National Museum Krakow

The National Museum in Krakow was founded on October 7, 1879. The collection of the museum grew and multiplied thanks to the gifts and generous donations of the citizens themselves. In 1934, the construction of a new museum building began, however, due to the Second World War, the first premises were commissioned only in 1970 and only 20 years later, the building was opened to visitors completely.

The Krakow National Museum was originally housed on the main market square, among the upper floors of the cloth rows, in Krakow's Old Town. The collection of the museum was collected for many years and consisted mainly of various gifts from artists and collectors. These were beautiful paintings, sculptures, interior items and decor of Polish masters of the XIX century. At the beginning of the XX century, the museum significantly expanded its collection with ancient coins, ethnographic and archaeological exhibits, interesting historical documentation. The collection of the museum grew and already numbered more than 100,000 valuable exhibits.

Unfortunately, during the war the museum was looted by German troops. After 1945, the Polish government managed to return many of the artifacts, but more than 1,000 works have not yet returned to their home walls. To date, the museum has 21 departments, 11 galleries, 2 libraries. It contains 780,000 art objects.