National Museum, Kraków
Encyclopedia
The National Museum in Kraków
, established in 1879, is the main branch of Poland
's National Museum, which has many permanent collections around the country.
Sukiennice
building, now the home of one of its many divisions. The construction of the Museum's New Main Building at 3 Maja Street started in 1934, but was interrupted by World War II
. It was completed only in 1992.
During World War II
the collection was looted by German soldiers. After the war the Polish Government retrieved many of the works seized by the Germans. Still more than 1,000 artefacts are missing, including The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (donated to the Museum in 1937 by Stanisław Ursyn-Rusiecki).
The Museum collections - consisting of several hundred thousand items - are kept in big part in the Main Building but also in the nine of its divisions around the city.
, Leon Wyczółkowski and Włodzimierz Tetmajer; an extensive collection of works by Stanisław Wyspiański; and also, works by artists of the inter-war and post-war periods: cubists, expressionists, colorists, the avant-garde of the 1930s and representatives of New Directions from the 1960s.
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, established in 1879, is the main branch of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
's National Museum, which has many permanent collections around the country.
History
Kraków National Museum was first housed at the upper floor of the RenaissanceRenaissance in Poland
The Renaissance in Poland lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellon dynasty, the Kingdom of Poland actively participated in the broad European Renaissance...
Sukiennice
Sukiennice
The Renaissance Sukiennice in Kraków, Poland, is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the Main Market Square in the Kraków Old Town . It was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter...
building, now the home of one of its many divisions. The construction of the Museum's New Main Building at 3 Maja Street started in 1934, but was interrupted by World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was completed only in 1992.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the collection was looted by German soldiers. After the war the Polish Government retrieved many of the works seized by the Germans. Still more than 1,000 artefacts are missing, including The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
The Fight Between Carnival and Lent
The Fight Between Carnival and Lent is an oil-on-panel work painted by Pieter Bruegel in 1559. This painting depicts a common festival of the period, as celebrated in the Southern Netherlands...
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (donated to the Museum in 1937 by Stanisław Ursyn-Rusiecki).
The Museum collections - consisting of several hundred thousand items - are kept in big part in the Main Building but also in the nine of its divisions around the city.
Collections
The Main Building features the newly renovated upper Gallery of the Twentieth Century Polish Art, one of the largest art galleries in Poland. It contains a collection of paintings and sculptures from the late nineteenth century on, including canvases by Jacek MalczewskiJacek Malczewski
Jacek Malczewski was one of the most famous painters of Polish Symbolism. In his creativity he successfully joins the predominant style of his times with motifs of Polish martyrdom.-See also:...
, Leon Wyczółkowski and Włodzimierz Tetmajer; an extensive collection of works by Stanisław Wyspiański; and also, works by artists of the inter-war and post-war periods: cubists, expressionists, colorists, the avant-garde of the 1930s and representatives of New Directions from the 1960s.
Militaria
The Main Building has a vast display of militaria ranging from twelfth to twentieth century, including Polish armor from sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Polish sabers, firearms, saddles and caparisons, military uniforms from eighteenth to twentieth century, military orders, medals and distinctions. The Museum holdings also include a collection of Western and Eastern European weapons. The militaria are presented at the "Arms and Colours" exhibition.Decorative arts
Decorative arts and crafts are exhibited in the Decorative Arts and Crafts Gallery, with gold, silver and precious stone artifacts ranging from twelfth to eighteenth century; copper, pewter and iron objects, such as bowls and wrought iron chests; old furniture, musical instruments, clocks, ceramics and glass, notably stained glass from the churches of Kraków. The Museum has one of Poland's largest collections of Polish and Oriental antique rugs and carpets, as well as a collection of sixteenth to twentieth century costumes.Museum Divisions
- The Main Building, at 3 Maja St., featuring nearly 500 works by Poland’s leading modern artists.
- Czartoryski MuseumCzartoryski MuseumThe Czartoryski Museum and Library is a museum located in Kraków, Poland, founded in Puławy in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The Puławy collections were partly destroyed after the November uprising of 1830–1831 and the subsequent confiscation of the Czartoryskis' property by the Russians...
and Arsenal, world-famous for LeonardoLeonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's painting of Lady with an ErmineLady with an ErmineLady with an Ermine is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, from around 1489–1490. The subject of the portrait is identified as Cecilia Gallerani, and was probably painted at a time when she was the mistress of Lodovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Leonardo was in the service of the Duke.The painting is...
. The museum has other old masters on display including dramatic landscape by Rembrandt. - MangghaMangghaManggha is a division of Poland's main branch of National Museum in Kraków.-History:...
, Centre of Japanese Art and Technology - Stanisław Wyspiański Museum
- Gallery of the 19th Century Polish Art in SukienniceSukiennice MuseumSukiennice Museum, a.k.a. Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art at Sukiennice, is a division of the National Museum, Kraków, Poland. The Gallery is housed on the upper floor of the Sukiennice in the center of the Main Market Square in Old Town Kraków.-History of the collection:The Gallery holds the...
, with the collection of some of the best known paintings of the Young Poland Movement, including sculpture. - Emeryk Hutten Czapski Museum
- Józef MehofferJózef MehofferJózef Mehoffer was a Polish painter and decorative artist, one of the leading artists of the Young Poland movement and one of the most revered Polish artists of his time.-Life:...
Manor - Jan MatejkoJan MatejkoJan Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings...
Manor in Krzesławice - Karol SzymanowskiKarol SzymanowskiKarol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
Museum at Villa AtmaVilla AtmaThe Villa Atma in Zakopane, Poland, is a chalet housing the Karol Szymanowski Museum, a department of the National Museum in Cracow. It was built about 1890 in 'Zakopane style' for Józef Kasprusie-Stoch to designs by the architect Stanisław Witkiewicz...
in ZakopaneZakopaneZakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
Exhibition posters are available in the gift shop by the entrance.
- Open every day except Mondays.
- Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday, 10am-4pm; Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 10am-7pm; Sunday, 10am-3pm.