National Museum in Kraków – Main Building

The National Museum in Kraków – Main Building (Polish: Gmach Główny, roughly "gmakh GWOV-ny") is the largest exhibition venue of Poland's oldest national museum, standing on 3 Maja Avenue just west of Kraków's Old Town, opposite the vast Błonia meadow. It is where you go for 20th- and 21st-century Polish art, a superb decorative arts collection, and a new European art gallery opened in December 2025. If you are looking for things to do in Kraków on a rainy day, it is one of the strongest options in the city.

Main Building vs. the National Museum: what's where

The National Museum in Kraków (MNK) was founded in 1879 and today runs a network of branches across the city, so it helps to know which building holds what before you go:

• Main Building (this page): modern and contemporary Polish art, decorative arts, European art, and large temporary shows.
• Czartoryski Museum (Pijarska Street, Old Town): home of Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine.
• Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) on the Main Market Square: 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture.
• Erazm Ciołek Palace (Kanonicza Street): art of old Poland from the 12th to the 18th century.

Many visitors arrive at the Main Building expecting Leonardo, so double-check your plan – the painting is a 15-minute walk away.

A building that took half a century

Plans for a new museum home date back to 1921, but the economic crisis delayed them. The final design, by Czesław Boratyński, Edward Kreisler and Bolesław Szmidt, was praised at an international museum conference in Madrid in 1934, and construction started in 1937. World War II halted the work, and during the German occupation the unfinished shell was used as a casino. Building resumed after the war; the first part opened in 1957, and the museum gives the full construction period as 1934–1989. The austere stone façade with its tall pillars is a landmark of Polish modernist architecture.

What to see

• XX + XXI. Gallery of Polish Art – more than 3,000 m² tracing Polish art from the Young Poland movement around 1900 to recent decades, expanded with 21st-century works in 2021. For most international visitors this is the highlight, as Polish modern art is rarely shown abroad.
• Gallery of Decorative Arts – thousands of objects from the early Middle Ages to Art Nouveau: goldsmiths' work, textiles, glass, ceramics and furniture, including medieval treasures such as the Włocławek Chalice.
• Gallery of European Art – opened in December 2025, this permanent display covers European painting and sculpture from the 13th to the 20th century, arranged in reverse chronological order so you walk back in time. Names include Lorenzo Lotto, Lavinia Fontana, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Antonio Canova and Gustav Vigeland.

Temporary exhibitions change regularly and may need a separate ticket – check the museum's program online.

Is it worth visiting? Planning your time

Yes, if you have an interest in art beyond the medieval Old Town. Allow 2–3 hours for the permanent galleries, or half a day if you add a temporary show. The museum publishes access information for each branch, including audio descriptions and descriptions of entrances, cloakrooms, restrooms and elevators; assistance dogs are welcome. Using the cloakroom is compulsory and free – coats, backpacks and large bags must be left there, and suitcases are not accepted. Photography without flash is allowed.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• Address: al. 3 Maja 1, 30-062 Kraków.
• Opening hours: Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00; closed Mondays. Last admission 30 minutes before closing. The museum lists no separate winter schedule, but holiday closures (for example around Christmas and New Year) are announced in the News section of mnk.pl.
• Permanent exhibitions: standard 45 PLN, reduced 35 PLN, family 90 PLN, school pupils and students 1 PLN. Prices are in Polish złoty (PLN).
• Free Tuesdays: the permanent exhibitions of all MNK branches are free every Tuesday; collect a free ticket at the box office.
• Online tickets: available through the museum's ticketing site (bilety.mnk.pl).

How to get there

The Main Building is about a 15-minute walk west of the Main Market Square, via the Planty park ring and Piłsudskiego Street. Kraków's John Paul II International Airport (Balice) is west of the city, with a train link to the main station; from there, a tram or taxi will bring you close to the museum. Central Kraków is a paid parking zone, so public transport or walking is the easier choice. The Błonia meadow right across the road makes a pleasant post-museum stroll.

Nearby

• Błonia – a huge open meadow, a favorite local walking spot.
• Czartoryski Museum and Cloth Hall – combine them with the Main Building on a free Tuesday.
• Planty – the green ring around the Old Town, your walking route back to the center.