Muzeum Miejskie w Wadowicach

About the museum

The beginnings of the Wadowice museum go back to 1995. In 1996 the institution Historical Collections of the Wadowice Land (Zbiory Historyczne Ziemi Wadowickiej) was set up; it gathered souvenirs and materials on the history of the town and published the journal “Wadoviana”. In 2000 it was merged with the Wadowice House of Culture into the Wadowice Cultural Centre named after Marcin Wadowita, and since then the museum has operated as one of its departments under the name Municipal Museum (Muzeum Miejskie).

The seat is a classicist tenement house at ul. Kościelna 4, dating from the early 19th century, with a vestibule and a balcony supported by Ionic columns. In the interwar period it housed the “Mleczarnia Hygieniczna” (Hygienic Dairy), where the young Karol Wojtyła used to eat. After the war the building served various institutions; in 1968 it passed to the town, and from 1979 to 1994 it housed, among others, the Society of Friends of the Wadowice Land and the PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society).

Since April 2014 the museum has shown the permanent exhibition “Wadowice – miasto, w którym wszystko się zaczęło” (Wadowice – the Town Where Everything Began), an expanded version of the earlier exhibition “Wadowice Karola Wojtyły”. The collections number nearly three thousand items: paintings, prints, sculptures and tiles by artists associated with the region, as well as documents, photographs, postcards and maps on the history of Wadowice. The museum also runs educational activities and offers guiding services around the town.

Highlights

• Multimedia permanent exhibition on the history of Wadowice up to the interwar period
• Maps of the Principalities of Oświęcim and Zator from the 16th and 17th centuries
• Collection box of a Jewish burial society
• “Warsztatownia” (Workshop) with printing, wax sealing and calligraphy
• Virtual tour of the exhibition
• Collection of works by artists associated with the Wadowice region

Permanent exhibition

• Wadowice – miasto, w którym wszystko się zaczęło – Multimedia permanent exhibition on the history of the town from the earliest mentions to the interwar period, with rooms on education, economic and cultural life, sport and the “Warsztatownia” (Workshop).

Founded

1996

Operated by

Wadowickie Centrum Kultury im. Marcina Wadowity

Admission & discounts

Cards can be used at the cash desk. The price list applies from 1 May 2024 (guiding services).

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

The permanent exhibition has a “Warsztatownia” (Workshop), where visitors can print a document on a printing press, press a wax seal and try calligraphy with a quill pen. The family ticket costs PLN 10; children under 7 enter free of charge.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The museum runs an online shop with publications and souvenirs.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit