Museums

Lusatian Open-Air Museum in Buczyny

In Buczyny, a small village of the Trzebiel commune on the old salt route between Żary and Łęknica, operates a centre preserving the memory of the Lusatians, a Slavic people inhabiting Upper and Lower Lusatia. The Lusatian Open-Air Museum consists of several wooden buildings about 250 years old, brought here from Eastern Lusatia and the borderland and combined into a working museum village.

The cottages of the Lusatians

The cottages recreate the homes of the old Lusatians, who lived mainly from farming, pottery and weaving. Inside you will see a bread oven, old farming tools and the equipment of a weaving workshop, and on the walls original costumes of the inhabitants. Lessons in Lusatian history take place in one of the cottages; nearby is a corner devoted to Czadek highlanders and a room dedicated to Prof. Matyniak, scholar and defender of the Lusatian Serbs.

Farm and inn

The place is cared for by the Solarz family, who alongside their museum mission run an inn with accommodation here; in summer they serve produce from their own farm and bread baked on the spot. Children are drawn by the farm animals: Hucul horses, Vietnamese pigs, goats and rabbits. As a result the museum works rather like a living village than a closed exhibition.

In practice

The centre welcomes visitors every day from 10:00 to 18:00; before your visit it is worth calling to ask about museum lessons and availability of accommodation. Buczyny lie conveniently on the way to the Muskau Bend Geopark with its Colourful Lakes, and about 7 kilometres further waits the Muskau Park, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.