National Museum

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Type: Museums Price: Cheap District: Old town

National Museum in Krakow

The Krakow National Museum (Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie) started back in 1879 with only a dozen or so paintings shown on the upper floors of the Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), but it grew rapidly to gather a collection of more than 700,000 exhibits, representing both Polish and international art of all epochs. The growth of the National Museum wouldn't be possible without the donations of those who felt close links to Krakow. One of the most spectacular examples was Feliks “Manggha” Jasienski, who donated his immense collection of oriental art to the National Museum in Krakow in the 1920s. Some of these exhibits can be seen in the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology.

The Divisions of the Krakow National Museum

The Krakow National Museum has a total of nine divisions, each having its own theme and atmosphere. The big museums, like the Main Building of the National Museum, the Czartoryski Museum or the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) are supplemented by smaller, more personal, biographical exhibitions dedicated to the greatest Polish artists that lived or created in Cracow, like the painter, playwright and poet Stanislaw Wyspianski or the composer Karol Szymanowski. Two of the divisions (the House of Jan Matejko and the Hutten-Czapski Museum) are currently closed.

The Main Building of the National Museum (Gmach Glowny Muzeum Narodowego)

Usually referred to as simply 'The National Museum', the main building houses three permanent exhibitions. The most interesting one is certainly the Gallery of the Twentieth Century Polish Art – the most extensive exhibition of its kind in Poland. It contains paintings from the first period of the 20^th century by artists of the modernist “Mloda Polska” (Young Poland) movement, such as Jacek Malczewski or Olga Boznańska, a large selection of works by Stanislaw Wyspianski, Jozef Mehoffer and Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, as well as art from the inter-war and postwar periods. The exhibition also contains contemporary painting, sculpture and graphic and is often changed, so it might be a good idea to go to the National Museum's Main Building from time to time and see what's new. The two other exhibitions include militaria and decorative arts.

Address: 1 3 Maja Avenue

Opening Hours: May 1^st to October 31^st: Tuesday to Saturday 10a.m. to 6p.m., Sunday 10a.m. to 4p.m.; November 1^st to April 30^th: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday 10a.m. to 3,30p.m., Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10a.m to 6p.m.; closed on Mondays. The ticket offices close 30 minutes before the museum.

Ticket Price: 10 zloty (Twentieth Century Polish Art), 20 zloty (all exhibitions); permanent exhibitions free on Sundays (May 1^st to October 31^st) or Thursdays (November 1^st to April 30^th)

The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)

The initial residence of the National Museum now contains a collection of Polish art dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Its four rooms contain works of pre-romantic and classicist painters, Polish historical panoramas of Jan Matejko, Artur Grottger or Jacek Malczewski, and the famous expressionist Frenzy of Ecstasy by Wladyslaw Podkowinski.

The Cloth Hall is currently being renovated, and all exhibits were moved to the castle in Niepolomice. They should be back in Cracow sometime in 2009.

The Czartoryski Museum

Perhaps the most famous division of the National Museum in Krakow is still owned by the Czartoryski family. This museum contains the famous Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci as well as paintings by Breughel and Rembrandt. It also houses an arsenal and a library.

Address: 19 Sw Jana Street

Ticket Price: 10 zloty

The Bishop Erazm Ciolek Palace

This early-16^th century mansion on one of Krakow's most beautiful streets, Ulica Kanonicza, counted among the earliest and most beautiful Krakow Renaissance residences, was built by the same architects who constructed the Collegium Maius. It houses two exhibitions. 'Art of Old Poland' is devoted to Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Polish Art from the 12^th to 18^th century, and includes a few precious Gothic paintings and sculptures. The other exhibition is devoted to orthodox art of the old Polish-Lithuanian Republic, and contains valuable icons among other exhibits.

Address: 17 Kanonicza Street

Opening Hours: May 1^st to October 31^st: Tuesday to Saturday 10a.m. to 6p.m., Sunday 10a.m. to 4p.m.; November 1^st to April 30^th: Tuesday to Sunday 10a.m to 6p.m.; closed on Mondays. The ticket offices close 30 minutes before the museum.

Ticket Prices: 12 zloty (Art of Old Poland), 6 zloty (Orthodox Art), 20 zloty (both exhibitions). Permanent exhibitions free on Sundays (May 1^st to October 31^st) or Thursdays(November 1^st to April 30^th)

Stanislaw Wyspianski Museum

Situated in a 14^th century building, donated to the National Museum by the Szolayski Family (hence the name of the building: 'Kamienica Szolayskich') houses exhibitions devoted to Stanislaw Wyspianski. The exhibits are presented in a chronological order, starting from the artist's youth and featuring his mature works: paintings, drawings and objects linked with his work for theatres, notably the Juliusz Slowacki Theater. An additional exhibition commemorates Feliks “Manggha” Jasienski, whose collection was presented in the Kamienica Szolayskich before it was moved to the Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology.

Address: 11 Szczepanska Street

Opening Hours: May 1^st to October 31^st: Tuesday to Saturday 10a.m. to 6p.m., Sunday 10a.m. to 4p.m.; November 1^st to April 30^th: Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 10a.m. to 3,30p.m., Friday 10a.m. to 6p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Ticket Prices: 10 zloty. Permanent exhibitions free on Sundays (May 1^st to October 31^st) or Thursdays(November 1^st to April 30^th)

House of Jozef Mehoffer

Renovated and returned to its fin de siècle character, the Jozef Mehoffer House contains beautiful interiors and some of the works of its former owner, one of the most eminent painters of the Young Poland movement. The Mehoffer House is surrounded by a beautiful garden, restored to look like the one the painter meditated in - a truly magnificent addition to the National Museum in Krakow.

Address: 26 Krupnicza Street

Opening Hours: May 1^st to October 31^st: Tuesday to Saturday 10a.m. to 6p.m., Sunday 10a.m. to 4p.m.; November 1^st to April 30^th: Wednesday Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 10a.m. to 3,30p.m., Friday 10a.m. to 6p.m. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays from November 1^st to April 30^th.

Ticket Prices: 6 zloty. Permanent exhibitions free on Sundays (May 1^st to October 31^st) or Thursdays(November 1^st to April 30^th)

Karol Szymanowski Museum in Zakopane

This beautiful 19^th century wooden villa, presents the life of one of the greatest Polish composers, Karol Szymanowski, who lived in this house between 1930 and 1935. Those who plan to visit Zakopane, should consider seeing this place, if not for the composer himself, certainly for the 'Zakopane style' architecture. The easiest way to visit Zakopane is to book a Zakopane Tour via the Krakow Informer Krakow Tours section.

Address: 19 Kasprusie Street, Zakopane

Opening Hours: May 1^st to October 31^st: Tuesday to Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 10a.m. to 4p.m., Friday 10a.m. to 6p.m.; November 1^st to April 30^th: Tuesday to Sunday 10a.m. to 3,30p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Ticket Prices: 6 zloty. Permanent exhibitions free on Sundays (May 1^st to October 31^st) or Thursdays(November 1^st to April 30^th)

See article text for opening hours and addresses.