Lubusz Land Museum in Zielona Góra

In the cellars of the Lubusz Land Museum you will find a witch-trial scene and an iron maiden, and a few rooms further on, a collection of winemaking tools from a town that has lived off its vineyards for centuries. This is Zielona Góra's main museum, open since 1922, with more than 17,000 objects – from medieval Silesian church sculpture to 20th-century Polish painting in the Golden Grape collection. On Sundays admission to the permanent exhibitions is free.

History: from Heimatmuseum to regional museum

The collection began in 1908, when local resident Albert Severin donated objects from Zielona Góra's craft guilds. The museum itself was founded in 1922 by a German society for regional heritage as a Heimatmuseum (local history museum), and was run until 1945 by Dr Martin Klose. After the war it became the Municipal Museum, reopening to the public in June 1946. In 1959 it moved into the former district administration building on Niepodległości Avenue, where it still is today. A wine department was set up in the 1960s and the wine exhibition became the museum's showpiece; it has had its current name since 1967. In 2019–2020 a new wing was added, expanding the exhibition space by more than 800 m².

What to see

• The Wine Museum – the wine department holds more than 1,500 objects: tools and vessels for winemaking, stoneware, pewter, glass and wine-themed bookplates.
• The Museum of Old Torture in the cellars – a reconstructed witch trial, an executioner's workshop and historic judicial instruments.
• Early art – more than 2,200 objects, including Lower Silesian church sculpture from the 14th century onwards, such as figures of the Virgin and Child and St Barbara by the Master of the Gościszowice Altar from the early 16th century.
• The Golden Grape Gallery – a collection of 20th-century Polish art, including "The Branded" by Marek Oberländer, who organised the famous 1955 Warsaw exhibition that rebelled against Socialist Realism.
• The Tadeusz Kuntze Gallery, the Clock Room and exhibitions on the history of Zielona Góra.

Interesting facts

Contemporary art makes up the largest part of the collection, with more than 6,000 works. Between 1978 and 1985 the ethnographic, archaeological and historical departments were spun off as independent museums in Ochla, Świdnica and Drzonów, so the old Zielona Góra collections can now be seen in several places around the region.

Tripto tip

The museum is at al. Niepodległości 15. According to its website, it is open Tuesday to Sunday 11:00–17:00 and closed on Mondays and certain public holidays; last entry is between 15:45 and 16:00. A standard ticket costs PLN 25, concessions PLN 20 (audio guide included), and on Sundays the permanent exhibitions are free. Free audio guides are available in Polish, English and German – just ask at the ticket desk. The museum suggests allowing 1–3 hours. With children, start in the cellars with the torture and wine museums, then stroll to the pedestrian street and St Hedwig's Co-Cathedral.