Tarnowskie Góry Museum

In August 1683, on his way to relieve Vienna, King Jan III Sobieski stopped in Tarnowskie Góry and said goodbye to Queen Marie Casimire here. Memorabilia of that episode, a painted 17th-century ceiling and a collection of old European paintings now await on the first floor of the Sedlaczek House at Rynek 1, one of the oldest houses in town. The museum has been open since 1958 and is the only municipal museum in Tarnowskie Góry County, with nearly 10,000 objects.

History: a town house, a wine bar and a museum

The house on the corner of the market square and Gliwicka Street probably dates from the 16th century. Its oldest known owner was the mayor Christoph Kraker, recorded in 1670, and its best known the merchant Johann Sedlaczek, who in 1805 moved his wine business, founded in 1786, here. The wine bar still occupies the ground floor, while the museum fills the first floor and attic. Tradition has it that guests here included Empress Eleonora Gonzaga, Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III.

The idea of a town museum dates back to the 19th century, but successive collections were lost in unexplained circumstances and during the war. It was the Society of Friends of the Tarnowskie Góry Region that renovated the Sedlaczek House, and the first exhibition opened in 1958. In December 2025 the museum opened a branch, the Railway Station of Culture (Dworzec Kultury), on the upper floor of the historic railway station.

What to see

• The Renaissance Hall – the largest room has a painted wooden ceiling from the first half of the 17th century, discovered during renovation in 1956, plus a 16th-century Italian chest.
• The gallery of Western European painting from the collection of Monsignor Michał Lewek – 24 works from the 16th to the 20th century, including a "Baptism of Christ" from the circle of Francesco Albani, brought to Poland in 1808 by the grandmother of poet Zygmunt Krasiński, and a rare Limoges enamel.
• "Vivat Jan III Sobieski" – portraits of the king, medals struck after the victory at Vienna, period weapons and an 1840 painting by Zygmunt Grimer, painted in Tarnowskie Góry.
• "From the History of Tarnowskie Góry" – mining tools, a nearly 100-year-old steam engine model from the mining school and a portrait of Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck by Franz von Lenbach.

Did you know?

Sobieski stayed in the town, then part of the Bohemian Crown, from 20 to 22 August 1683. Here he took leave of the queen and his younger children, and rode on to Vienna with his eldest son Jakub. The collection also includes Masonic memorabilia, among them items from the local "Silberfels" lodge founded in 1816.

Tripto tips

The museum is closed on Mondays; it opens on Tuesdays 10:00–16:00, Saturdays 10:00–15:00 and Sundays 12:00–17:00 – check the other days and ticket prices at muzeumtg.pl. Allow about an hour for the exhibitions. On selected Sundays (except July and August) concerts are held under the Renaissance ceiling. Afterwards, consider a trip to the Historic Silver Mine.