Museum of Cieszyn Silesia

The Museum of Cieszyn Silesia is the oldest public museum in Poland and one of the oldest in Central Europe – it was founded in 1802 by the priest Leopold Jan Szersznik, who opened his collections to visitors. Since 1931 it has occupied the Neoclassical Larisch Palace on ul. Regera, where Tsar Alexander I was entertained in 1805. Here Gothic sculpture, ballrooms and the history of a borderland meet under one roof.

History: a palace born of a great fire

The town palace of the Counts Larisch was built after the great fire of Cieszyn in 1789. Count Jan Józef Antoni Larisch von Mönnich combined several plots and in 1790–1796 erected a grand residence. In 1805 Emperor Francis I hosted his allies in Cieszyn – Tsar Alexander I, Grand Duke Constantine and Marshal Kutuzov – and concerts and balls were held in the palace's Egyptian Hall.

In 1831 the palace was bought by Count Philipp Ludwig Saint Genois d'Anneaucourt, who in 1839 funded a third wing designed by the Viennese architect Joseph Kornhäusel – with a circular stable and a ballroom above it known as the Roman Hall. From 1840 the building belonged to the family of lawyer Antoni Demel, hence the name "Demel House". The town bought it in 1918, and on 21 June 1931 the Town Museum moved in. Today's museum combines the Szersznik collections, those of the ethnographic Silesian Museum of 1903, the town museum and private collections.

What to see

• "At the Crossroads of History and Cultures" – the permanent exhibition on the second floor, covering more than 1,000 m² and telling the story of Cieszyn Silesia.
• "Gothic and Renaissance Art" – painting and sculpture from the 14th to the mid-17th century.
• The palace interiors – the Egyptian Hall with six landscapes featuring ancient Egyptian architecture framed by painted columns, the Chinese Cabinet with dragons and a bird of paradise, and the Roman Hall.
• The collections – the photography department alone holds about 20,000 items, history almost 14,000 and art more than 9,000; the museum library has over 24,000 books and 21 incunabula.

Did you know

The circular stable in Kornhäusel's wing now houses a café. In 1942 a fire in the Roman Hall destroyed the entire roof and damaged the second-floor interiors. The museum also runs three branches: the Andrzej Podżorski Beskid Museum in Wisła, the Zofia Kossak-Szatkowska Museum in Górki Wielkie and the Gustaw Morcinek Museum in Skoczów.

Tripto tips

• Visiting: the permanent exhibition can only be seen on a guided tour, starting on the hour – Tuesday to Saturday usually from 10:00 (Wednesday from 12:00), on Sundays at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00; closed on Mondays (as of October 2026).
• Tickets: permanent exhibition – PLN 30 standard, PLN 20 reduced, PLN 60 family; Temporary Exhibitions Gallery – PLN 10 and PLN 5.
• Entrance: the museum, gallery and café are entered from the Peace Park (Park Pokoju) side.
• Time needed: allow about 1.5 hours, and add a stroll around old Cieszyn – the museum is a short way from the market square.