After years of disputes over the visual clutter caused by advertising in the resort and its surroundings, Zakopane has finally adopted a landscape resolution! On 28 May 2026, the town council approved a by-law regulating the placement of advertisements, signs, fences and street furniture throughout the town. This is a long-awaited change designed to help rid one of Poland’s most beautifully situated towns of the ubiquitous advertising clutter. This is particularly prevalent along the so-called ‘Zakopianka’ road, in the town centre and in the Krupówki area.
Advertisements have obscured the Tatra Mountains
For years, Zakopane has been held up as a notorious symbol of the aesthetic overloading of public space. Large-format billboards, LED advertisements and haphazard signs have appeared along roads, on the façades of historic buildings and other structures, and in the city’s busiest areas. Local media regularly published shocking photos showing walls of advertisements obscuring the panorama of the Tatra Mountains. Such advanced commercialisation did not sit well with many residents and tourists, who increasingly protested against the defacement of the Tatra resort. The local council, however, emphasised that the existing regulations were difficult to enforce, which is why it was ultimately decided to utilise a tool provided for under the Landscape Act.
Zakopane has adopted a landscape resolution!
Work on the resolution has been ongoing since around 2023. In 2024 and 2025, the draft was repeatedly made available for public inspection. Public consultations were also held with residents and businesses, and the deadline for submitting comments was 30 April 2026. The mayor of Zakopane, Łukasz Filipowicz, was responsible for overseeing the document’s progress. The adoption of the resolution sparked a lively debate among business owners, advertisers and groups involved in protecting the Podhale landscape. Not everyone is happy with the city council’s decision.
A return to Zakopane’s identity
The new regulations govern the size of advertisements, the number of signs, permissible forms of billboards and the materials used in advertising media. Rules regarding fencing and street furniture have also been established. The city authorities emphasise that the Tatra panoramas and historic buildings must not continue to be obscured by a layer of rags and banners. This is particularly important in a place with such a strong architectural identity. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Zakopane became a fashionable resort and an important centre for artists. Stanisław Witkiewicz, the creator of the Zakopane style inspired by the architecture of the Podhale region, played a huge role. After 1989, the development of mass tourism and advertising began to gradually supplant the town’s former image. The landscape resolution is finally intended to reverse this process and limit the defacement of this charming place.
Source: zakopane.pl, podhale24.pl
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