Stary Młyn – Museum of Old Crafts in Żarki

In a historic electric mill, almost 100 years old, at 5 Ofiar Katynia Street in Żarki operates the Museum of Old Crafts. The institution was created by the commune of Żarki and officially opened on 2 August 2015. The name may suggest museum solemnity, yet the exhibition is modern, multimedia and interactive, and since 2017 the mill has belonged to the Trail of Technical Monuments.

Five crafts of Żarki

A visit is a journey into the past through the history of five crafts long present in Żarki: milling, baking, shoemaking, coopering and wheelwrighting. You can touch the exhibits, look everywhere and carry out small tasks yourself, and workshops are a permanent part of the programme. Adults will find reliable information about professions that have gone down in history, while children get riddles and multimedia tasks. The exhibition is complemented by the story of the town itself and the people who built it.

Visiting

With a guide the route takes about an hour. The entire building is accessible to visitors with disabilities and there is a free car park by the mill. Tickets cost PLN 22 (regular), PLN 19 (reduced) and PLN 55 (family), and children under 3 enter free. Opening hours change during the year: from May to September the museum is open on weekdays from 8:00 to 16:00 and at weekends from 10:00 to 18:00, so in winter check the schedule before your visit.

The mill in Żarki is a good stop while exploring the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland; nearby await the castles of Bobolice and Mirów and the Parkowe reserve in Złoty Potok.