Muzeum Starożytnego Hutnictwa Mazowieckiego im. Stefana Woydy w Pruszkowie

About the museum

The idea for a museum in Pruszków was put forward in the early 1970s by Stefan Woyda, conservator of monuments in the Warsaw voivodeship. At the end of the 1960s he discovered the so-called Masovian Metallurgical Centre (Mazowieckie Centrum Metalurgiczne), a centre of ancient iron smelting, and concluded that his research and popularisation needed a separate institution. The museum opened on 1 June 1975, and Woyda headed it for more than three decades.

The seat is a 19th-century classicist manor outbuilding in the former palace and park complex of the Potulicki family, entered in the register of monuments in 1987. The northern part of the building has an Alpine character with carved wooden decoration, and the southern part has a glazed orangery, which today serves as a concert hall. Around it extends a garden with sculptures by contemporary artists, a display of bloomery slag blocks and an erratic boulder that is a natural monument.

The first permanent exhibition, from 1991, was entitled “Czas żelaza” (The Age of Iron). After a general renovation in 2014 it was replaced by the exhibition “Przedświt – Mazowieckie Centrum Metalurgiczne z przełomu er” (Dawn – The Masovian Metallurgical Centre at the Turn of the Eras), the only exhibition in Poland to present ancient metallurgy so comprehensively. The museum conducts excavations, looks after its collections and runs educational activities, including the ARTEfakty archaeological festival.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition “Przedświt” on ancient iron metallurgy
• Masovian Metallurgical Centre, the second largest iron-smelting centre of “barbarian” Europe
• Classicist Potulicki manor outbuilding with a tower and an orangery
• Museum garden with sculptures and bloomery slag lumps
• Audio guide with audio description
• ARTEfakty archaeological festival

Permanent exhibition

• Przedświt – Mazowieckie Centrum Metalurgiczne z przełomu er – A comprehensive exhibition on ancient iron metallurgy in Masovia, the only one of its kind in Poland.

Founded

1975

Operated by

Miasto Pruszków

Director

Dorota Słowińska-Kamasa

Admission & discounts

Free admission: On Sundays admission to the permanent exhibition is free.

Admission to events (Science Festival, Museum Night, European Heritage Days, open days, lectures and temporary exhibitions) is free. Holders of the Pruszków Large Family Card (Pruszkowska Karta Dużej Rodziny) and the Pruszków Resident's Card (Pruszkowska Karta Mieszkańca) also enter free of charge.

Accessibility

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

The main entrance is at ground level, and wheelchair users reach the main exhibition halls on the half-landing by a stair-climbing device. The doors to the halls are wide and open during opening hours; the toilet for people with disabilities is on the ground floor, and the reception provides information visually and by voice. The museum provides audio guides with audio description and an induction loop; a sign language interpreter is provided at some guided tours and events.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum organises museum lessons, workshops and family museum meetings; a family ticket costs PLN 35. Children under 7 enter free of charge.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located on the grounds of the former Potulicki palace and park complex at pl. Jana Pawła II 2.

Amenities & dining

The museum cooperates with the Coffee Mania café, which on some Sundays offers visitors coffee.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The museum rents out its premises, including the concert hall in the orangery.

Plan your visit