Muzeum Guzików w Łowiczu
Private museum in Łowicz with a collection of more than 4,500 buttons, including buttons belonging to well-known figures of Polish culture and history. Admission is free.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Button Museum in Łowicz (Muzeum Guzików w Łowiczu) was founded on 19 July 1997 by Jacek Rutkowski and his daughter Karolina Wanda Rutkowska, an ethnologist and cultural anthropologist. The basis of the collection was buttons saved from the haberdashery shop of the founder's grandmother, which operated in Łowicz in the 1930s. The collection was originally kept in the historic suitcase of the grandfather, the Łowicz merchant Bolesław Modest Majewski. This small 19th-century suitcase remains the museum's statutory seat, which is why the institution is regarded as one of the smallest museums in Europe.
For years the collections were shown in various places in Łowicz. From 2014 a permanent exhibition operated in the Łowicz Gallery at ul. Stanisławskiego. After the gallery was renovated, the museum moved to the tenement house at Stary Rynek 10, where it operates next to the Folkstar showroom.
The collection numbers more than 4,500 buttons from all over the world. A special part is the section of personal buttons, that is, buttons belonging to well-known people from culture, science, politics and history, among them Helena Modrzejewska, Wisława Szymborska, Olga Tokarczuk, Czesław Miłosz, General Władysław Sikorski and General Władysław Anders. Each exhibit comes with a story about its owner. The museum organises events, including curated tours of the exhibition, and every year on 12 December it celebrates Button Day (Dzień Guzika).
Highlights
- Statutory seat in a 19th-century suitcase
- More than 4,500 buttons from all over the world
- Buttons belonging to well-known figures of culture, science and politics
- Curated tours with the stories of the buttons' owners
- Button Day, celebrated every year on 12 December
Permanent exhibition
- Wystawa stała Muzeum Guzików – Collection of more than 4,500 buttons from all over the world, including the section of personal buttons belonging to well-known figures of culture, science, politics and history.
- Founded
- 1997
- Operated by
- Jacek i Karolina Rutkowscy (muzeum prywatne)
- Director
- Jacek Rutkowski
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
Admission is free of charge.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The museum occasionally organises curated tours of the permanent exhibition with stories about the owners of the buttons. |
