Krakow extends nighttime alcohol sales ban as other cities hold back

After more than three years of nighttime alcohol restrictions, Krakow has tightened the rules. Since September, shops and other retail outlets across the city have been barred from selling alcohol between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. The previous ban ran from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Restaurants, bars and other establishments selling alcohol for consumption on the premises remain exempt.

The change followed a residents’ initiative and a survey conducted in September 2025. More than 80 percent of respondents knew about the restrictions, while almost 84 percent supported keeping them. About 80 percent said the rules had improved safety and public order, and nearly the same proportion backed extending the ban to cover the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. period.

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The ban has applied for several years from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and there are currently no indications requiring an urgent change.

City data cited in the report show a marked decline in interventions linked to alcohol consumption. Police interventions fell by 48.5 percent in the first year after the restrictions were introduced and by 61.8 percent in the second year. By July 2026, police interventions and offenses recorded by municipal guards were down by nearly 70 percent.

Other major cities are not yet following Krakow’s example. Gorzow Wielkopolski has prohibited nighttime retail alcohol sales since December 21, 2019. The rule applies throughout the city, every day from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., and covers shops and petrol stations but not restaurants or pubs. City spokesman Wieslaw Ciepiela said the regulation had produced a positive assessment over several years and that early data showed fewer interventions linked to public-order disturbances.

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The restriction on nighttime access to alcohol remains one of the instruments used to improve safety.