Ethnographic Museum in Toruń (Ethnographic Park)

The Ethnographic Museum in Toruń (Muzeum Etnograficzne, named after Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa) is an open-air museum right in the city center: a park of thatched wooden cottages, a post windmill, a watermill and a smithy, just outside the Old Town walls. Next door, a former fortress arsenal holds an exhibition on everyday village life. It's one of the most relaxed things to do in Toruń, a few minutes' walk from the Gothic Market Square, and especially good with kids.

Where it is and how it started

Toruń is a medieval Hanseatic city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland, about 130 miles (210 km) northwest of Warsaw. Its Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Copernicus. The museum grew out of an ethnographic department set up at the city museum in 1946 under ethnographer Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa, and became an independent institution on January 1, 1959. It moved into the renovated artillery arsenal of the 19th-century Toruń Fortress. Today the collection counts around 68,000 objects, and the museum runs two more open-air sites outside the center.

What to see in the Ethnographic Park

The open-air park covers just under 5 acres (2 ha) and shows rural buildings from the 18th to the early 20th century, moved here from regions such as Kuyavia, Kashubia, Kociewie and the Tuchola Forest. Rather than a recreated village, you walk between complete farmsteads and standalone buildings:

• A Kuyavian farmstead with a cottage from Rakutowo and a barn from Kowal dated 1806
• A Tuchola Forest farmstead with an early-18th-century barn and a reconstructed tar kiln
• A Kashubian farmstead with a cottage from Męcikał
• A post windmill (koźlak) from Wójtówka, built in 1896
• A watermill from Strzygi and a village smithy from Jastrzębie
• An early-20th-century volunteer fire station

Inside the arsenal, the permanent exhibition "Tajemnice codzienności" ("Secrets of Everyday Life") covers traditional rural life. Free audio guides can be borrowed at the museum shop.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, especially from May to September, when the cottage gardens are in bloom, or if you want a break from churches and brick Gothic. Plan 1.5–2 hours. In winter the day is short: last entry to the open-air park is one hour before closing, so arrive by about 3 p.m. English-language guided tours can be booked.

Opening hours and tickets

As of October 2026:

• October–April: closed Mondays; Tuesday–Friday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturday–Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
• May, June, September: Tue and Thu 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Wed 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Fri–Sun 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; July–August: Tue and Thu–Sun 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Wed 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing.
• Ethnographic Park: 20 PLN standard, 14 PLN reduced, 40 PLN family.
• Combined ticket (park, "Secrets of Everyday Life" and the Salonik room): 28 PLN standard, 20 PLN reduced, 53 PLN family.
• Free on Wednesdays for permanent exhibitions; children under 7 free.
• Guide in English (up to 25 people): 80 PLN for the park or exhibition, 110 PLN for both.

Address: Wały gen. Sikorskiego 19; phone +48 56 622 80 91.

How to get there

The museum sits along Wały gen. Sikorskiego on the northern edge of the Old Town, a short walk from the Market Square. Trains from Warsaw take roughly 2.5–3 hours; Toruń Miasto station is closer to the center than Toruń Główny across the river. The nearest airport is Bydgoszcz, about 25–30 miles (40–50 km) away. Drivers should use Park & Ride (ul. Olimpijska 42 or ul. Dziewulskiego 38) because the center has a paid parking zone.

Nearby

• Toruń Fortress Museum, about 650 feet (200 m) along the same street
• New Town Market Square and St. James' Church
• Old Town Hall and the House Under the Star
• The Mennonite (Olęder) open-air museum in Wielka Nieszawka, across the river