Paczosówka Villa in Maków Podhalański

A single-storey villa with pale rusticated corners, a row of round-arched windows and a porch at the entrance looks more like an estate manager's house than a museum. Yet this is where Maków Podhalański keeps its memory, at 24 ul. 3 Maja: the town library and the Regional Chamber with a collection of the white embroidery the town is known for.

The building

The villa was built in 1892–1896. In 1995 it was entered in the heritage register together with the surrounding trees – hence the park-like setting with a lawn, benches and old trees. Today it houses the Municipal Public Library and the Emil Wacyk Regional Chamber of the Friends of the Maków Land Society, set up on the initiative of Emil Wacyk and Kazimierz Stopa.

What to see

• The Regional Chamber's collections – mementoes of the town and the surrounding district, material on the Second World War and local folk art.
• Maków embroidery – a flat embroidery in white thread on white linen, with cut-work holes and plant motifs. The display includes tablecloths and napkins as well as work by embroiderers who kept the tradition alive, among them Anna Koziana of Makowska Góra.
• The memorial plaque on the façade, unveiled in 2005 on the 70th anniversary of the death of Józef Piłsudski, an honorary citizen of Maków Podhalański.
• The villa itself – a symmetrical façade with a porch, cornices and decorative window surrounds.

Tripto tip

The villa is a few minutes' walk from the market square, on the town's main street. The Regional Chamber is in the library building, so check opening times with the library before you go; the exhibition takes 30–45 minutes. Afterwards walk back to the square, where a bronze embroiderer sits by the Coat-of-Arms Fountain – a monument to the very tradition you have just seen.