Muzeum Misyjno-Etnograficzne Księży Werbistów w Pieniężnie

About the museum

The tradition of museums at the Divine Word monasteries in Poland goes back to the period before the Second World War: in 1930 Fr Emil Drobny SVD organised a mission museum in the Mission House of Queen of Apostles in Rybnik, and in 1931–1933 a second collection was created in Górna Grupa in Pomerania. During and after the war the collections were largely destroyed or scattered.

In 1964 mission and ethnographic cabinets were set up at the Mission Seminary of the Divine Word Missionaries in Pieniężno. They took over the surviving exhibits from Rybnik, Górna Grupa and Nysa, and were quickly enlarged by gifts from missionaries working on all continents. In 1980 the institution received its present name, and in 1984 it gained space in the monastery’s basements, where an extensive ethnographic exhibition was arranged by geographical region. Since 1998 the museum has been headed by Fr Wiesław Dudar SVD.

In 2025 a new permanent exhibition was opened, made up of two displays: the historical “Być misjonarzem” (To Be a Missionary), on the history of the Society of the Divine Word, and the ethnographic “Tacy sami w świecie różnorodności kulturowej” (The Same in a World of Cultural Diversity). The museum holds more than 9,000 processed objects: tools, musical instruments, weapons, ritual masks, textiles, chasubles and other objects from the countries where the missionaries work. More than 10 thousand people visit it every year.

Highlights

• The largest and best-catalogued church mission and ethnographic collection in Poland
• More than 9,000 catalogued objects from Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas
• New permanent exhibition from 2025, in two parts
• Chasubles of Chinese silk, ritual masks and musical instruments
• Guided tour “W jedną godzinę dookoła świata” (Around the World in One Hour)

Permanent exhibitions

• Być misjonarzem – Historical exhibition on the history and aims of the Society of the Divine Word, the paths of young people to mission, formation, education and medicine, and on the Polish Province and the Mission House in Pieniężno.
• Tacy sami w świecie różnorodności kulturowej – Ethnographic exhibition with objects from different continents, arranged by theme in rooms: “Przeżyć” (To Experience), “Współistnieć” (To Coexist), “Być i wierzyć” (To Be and to Believe), “Tworzyć” (To Create) and “Chronić i znaczyć” (To Protect and to Mark).

Founded

1964

Operated by

Referat Misyjny Księży Werbistów (Zgromadzenie Słowa Bożego, SVD)

Director

o. Wiesław Dudar SVD

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for group guides and museum staff (on presentation of an identity card).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• 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

Information on the accessibility of the monastery building for persons with disabilities has not been published on the museum’s website.

Kids & families

Getting there & parking

The museum is housed in the building of the monastery and of the Mission Seminary of the Divine Word Missionaries in Pieniężno.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

On site there are the mission café (food outlet), a bookshop and a souvenir shop, and an audiovisual room with mission films. The café is open in season Monday to Saturday 9:00–17:00 and Sunday 11:00–17:00; out of season Monday to Friday 9:00–15:00.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit