Bishops' Palace in Nysa

The prince-bishops of Wrocław ruled not only a diocese from Nysa but an entire duchy – and they wanted to live like cardinals in Rome. The result is the three-storey, four-winged Bishops' Palace at ul. Biskupa Jarosława 11, counted among the finest works of Silesian Baroque. Since 1984 it has housed the Nysa District Museum, the oldest museum in Opole Silesia.

History: a century in the making

Bishop Charles of Habsburg probably began a residence independent of the old bishops' castle in 1620, but his death in 1624 and the Thirty Years' War halted work for decades. The first phase was completed around 1680, and the quadrangle was only closed in 1722–1729, funded by Bishop Franz Ludwig of Neuburg and designed by the Jesuit architect Christoph Tausch. The building is often compared with the Lateran Palace in Rome, which explains its monumental Italian look.

The bishops did not enjoy it for long. After Prussia took Nysa in 1742, the army moved in, and in 1769 King Frederick the Great met Emperor Joseph II here. In 1807 Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, stayed in the palace. After secularisation in 1810 it served the courts, and in March 1945 it burned down. Rebuilding for the museum began in 1962, and the formal opening took place on 1 October 1986.

What to see

• The street façade – two identical portals with stucco foliage and balconies on columns; only the northern one is a real entrance, the southern one is filled in with a window.
• Three painted sundials from 1708–1710 on the courtyard walls.
• The fireplaces – the stucco decoration of three marble fireplaces is almost all that survives of the original interiors.
• The permanent exhibition in more than 30 rooms: from prehistory and medieval Nysa to painting, decorative arts and militaria.

Good to know

The most striking room deals with the witch trials. In the 17th century the Duchy of Nysa was among the areas of Central Europe hit hardest by witch hunts, with waves of persecution in 1622, 1639–1642 and 1651–1652. Surviving records document 27 executions, but there were many more victims. Next to the palace stands the former bishops' court, linked to it by a covered bridge over the street.

Tripto tip

Allow 1.5–2 hours for the museum, as the museum itself recommends. A standard ticket costs PLN 20, a concession PLN 15, and admission is free on Wednesdays. In season (April–September) it opens Tue, Thu and Fri 9:00–15:45, Wednesdays 9:00–17:30 and at weekends 10:00–15:00. From October to March it opens on Sundays only for groups booked in advance, and it will be closed on 19–21 October 2026. There is a lift. The façade looks best from narrow ul. Biskupa Jarosława, which creates a dramatic foreshortened view.