The Kaszuby Etnographic Park

The Kaszuby Etnographic Park under the name Teodora and Izydor Gulgowski in Wdzydze Kiszewskie is an open-air museum, which gathers more than 50 objects of folk architecture from the entire region of Kaszuby and Kociewie, except for the seaside strip. The museum is located in the pomorskie region, in the Kościerzyna community.

The museum occupies 22 hectares and is divided into 6 sectors, which refer to 5 areas of Kaszuby, and a sector with objects of public use: a wooden, 17th century church, which was brought here from the village of Swornegacie, a school from the village of Więckowy, a sawmill from Staniszewo and a smithy from Linia. Together, these buildings are arranged in a way, which makes you feel like visiting a completely equipped countryside in Kaszuby.

This institution originated from a private museum, which was established in an arcaded, 18th century cottage, which was purchased from the householder of Wdzydze named Michał Hinc in 1906 by Izydor Gulgowski – a teacher from a local school and his wife Teodora, a painter. In this cottage, the Gulgowski family gathered a colllection of Kashubian bonnets, glass paintings, furniture and economic equipment. In 1932, the cottage burned down in the fire of Wdzydze, but two years later, it was reconstructed and gained original equipment thanks to the activity Teodora Gulgowska.

In 1969, the Museum of Kashubian Huts was transformed into an independent institution known as the Kaszuby Etnographic Park.