Muzeum Powstania Wielkopolskiego 1918–1919

About the museum

The museum is located in the Odwach on the Stary Rynek, an 18th-century building erected on the initiative of the Greater Poland general starost Kazimierz Raczyński, probably to a design by Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer. In the Prussian period it was the main guardhouse of the Poznań Fortress garrison. In November 1918 the building housed the Straż Ludowa (People's Guard), one of the more important formations of the Greater Poland Uprising, and on 27 December 1918 its garrison set out to fight.

In 1945, during the fighting for the Poznań Fortress, the Odwach was severely damaged; it was rebuilt in 1949–1951. It housed, in turn, a ballet and theatre school, the Poznań branch of the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions, and from 1962 the Museum of the History of the Workers' Movement. Today the building is the seat of a branch of the Greater Poland Museum of Independence.

The permanent exhibition “Powstanie Wielkopolskie 1918–1919. Droga do Niepodległości” (The Greater Poland Uprising: The Road to Independence), opened on 15 December 2017, presents the history of the people of Greater Poland in 1793–1939: from the national uprisings and organic work, through the First World War, to the victorious uprising and the building of the restored state. The Greater Poland Museum of Independence plans to build a new museum seat near the centre of the Old Town.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition on the road of the people of Greater Poland to independence (1793–1939)
• Original military equipment from the time of the uprising, including a German MG 08 machine gun
• Rogatywka cap of an artillery lieutenant of the Greater Poland Army (Armia Wielkopolska) from 1919
• Historic 18th-century Odwach on the Stary Rynek
• Facilities for blind visitors: Braille descriptions with QR and NFC codes

Permanent exhibition

• Powstanie Wielkopolskie 1918–1919. Droga do Niepodległości – The permanent exhibition on the lower ground floor and ground floor of the Odwach shows the road of the people of Greater Poland to independence in 1793–1939, from the national uprisings and organic work to the victorious uprising of 1918–1919.

Founded

2001

Operated by

Wielkopolskie Muzeum Niepodległości

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Admission is free every Tuesday.

Persons presenting the Joint Municipal Ticket (Wspólny Bilet Samorządowy) receive a special ticket.

Accessibility

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

The ticket office and the toilet are on the ground floor. The permanent exhibition is on two levels, and the visit starts at level -1, reached by glazed stairs (15 steps, 80 cm wide at the narrowest point) with Braille signs, warning strips and tactile attention fields. There is no lift in the building. The temporary exhibition is on level 0. In the exhibition there are Braille labels with QR and NFC codes on doors and next to the exhibits, as well as Braille overlays on the handrails. Portable FM hearing-assistance systems are available during guided tours (to be requested when booking). Information about the museum is available on the website in Polish Sign Language (PJM) and in easy-to-read text. A visually impaired visitor may enter with an assistance dog.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

There are bicycle racks at the branches of the WMN.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit