Pałuki Land Museum in Żnin

The Pałuki Land Museum (Muzeum Ziemi Pałuckiej) in Żnin is the main museum of Pałuki, a small historic region between Greater Poland and Kuyavia in central Poland. Its headquarters occupy the red-brick former town hall of 1906 on Żnin's main square. It is a compact, inexpensive stop that explains the local folk culture, a surprising chapter in Polish publishing history and the town's passion for powerboat racing. It also runs the narrow-gauge railway and the railway museum in nearby Wenecja.

Important: temporarily closed

According to a museum notice from September 2026, the main building (the "Magistrat") is closed for renovation until the end of October 2026. If you plan to visit in November or later, call ahead to confirm the exhibitions have reopened.

What you will see

• Pałuki folk culture – embroidered costumes, wood and clay sculpture, paintings and a reconstructed cottage interior. Look for the clay figurines of Klara Prillowa (1907–1991), who spent her life recording local traditions.
• History of printing – in the 1930s Żnin was home to the publishing house of Anna and Alfred Krzycki, which launched "Moja Przyjaciółka" (My Friend), Poland's first women's magazine. Before World War II it sold several hundred thousand copies.
• Powerboat Racing Museum – engines (the oldest from the interwar period), propellers, medals and posters. Żnin has hosted world and European championships on its lakes.
• Tadeusz Małachowski Gallery – temporary exhibitions, mostly by regional and contemporary artists.

A bit of history

The town hall was built in 1906, when Żnin belonged to Prussia; the museum notes that the building was never fully completed. It has housed the museum's offices and permanent exhibitions since the mid-1990s. The museum itself dates from 1961 and started life in the Gothic town hall tower across the square.

Tickets and opening hours (as of October 2026)

• Address: Plac Wolności 1, 88-400 Żnin. Phone +48 52 302 02 93.
• Regular hours: Tuesday–Friday 8:00–16:00 (last tickets 15:30) and Saturday–Sunday 10:00–15:00 (last tickets 14:30). Closed for renovation until the end of October 2026.
• Admission: 12 PLN adult, 10 PLN reduced; a single exhibition 5 PLN. Children under 4 enter free. Guided tours are offered in Polish (60 PLN per group); expect Polish-language labels.
• Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours.

How to get to Żnin

Żnin is about 44 km (40 minutes by car) from Bydgoszcz and around 90 km (1 hour 15 minutes) from Poznań; from Warsaw allow roughly 3.5 to 4 hours. The town has no working mainline train station, so come by car or regional bus. The narrow-gauge railway station on Potockiego Street is less than 1 km from the museum.

Is it worth visiting?

If you are already in the area for Biskupin or the narrow-gauge railway, yes: it adds local context in about an hour for a modest fee. Combine it with the Gothic tower on the same square, St. Florian's Church nearby and, in summer, a train ride to Wenecja and Biskupin.