Maria Dąbrowska's Manor House in Russów

Maria Dąbrowska’s home in Russów

The Maria Dąbrowska Manor in Russów near Kalisz belongs to the literary branch of the District Museum of the Kalisz Region. Maria Dąbrowska was born here in 1889 and spent her childhood and youth. Her father, Józef Szumski, was the estate administrator; the house never belonged to the family. Address: Russów 49, Żelazków commune, 10 km from Kalisz.

The writer’s life and the exhibition

The museum reconstructs the former home’s room layout: the writer’s room, bedroom, drawing room, manor kitchen and her father’s room. The exhibition also presents photographs, memorabilia, publications and objects connected with Dąbrowska’s life, plus a separate display about the screen adaptation of “Nights and Days”. The visit offers a tangible look at the Kalisz-region realities that the writer recalled in her work, memoirs and diary.

Park, open-air museum and practical information

The manor is surrounded by a park of about 4 hectares. Its ethnographic display includes six relocated examples of local wooden folk architecture, including a late-19th-century peasant homestead and a granary from Russów dating from the second half of the 18th century. From 1 May to 31 October, the museum opens Tue–Fri 10:00–15:30 and Sat–Sun 10:00–17:00; from 1 November to 30 April, weekends also run 10:00–15:30. It is closed on Mondays; Tuesdays are free, and last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Tickets cost PLN 20 regular, PLN 12 reduced, PLN 10 group and PLN 40 family; a guide costs PLN 50. English guided visits must be ordered at least 3 days in advance.