Artus Court

Artus Court in Gdańsk is one of the grandest civic interiors in Poland: a Gothic hall where the city's wealthy merchants once met, feasted and did business. It stands on Long Market (Długi Targ), right behind the Neptune Fountain, in the heart of the Main Town, and is now a branch of the Museum of Gdańsk. If you want to understand why Gdańsk (say "g-DAINSK") was the richest port of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, this is the place to start.

A brief history

A "curia regis Artus" – a court of King Arthur – is recorded here as early as 1357. Merchants across the Hanseatic world loved the legend of the Round Table and named their clubhouses after it. After a fire in 1476, the present building went up between 1476 and 1481.

Inside, brotherhoods known as "benches" gathered under one roof – among them the benches of St Reinhold, St George, Malbork and the Three Kings. Membership was limited to patricians and well-off traders. The façade you see today, with statues of ancient heroes and Fortune on top, dates from a 1617 remodeling by Abraham van den Blocke. The lions at the entrance came from a demolished city gate in 1883.

Like most of the Main Town, the building was damaged in 1945. Fortunately, much of the furnishing had been evacuated, so the interior could be largely reconstructed. It became a museum branch in 1989 and reopened after full restoration in 1997, for the city's millennium.

What to see inside

Your visit focuses on the Great Hall, a single soaring Gothic space packed with objects:

• The tiled stove – about 11 m (36 ft) tall, built in 1545–1546 in Georg Stelzner's workshop and covered with 520 tiles depicting rulers. It is often called one of the tallest of its kind in Europe.
• Paintings – including the late-Gothic "Siege of Malbork", Hans Vredeman de Vries's "Orpheus among the Animals" (1596) and Anton Möller's "Last Judgment", set against a Gdańsk backdrop.
• Ship models hanging from the vault, a reminder that the city lived from Baltic trade.
• St George slaying the dragon (1481–1487), the oldest piece in the hall.

An audio guide is available in English, Polish and German and is worth the small extra fee.

How long to stay and is it worth visiting?

Allow 30–45 minutes. It is absolutely worth it if you are in Gdańsk for a day: it is compact, central and visually stunning. Combine it with the Main Town Hall a few steps away and Uphagen House on Long Street. Mornings on weekdays are the quietest. Admission is free on Mondays, so expect more visitors then.

Accessibility and families

Wheelchair users enter from Chlebnicka Street, where a ramp is set up; electric wheelchairs currently cannot be accommodated because of narrow historic passages. There is a tactile model of the façade with audio description, a Braille guide to borrow and an induction loop at the ticket desk. Kids tend to love the ship models and the enormous stove.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• Address: Długi Targ 43/44, 80-831 Gdańsk
• Hours: Monday 10am–4pm (free admission), Tuesday closed, Wednesday 10am–4pm, Thursday 10am–6pm, Friday–Sunday 10am–4pm. Last tickets 45 minutes before closing. The museum lists no separate winter timetable for 2026/27, so check its website before you go.
• Closed: November 1, November 30–December 2, 2026, December 24–26 and 31, January 1 and 6.
• Tickets: 26 PLN regular, 19 PLN reduced, 70 PLN family; audio guide 10 PLN; a 90-day pass to all Museum of Gdańsk branches costs 160/110 PLN. Prices are in Polish złoty (PLN).

How to get there

Gdańsk is on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, about 340 km by road north of Warsaw – roughly three hours by express train. Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport lies about 15 km from the center. From Gdańsk Główny railway station, walk 15 minutes or so along the Royal Route: through the Highland Gate and Golden Gate, then down Long Street. Long Market is pedestrianized and central Gdańsk has paid parking zones, so leave the car outside the old town if you can.

Nearby

• Neptune Fountain, directly in front.
• Main Town Hall with its painted Red Room.
• Green Gate and the Motława riverside with the medieval Crane.
• Mariacka Street and St Mary's Basilica.