Muzeum Miejskie w Żywcu

About the museum

The initiative to set up a museum in Żywiec emerged in the 1920s. In 1925 the director of the teacher training seminary, Tadeusz Charlewski, began to gather a collection, and his students, organised in the Koło Krajoznawcze (Regional Studies Circle), assembled a mainly ethnographic collection over several years. In 1936 the Muzeum Ziemi Żywieckiej (Museum of the Żywiec Land) was established, and in 1938 it joined the Association of Museums in Poland (Związek Muzeów w Polsce).

During the Second World War the Germans seized the collections and removed the most valuable objects of sacred art. After the war the institution was reactivated in April 1945, and in 1960 new exhibitions were opened in the townhouse known as Siejba. Since 1990 the founding body has been the Żywiec Municipal Council. In the 1990s the museum took over the renovation of the Old Castle; in 1992 the exhibition “Sztuka Sakralna Żywiecczyzny” (Sacred Art of the Żywiec Region) was opened in it.

The permanent exhibitions are now located in the Old Castle and in former outbuildings. Visitors learn about the history of the town (including the Dziejopis Żywiecki (Żywiec Chronicle) by Andrzej Komoniecki from 1704 and one of the largest collections of guild memorabilia in Poland), the folk culture of the region, archaeology, the birds and mammals of the Żywiec region, and an exhibition on courts and torture in old Żywiec.

Highlights

• Dziejopis Żywiecki (Żywiec Chronicle) by Andrzej Komoniecki from 1704
• collection of guild memorabilia
• reconstructed highlander’s room and New Year mummers’ masks
• “Konfessaty” exhibition in the medieval knights’ tower from the 15th century
• sacred art of the Żywiec region

Permanent exhibitions

• Historia i Tradycja Miasta Żywca – On the second floor of the Old Castle: handwritten documents, including the Dziejopis Żywiecki from 1704, a collection of guild memorabilia and historic interiors with a Biedermeier parlour.
• Kultura Ludowa Żywiecczyzny – A reconstructed highlander’s room from the second half of the 19th century, painting on glass, sculpture, tissue-paper decorations, and costumes and masks of New Year mummers.
• Konfessaty, czyli Sądy, Wyroki i Tortury w Żywcu – Exhibition in two rooms of the oldest knights’ tower, from the 15th century, on former justice, with a bed of justice, Spanish boots and a confessional.

Founded

1936

Operated by

Gmina Miasta Żywiec

Admission & discounts

The ticket for all exhibitions costs PLN 35 (reduced PLN 28). Holders of the Brewery Museum ticket can visit the museum at the reduced price of PLN 28, and the Large Family Card gives a 15% discount on individual tickets. The full ticket entitles the holder to buy a reduced ticket for the church tower. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays guided tours are only available by prior booking (tel. 33 861 21 24, ext. 29). Paid workshops (e.g. ethnographic, pottery) cost from PLN 8 to PLN 25.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The entrance to the Castle is at pavement level. The ticket office and the archaeological exhibition are on the ground floor, and the exhibitions on the first and second floors are accessible by a lift from the courtyard, operated by a museum employee. In the Coach House (Wozownia) the ground floor with the ethnographic exhibition is accessible; the first-floor exhibition is not accessible to wheelchair users. In the Stable (Stajnia) the ground floor with the natural history exhibition is accessible.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

The SOWA Zone (Strefa Odkrywania, Wyobraźni i Aktywności, i.e. Zone of Discovery, Imagination and Activity) is intended for children; the museum offers a family ticket, workshops and “bicie monety” (coin striking).

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Knights’ Café in the basement of the Old Castle; museum shop at the ticket office. Large bags, backpacks and umbrellas must be left in the cloakroom. The building also houses a tourist information office.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 80 guests.

Concert and conference hall for about 80 people, banquet hall for up to 60 people, wedding ceremonies in the courtyard of the Old Castle, and events in the Knights’ Café; prices from PLN 150 net per hour.

Plan your visit