The procession set off from Holy Spirit Church in the city's Ostropa district and circled nearby fields for several hours, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The custom is tied to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and to prayers for a good harvest and prosperity for local farms.
Known locally as Osterritt, rajtowanie, or “riding after God,” the procession is one of the few Easter horse processions still held in Upper Silesia, a historic region in southern Poland.
Similar events now survive in only a small number of places in the Silesia and Opole regions.
In 2022, Easter horse processions in Upper Silesia were added to Poland’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Local tradition holds that the Ostropa procession has continued without interruption since at least the 17th century. A parish chronicle from 1711 already described it as an old-established custom.
The riders moved in a fixed order. Three unmarried men traditionally led the procession, with the central rider carrying a processional cross, the PAP news agency reported. Others followed with Easter symbols including a figure of the risen Christ and a cross draped with a stole, it said.
Participants wore traditional riding clothes, including breeches, high boots, and dark jackets, while Easter hymns and prayers accompanied the route.
The event still draws large crowds from Gliwice and nearby towns, and also attracts visitors from outside the region, including from abroad.
In earlier times, most riders were local farmers on their own horses. Today, some horses come from nearby stables, and women have also taken part for several decades.
During a short stop along the route, residents serve riders coffee and Silesian kołocz, a regional cake. That communal element remains an important part of the ceremony, which is seen as a marker of local identity as much as a religious observance.
Some researchers link the survival of the custom to the local worship of St. George, a patron saint associated with riders and horses. Others say the tradition may have reached Silesia from southern German-speaking areas, where related customs are still observed.
(rt/gs)
Source: dzieje.pl