Museum of Bells and Pipes in Przemyśl

The Baroque tower on Władycze Street was meant to be the bell tower of a cathedral that was never built — today its bells hang there as exhibits. The Museum of Bells and Pipes in Przemyśl is the only museum in Poland combining bell-founding and pipe-making, two crafts linked with the town for generations. On the way to the top of the 38-metre Clock Tower you pass hundreds of pipes and historic bells, and at the top two viewing terraces look out over the old town.

A tower without a cathedral

The tower was built in 1775–1777, funded by the Greek Catholic bishop Atanazy Szeptycki, as the belfry of a new cathedral. The old church was pulled down and the late Baroque belfry completed, but after Empress Maria Theresa died the promised funds vanished and the cathedral was never finished. The tower passed to the town and until 1907 served the fire brigade as a lookout. Later it housed, among other things, a sugar store, a shoe shop, the pre-war "Bar pod Wieżą" and, after 1945, a lending library and a local radio station.

A museum since 2001

In 1983 the tower was taken over by the National Museum of the Przemyśl Land, and after years of renovation a branch devoted to bells and pipes opened here in September 2001. The museum was created on the initiative of Przemyśl's own pipe-makers and bell-founders. The eight-storey tower has two viewing terraces, and its interior has been arranged so that the old bell-hanging structures form part of the display. The tower has been on the heritage register since 1983.

What to see

• The bell shaft — from the second floor upwards, a space spanning four storeys holds large bells hung on a steel frame. The first of these levels shows the bell-casting process, unchanged since the Middle Ages.
• Bells from Gdańsk and Toruń from the 17th and 18th centuries, including works by Gerhard Benningk from 1625 and the Wittwerck family, plus two bells bearing Przemyśl's coat of arms — from 1740 and 1878.
• Pipes from historic collections — clay pipes, "Selmecbánya" pipes, coffee-house pipes from Kolín, porcelain pipes with painted scenes and, most numerous, artistic meerschaum pipes from the 19th century.
• "The history of the Przemyśl pipe" — an exhibition on local pipe-making, from Wincenty Swoboda's workshop to his pupils, including the Walat brothers, and contemporary makers.
• Viewing terraces at the top, with a panorama of the old town and the San valley.

Pipes and bells from Przemyśl

Pipes have been made in Przemyśl since at least the second half of the 19th century, and continuity was secured by Wincenty Swoboda (1876–1941), who came from across the southern border and ran his workshop for 32 years. The finest Przemyśl pipe-makers trace their craft back to him. The Felczyński family bell foundry also moved here from Kalush, which is why bells and pipes became two of Przemyśl's specialities.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• 1 September to 30 June: Tuesday–Saturday 9:00–16:00, Sunday 11:00–15:00, closed on Mondays.
• July and August: Tuesday–Saturday 9:00–17:00, Sunday 11:00–15:00.
• Last entry 45 minutes before closing; free admission on Tuesdays.
• Standard ticket PLN 22, reduced PLN 11; ticket for three MNZP sites PLN 40 / PLN 20.

Tripto tips

Allow 45–60 minutes for the visit including the terrace. Because of the historic tower's layout, the museum is not accessible to wheelchair users, and the terraces are reached by stairs through successive floors. The tower is a few minutes' walk from the Market Square, so it combines easily with the Museum of the History of the Town, the National Museum of the Przemyśl Land and a walk to Casimir's Castle.