Muzeum Wsi Mazowieckiej
Large open-air museum with a row village, manor houses and farmsteads of north-western Masovia from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum was established on 24 March 1971 as the Muzeum Etnograficzne w Sierpcu (Ethnographic Museum in Sierpc), on the initiative of local folk sculptors who were looking for a place to meet and exhibit their work. At first the collections were displayed in two rooms of the town hall, and from 1975 the institution developed as the Muzeum i Park Etnograficzny (Museum and Ethnographic Park).
The main task became building an open-air museum that would protect the monuments of rural and small-town architecture of north-western Masovia. The site for the exhibition was set aside on the former Bojanowo estate on the outskirts of the town. The development plan envisaged recreating the typical settlement layouts of the region, and between 1976 and 1984 the first historic buildings were moved here, among them an inn, a smithy, cottages and farm buildings.
Today the open-air museum covers more than 50 hectares. Visitors can see the reconstructed row village with fully furnished interiors, two manor houses, craft workshops, a coach house and a gallery of folk sculpture, as well as landscape parks. The museum also runs the town hall in Sierpc and a branch in Bieżuń, and organises outdoor events and a rich educational programme.
Highlights
- Row village with fully furnished cottages
- Two manor houses and a manor park
- Pohulanka inn with homemade bread
- Gallery of folk sculpture
- Exhibition “Zobaczyć rękoma” (“To See with Your Hands”) for blind and partially sighted visitors
- More than 50 hectares of exhibition grounds
Permanent exhibitions
- Wieś mazowiecka z przełomu XIX i XX wieku – Open-air exhibition of the reconstructed row village with furnished cottages, an inn, a smithy and manor houses.
- Kolekcja rzeźby ludowej ze zbiorów Muzeum Wsi Mazowieckiej w Sierpcu – Permanent exhibition of the museum’s largest collection of folk art, linked to sculptors from the Sierpc area.
- Zobaczyć rękoma – Interior of a cottage from Drwał, prepared for visitors with visual impairments, where objects can be touched and stories listened to.
- Founded
- 1971
- Operated by
- Samorząd Województwa Mazowieckiego
- Director
- Jan Rzeszotarski
Admission & discounts
| Adults | 30 zł |
|---|---|
| Reduced | 20 złpupils, students and doctoral students, people over 65, pensioners and disability pensioners, people with disabilities together with carers (citizens of EU, EFTA and Switzerland), teachers, war veterans (kombatanci) |
| Children & teens | 20 złfree up to age 6 · Children under 7 enter free of charge; pupils buy the reduced ticket. |
| Seniors | 20 złReduced ticket for people over 65, pensioners and disability pensioners. |
| Visitors with disabilities | 20 złReduced ticket for people with disabilities and their carers, on presentation of an ID card. |
| Students & apprentices | 20 złReduced ticket for pupils, students and doctoral students. |
| Groups | –A guided tour for a group of up to 25 people costs PLN 180 per group (PLN 230 in a foreign language), plus admission tickets. Teachers accompanying school groups enter free of charge (one teacher per 15 people). |
| Families | –Holders of the Large Family Card receive a 20% discount on the admission ticket. |
| Open-air museum – 20% discount ticket (including Large Family Card), standard | 24 złReduced PLN 16. |
| Open-air museum – half-price weekend, standard | 15 złReduced PLN 10; valid on selected dates. |
| Open-air museum – themed Sunday, standard | 40 złReduced PLN 30. |
| Open-air museum – winter walking ticket, standard | 10 złReduced PLN 7; no visits to the interiors. |
| Open-air museum – evening guided tour (in Polish) | 40 złIn a foreign language PLN 50. |
| Town hall – standard ticket | 8 złReduced PLN 6. |
| Museum of the Small Town in Bieżuń – standard ticket | 18 złReduced PLN 12; the price includes a guide. |
| Combined ticket (open-air museum, town hall and Bieżuń), standard | 48 złReduced PLN 32; not valid on themed Sundays. |
| Audio guide with headphones | 8 zł |
Free admission: On Mondays admission to the open-air grounds is free (without visiting the interiors).
From 1 October to 31 March the winter ticket includes a guide. The ticket is valid once, on the day of purchase. Discounts also apply to guests of the Hotel Skansen and to participants of the programme “Koleją do kultury” (“By Train to Culture”).
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The main road in the open-air museum is sandy and uneven, and the entrances to the cottages have stone thresholds, low doors and narrow vestibules, which makes entry by wheelchair difficult or impossible. Ramps can be installed at the entrance to selected buildings (cottages from Czermno, Dzierzążnia and Ligówka, the manor house from Bojanowo) on request at the ticket office; the coach house and the sculpture gallery are accessible without a ramp. Induction loops and tactile maps of the open-air museum can be borrowed free of charge at the ticket offices, and the audio guide has a screen with a Polish Sign Language (PJM) interpreter. The exhibition “Zobaczyć rękoma” allows visitors to touch the exhibits. Toilets for people with disabilities are in the ticket office building, by the Pohulanka inn and in building G.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Time needed | approx. 2 hrs |
|---|---|
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 6 |
- Family tours & workshops
- Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
- Hands-on stations
The museum runs thematic lessons, workshops and educational trails for kindergartens and schools. For the youngest visitors it has prepared the booklet “Odkryj z Plonkiem” (“Discover with Plonek”) and an outdoor game about rural architecture. Children under 7 enter free of charge.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Buses and Koleje Mazowieckie (Masovian Railways) serve Sierpc. From the PKP railway station to the open-air museum it is about 4 km, and from the stop by the former PKS bus station about 3 km – on foot, by bike or by taxi.
By car
Parking available
Public car park with spaces for people with disabilities at the entrance from ul. Narutowicza, about 80 steps from the ticket office. The museum’s price list provides for a parking ticket: the first hour free, and PLN 2 for each subsequent started hour.
- Accessible parking
There are two entrances to the museum: the main one from ul. Narutowicza (the route from the town centre), and a second one from the national road No. 10. The museum recommends the entrance from ul. Narutowicza. A bicycle can be taken on the train.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Restaurant
- Museum shop
The Pohulanka inn serves Polish dishes, and a small souvenir shop operates in the inn. The museum grounds also house the Hotel Skansen Conference & SPA.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
- Corporate events
The museum rents out its grounds, the wooden church from Drążdżewo, conference and training rooms, and a place for a bonfire.
Inquiries & detailsPlan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | A visit takes about 2 hours and covers a route of 2–3 km. Bookings for guided tours, museum lessons and demonstrations are accepted at rezerwacje@mwmskansen.pl or by phone at +48 24 275 28 26. Only pedestrian traffic is allowed on the museum grounds; animals may not be taken into the interiors, and drones may not be used. Until 11 October the interiors are open without a guide; from 13 October to the end of March visits are possible only with a guide (group of up to 25 people, about 1.5 hours). |
