Muzeum Narodowe we Wrocławiu

About the museum

After the destruction of the Second World War, Wrocław’s former museums were unfit for further use, so the building of the former Regency (Rejencja), the seat of the Silesian provincial administration, was chosen as the home of the new institution. The building was erected in 1883–1886 in the Dutch Neo-Renaissance style to a design by Karl Friedrich Endell. During the siege of Festung Breslau it was seriously damaged, but it could be rebuilt.

The museum was founded on 28 March 1947 as the State Museum in Wrocław, and the official opening took place on 11 July 1948. Initially 30 rooms were opened with three displays: Silesian art of the late Middle Ages, the history of Silesia from the Palaeolithic to the early Middle Ages, and a gallery of Polish painting. In 1950 the institution was given the name Muzeum Śląskie (Silesian Museum), and in 1970 its present name, Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum).

Today the collections comprise mainly Silesian art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, Polish and European art, and applied arts. On the third floor the exhibition “Cudo-Twórcy” (Wonder Makers) is on show. The main building is one of the branches of the National Museum, alongside the Panorama Racławicka, the Ethnographic Museum and the Pavilion of the Four Domes.

Highlights

• Silesian stone sculpture from the 12th–16th centuries
• Silesian art from the late Middle Ages to the 19th century
• Gallery of Polish art of the 17th–19th centuries
• European art of the 15th–20th centuries
• “Cudo-Twórcy” exhibition with applied arts and Eastern art on the third floor

Permanent exhibitions

• Śląska rzeźba kamienna XII–XVI w. – The display on the first floor shows stone sculpture created in Silesia from the Romanesque period to the end of the Middle Ages.
• Sztuka polska XVII–XIX w. – The exhibition on the second floor presents works of Polish art from the 17th to the 19th century.
• Cudo-Twórcy – The exhibition on the third floor combines applied and decorative arts, Eastern art and contemporary ceramics and glass.

Founded

1947

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free admission to the permanent exhibitions every Saturday.

A ticket to the Panorama Racławicka museum entitles you to free admission to the permanent exhibitions in the National Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Pavilion of the Four Domes within three months of your visit to the Panorama. Vouchers are valid for 90 days from purchase.

Accessibility

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

There is a signposted ramp in front of the main entrance, and a platform lift leads to the cloakroom, bookshop, café and the temporary exhibition on the ground floor. The building has a lift with voice announcements and buttons with Braille, and toilets for people with disabilities on the ground floor and on the first and second floors. The doors to the permanent exhibitions are only partly adapted for wheelchairs. The ticket office has an induction loop, noise-cancelling headphones are available, and the exhibition “Cudo-Twórcy” has tactile graphics. There is one disabled parking space in front of the building.

Kids & families

Children under 7 enter free, and families can buy a family ticket for PLN 10 per person. The museum plans to create a room for mothers with children.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

The building houses a café and a bookshop with souvenirs; the cloakroom and lockers are free of charge.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The museum publishes an offer for hiring its museum space.

Plan your visit