Open-Air Museum in Wygiełzów

At the foot of the hill with the ruins of Lipowiec Castle stands a village that nobody built in one place. Cottages, granaries, a smithy, a mill and a wooden church were brought here from villages and small towns of western Lesser Poland to show how the Western Krakowiacy – an ethnographic group from around Kraków – used to live. This is the Western Krakowiacy Ethnographic Park in Wygiełzów. It makes a good destination for a quiet afternoon, children included.

History

The decision to create the museum was made in 1968 on the initiative of Kraków ethnographers and art historians, including Hanna Pieńkowska, Marian Kornecki and Professor Tadeusz Chrzanowski. For years it was called the Vistula Ethnographic Park; since 2023 it has been the Western Krakowiacy Ethnographic Park, part of the Museum of Western Lesser Poland, which also runs Lipowiec Castle and the Fire Museum in Alwernia. It is entered in the national register of museums.

What to see

• The church from Ryczów, early 17th century – log-built in a Gothic layout, with original furnishings and 1930s wall paintings. A chamber and organ music festival is held here in late August and early September.
• The manor house from Droginia, 1730 – the largest building, with rooms of a wealthy noble family: a salon, the lady's room, a bedroom and the master's study.
• The cottage of village head Mikołaj Marchewka from Przegnia Duchowna (1862) with original furnishings.
• The enclosed farmstead from Staniątki (1855) – four ranges around a closed yard, with an exhibition on a Kraków-style wedding.
• The house from Chrzanów (1804) with a potter's workshop and the house from Alwernia (1825) – examples of small-town building.
• Octagonal barns, the smithy from Liszki, the oil mill from Dąbrowa Szlachecka and the watermill from Sadki.
• The alarm bell tower from Nowa Góra (1778) and hollow-log beehives.

In 2012 the park had 25 buildings, and many cottages host exhibitions: from an old-time school to candle-making and basket-weaving workshops.

Interesting facts

The oldest building is the church from Ryczów – more than a century older than the Droginia manor. In the barns you can try flails, a quern and a winnowing machine yourself. There is also an amphitheatre for about 500 spectators, used for open-air events.

Tripto tip

The park is open daily: in summer (1 March–31 August) 9:00–18:00, in autumn (September–October) 9:00–17:00 and in winter 9:00–15:00; last entry half an hour before closing. Note: the Droginia manor is temporarily closed for renovation, and Lipowiec Castle has been closed since 1 October 2026, with reopening planned for 2028 – you can only see the ruins from below. Allow 1.5–2 hours. The museum also has a mobile app, "Park w Wygiełzowie".