Museum of Bread, School and Curiosities in Radzionków

The collection includes so-called bread money – currency that, in times of crisis, could only be used to buy bread. It is one of hundreds of curiosities gathered by a single enthusiast. The Bread Museum in Radzionków (today the Museum of Bread, School and Curiosities) opened in 2000 as Poland's first museum devoted to the history of bread. This is not a museum of glass cases: you can touch the exhibits, shape and bake a bread roll yourself, and then sit at a school desk from a hundred years ago.

How the museum began

The museum was founded by Piotr Mankiewicz, who spent years buying old bakers' and confectioners' tools at flea markets. When the collection outgrew his home, he decided to open it to the public. The museum was originally meant to be housed in a historic tenement built by a baker in Bytom, but in the end it opened on 26 April 2000 in the Rojca district of Radzionków, at ul. Zofii Nałkowskiej 5. Its mission is to teach respect for bread and to bring generations together – it welcomes around 40,000 visitors a year, from nursery children to pensioners.

What you will see

The collection numbers well over ten thousand items from the 16th to the 21st century: baking machines and equipment, traditional furnishings, everyday objects, regional costumes, postcards, photographs, prints and documents. The museum has four permanent exhibitions:

• "From Grain to Loaf" – the journey from grain to bread and old baking machines,
• "In the Old School" – a classroom from the early 20th century with desks, slates, styluses and primers, opened in 2005,
• "Rozbark (Bytom) costumes" – traditional dress from the Bytom area,
• "Unusual Objects of Everyday Use".

A separate room, the "Bacówka", is a shepherd's hut-style hall in the Zakopane style, built by real Polish highlanders (Górale). It is a pleasant place to relax after the tour.

Did you know?

• The visit includes a screening of the film "Bread", a talk on bread traditions, shaping and baking your own rolls and a lesson in the old classroom.
• Since 2006 the museum has been part of the Industrial Monuments Route of the Silesian Voivodeship, which belongs to the European Route of Industrial Heritage, and since 2010 it has taken part in the Industriada festival.
• At Easter the museum organises the traditional blessing of food baskets, with participants in Rozbark costumes.

Tripto tip

The visit takes 1–2 hours and is guided, with the guide included in the ticket price. Groups must book in advance, and individual visitors would also do well to phone ahead and arrange a time. Check current opening hours and prices on the museum's website. There is free parking at the museum, and films can be shown in English, German and Russian. It makes a good family outing in the Upper Silesian metropolitan area and is easy to combine with a visit to Bytom or Tarnowskie Góry.