Maria sklodowska Curie

We’re moving on to the next district, this time Białostoczek (which sounds like ‘cutie’ Białystok). Once again, we have a long walk along a busy road ahead—but it’s worth it!”

A Mural by TAKTAK group, Radzymińska 18

folk mural with a boy
The artists were inspired by the work of Lucyna Kędzierska, a local local weaver, titled “Baking Bread”

In the meantime we came across some street art pieces of Praktis. These were among the few illegal artworks we saw on the streets of Białystok. 

street art in Bialystok

In general the SPACE really stands out here. I mean – wild walking paths, churches towering over everything, huge distances between building (except in the Old Town, of course), and some empty landscapes. It’s completely the opposite of Łódź. But let’s get back to the art – it’s time for the last two murals before we reach the city center. 

A Mural depicting Henryk Sienkiewicz by Dominik Rutkowski, Sienkiewicza 57 Street

mural with Henryk Sienkiewicz

A Mural for the Theatre Academy designed by Izabela Jurkowska, Sienkiewicza 53/1 Street

mural with the man

After this mural, we decided to take a break for a well-deserved coffee and pastry. We stopped at The White Bear Coffee – a chain that actually started right here, in Białystok.

After a quick tonic espresso, we were back on the move.

A Mural of Ludwik Zamenhof with His Neighbours and Friends by Andrzej Muszyński, Zamenhofa 26

mural of habitants of the building
Ludwik Zamenhof invented the Esperanto language.

Funny thing, from this point our street art exploration got wilder. We started looking for bears. There are some truly unique ones in Bialystok. 

sculpture of bear
photo taken by my husband Piotr

The Legend of the Giants by Natalia Rak, Piłsudskiego 11/4 Street

You may have never heard of Białystok but chances are you’ve seen this mural online. It was one of my three must-see pieces here. Seeing it in person makes a great impression, much greater than online.

the girl with the watering can

After photographing the girl with the watering can, we headed off in different directions to check out other murals in the area.

Nadzieja (Hope) by Dariusz Paczkowski & Monika Krajewska, Żabia 5 Street

The mural was created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the ghetto uprising.
The mural was created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the ghetto uprising.

Anna & Jerzy Łabanowscy, Piłsudskiego 20/3

old mural
The mural was created in 1973, before the fall of communism in Poland.

A Mural by Swanski, Waryńskiego 8

mural with bird

M.Cejrowski, Lipowa 24 Street

An idyllic depiction of village on Podlasie

M.Cejrowski, Św. Rocha 3 Street

mural with bee-eaters and broadbills
They are Bee-eaters and broadbills if you didn’t know. 😉

In the center of Białystok, there were a few less majestic murals. But in return, we got plenty of charming nooks, lots of greenery, and interesting architecture. One place that really caught my eye was the art café Duży Pokój. We’d already had breakfast and coffee, so we didn’t go in, but I hope we’ll make up for it next time we’re here.

In city centre we also met… a truly unique dog!

statue of a dog
This dog is called KAWELIN.

Before sunset and a well-deserved dinner we managed to spot a few more amazing murals.

Two murals on one building: Morten & BASE23’s piece (on the orange wall) and Stanisław SZUM Szumski work, Zamenhofa 5C Street

abstract mural in Bialystok

Białostok Blues design by Antoni Dombek, Rynek Kościuszki 15

mural with a guitarist

A Mural Depicting Maria Konopnicka by Alex Kontra (TAKTAK group), Konopnickiej 3/1 Street

mural with Maria Konopnicka

A Mural by Przemysław PRAKTIS Sieńko, Podleśna 21 street

abstrakt mural

A Mural by Good Looking Studio, Skłodowskiej-Curie 14 Street

mural with a grandma
This was my third reason to visit Białystok.

Przenikanie (interfusion) created for Lumo Bijalistko Festival, Skłodowskiej-Curie 10

mural with a man and the map

A Mural designed by Grzegorz Radziewicz & M.Ceirowski, Skłodowskiej-Curie 13

folk mural

A Mural by BAKI BAKI, Wyszyńskiego 1 Street

mural by Japanese artist BAKI BAKI
This mural was created because of EXPO 2025 OSAKA

Is that all? Nope. I had two more on my list but we ran out of time (and honestly a bit bit of energy). The sun didn’t let up all day so by the end we were hot and exhausted. But no complaints – that just means I have the perfect excuse to come back.

Street Art in Białystok

So, a few words about street art in Białystok. If you think you’ll find as much illegal art here as in other Polish cities – you’re mistaken. Sure, there are a few pieces scattered around but they’re most like exceptions than the rule. I did come across some works by PRAKTIS – a local artist which were pretty interesting.

abstract mural
PRAKTIS’s piece

Instead of wild street art, you’ll find a lot of folk-inspired murals which makes the scene quite unique.

Oh, and about the hooligan-style street art. There’s plenty of it but I’m not really into that so don’t expect any commentary from me on that front.

Białystok Mural Map

Here’s the map for you. I added all the murals I found to the Street Art Cities platform.

Murals in Białystok: how to prepare

So, did I convince you that visiting Białystok is an amazing idea? I hope so! To make it even easier I’ve put together some practical tips to help you enjoy your trip as much as possible.

I mentioned I didn’t manage to see all the murals but honestly if it weren’t so hot, it would be totally doable in a single day.

If you get tired of walking there’s public transport. Just don’t expect trams. Only buses with tickets available in machines (some even inside the buses).

Like it here? Say YES by supporting me. ⸜(。˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Other practical thing: there are public toilets at the train station and in one of the parks, so you’re covered. And beyond that coffee and beer spots will be your best friends.

And seriously, come by train – it’s easiest way to explore it all.

Ready to go mural hunting in Białystok?

If you visit, drop me a comment or tag me – I’d love to see your street art discoveries!

Cheers, Karolajn

These pages were helpful during working on this article:

Pssst… want to explore more street art in Poland? Check out my other guides! 

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