Walentyna Dermacka Regional Museum in Piecki

The former home of a collector in Piecki holds Poland's richest privately assembled collection of clay figures by Władysława Prucnal of Medynia Głogowska. Many of the scenes were designed by the founder herself, Walentyna Dermacka née Sapieha, who also wrote poems to go with the exhibits. It is an intimate folk-art museum in Masuria, with the personal feel of a collection built up over decades.

History: from Navahrudak to Piecki

Walentyna Sapieha was born on 7 August 1922 in Nowogródek (Navahrudak). The war cut short her studies at an agricultural school in Minsk; she and her sister ended up as forced labourers in East Prussia, and after 1945 she worked, among other things, as an interpreter. From 1958 she and her husband Aleksander ran a farm in Piecki on Lake Wągiel. She collected the tools and equipment of native Masurians being resettled by the authorities, everyday objects, paper cut-outs, embroidery, paintings and ceramics, and built up a collection of works by leading folk sculptors by correspondence.

She opened a memorial room in her own home, which gradually became a private museum. She also kept a village chronicle, promoted the work of the writer Ernst Wiechert and initiated a memorial room for him in Piersławek, and her design became the basis of the Piecki municipal coat of arms. She died in 1999. Her daughter Maria took over the collection, and in 2012 the municipality acquired it and founded the Walentyna Dermacka née Sapieha Regional Museum.

What to see

• Władysława Prucnal's ceramics – historical and literary figures, a gallery of Polish Nobel laureates and national heroes, saints and scenes of old village life.
• Wood carving and folk painting by other artists.
• Old furniture and vessels that show everyday life in historic Masuria.

Tripto tips

The museum is at ul. Zwycięstwa 48, by the last bus stop in Piecki towards Mrągowo, and is looked after by the "Pegaz" Municipal Cultural Centre. Groups who book ahead can join clay-modelling workshops, activities and campfire evenings, and since 2019 a Ceramics Festival has been held in the garden every July. Opening hours were not given in the sources we checked, so call 517 559 434 before you go. Allow 45–60 minutes for the visit.