Museum of Kraków

The Museum of Kraków is not a single building but a network of sites across the city: from the Barbican and the Town Hall Tower, through the underground of the Market Square, to Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory and the shelters of Nowa Huta. The museum's website currently lists 20 branches and locations. The institution has existed since 1899, and since 1946 it has organised the famous Kraków nativity scene (szopka) competition — if you want to understand this city, it is hard to find a better guide.

History: from archive to a palace on the Market Square

The museum was founded in 1899 as a branch of the Kraków Archive of Old Records. It moved several times — from the archive building on Sienna Street, through the House under the Cross and the Krauze House — until in 1964 it settled in Krzysztofory Palace at Rynek Główny 35. For its first decades it did not display its collections, and the first permanent exhibition opened only in 1952. The short name "Museum of Kraków" has been used since 2019, and a year later the museum received the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

Krzysztofory: Kraków from the beginning, without end

After the palace's renovation in 2016–2021, the permanent exhibition "Kraków from the Beginning, Without End" opened here on 18 December 2021. It tells the story of the city from the first traces of settlement to the present day and works as an introduction to the other branches. The collections include old city plans, weapons, clocks, guild memorabilia and portraits, as well as Kraków szopkas — a tradition the museum has nurtured from the start, along with the Lajkonik and the Fowler Brotherhood.

Branches worth knowing

• Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory — the exhibition "Kraków under Nazi Occupation 1939–1945".
• Rynek Underground — a route beneath the Main Market Square, tracing the medieval city.
• Eagle Pharmacy — Tadeusz Pankiewicz's pharmacy in the Kraków Ghetto.
• Pomorska Street — the former Gestapo headquarters, with the exhibition "Cracovians in the Face of Terror 1939–1945–1956".
• The Old Synagogue in Kazimierz, the Barbican and City Walls, the Town Hall Tower, and Hipolit House with its burgher interiors.
• The Nowa Huta Museum and Underground Nowa Huta — shelters beneath the Szkolne estate.
• The Podgórze Museum, Rydlówka in Bronowice and Kossakówka, home of the Kossak family of painters.

Did you know?

The museum has organised the Kraków szopka competition since 1946, and its collections include a large group of szopkas. In 2018 the Kraków szopka tradition was added to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The museum also stages the annual Lajkonik procession, one of the city's best-known customs.

Tripto tips

In one day you can sensibly see two, at most three branches — leave the rest for another trip. Allow at least an hour and a half for Krzysztofory, and book tickets for Schindler's Factory and Rynek Underground in advance, as they can sell out in high season. Opening hours and prices vary between branches, and the museum also publishes free-entry days, so check muzeumkrakowa.pl before you go. A good plan is to combine Krzysztofory with Rynek Underground and the Town Hall Tower, as all three are on the Main Market Square.