Muzeum w Tomaszowie Mazowieckim im. Antoniego hr. Ostrowskiego

About the museum

The Museum in Tomaszów Mazowiecki was founded in 1927 on the initiative of Prof. Tadeusz Seweryn and members of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society. Initially the ethnographic collections were kept in a teachers’ seminary and in private flats. In September 1939 German troops occupied the premises, and the collections were almost entirely destroyed; of 1,739 exhibits only 73 survived. The institution was revived in 1945, and the first postwar permanent exhibition opened in 1947.

From 1950 the museum has been housed in a classicist palace with a romantic character, built at the beginning of the 19th century by the founders of the town, the Ostrowski family. The building needed a thorough renovation, which took place from 1958 to 1968. In 1969 new permanent exhibitions were opened, and in 1974 an archaeological exhibition was set up based on excavations in the area of the Sulejów Reservoir (Zalew Sulejowski). Since 1990 the museum has been a municipal cultural institution.

The collection includes nearly 28 thousand exhibits, arranged in five departments: ethnographic, historical-numismatic, archaeological, art and natural history. Visitors can see five permanent exhibitions, and about ten temporary exhibitions are organised each year. Among the war memorabilia is the German armoured personnel carrier ROSI.

Highlights

• Classicist Ostrowski palace from the beginning of the 19th century
• Ethnographic exhibition on village life on the Pilica at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
• Archaeological exhibition with finds from the Sulejów Reservoir area
• German armoured personnel carrier ROSI – war memorabilia
• Muzealna Akademia Malucha (Little Tot’s Museum Academy) for the youngest visitors

Permanent exhibitions

• Wystawa etnograficzna – A year in the life of village residents on the Pilica at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: work in the house, in the field and in the farmstead, and the customs of Christmas and Easter.
• Wystawa archeologiczna – Finds from prehistoric graves, cinerary urns, a reconstructed skeleton grave from Swolszewice Małe and a model of the settlement.
• Rosi – wojenne pamiątki – Historical exhibition with war memorabilia, including the German armoured personnel carrier ROSI.

Founded

1927

Admission & discounts

Veterans and disabled veterans visit free of charge.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: not available
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: not available
• Sign language tours: not available
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Two steps without a ramp lead to the entrance, but the double doors can be opened fully so that a wheelchair user can enter. The exhibitions on the ground floor are accessible to wheelchair users, but the first floor and the palace tower are not, as the building has no lift. The toilets are below the lobby and are not adapted. Parking spaces for people with disabilities are marked on ul. POW. The building has no induction loops or Braille markings, and most exhibition descriptions are printed in large type.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities: not available
• Playground / play area: not available

The museum organises the Muzealna Akademia Malucha (Little Tot’s Museum Academy) and workshops. Visitors may enter the exhibition rooms with pushchairs and baby carriers, but there is no changing table or play area.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Coat check

The visitors’ cloakroom is in the lobby, on the right from the entrance.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Hiring a hall costs PLN 100 per hour; the price and conditions are agreed individually.

Plan your visit