The Kurpiowski Open-Air Museum

The Kurpiowski Open-Air Museum was established on June 19th 1927 by Adam Chetnik as the Kurpie Museum. It is the second oldest museum of folk architecture in Poland.

The founder of this museum, Adam Chetnik began gathering his collection back in 1909, with the purpose of creating a Kurpie Museum. He collected interesting monuments of inanimate nature, historical documents, archaeological findings, and most of all, etnographic monuments.

The origins of the Kurpie Open-Air Museum date back to 1919, when Adam Chetnik, who was an owner of a large etnographic collection, went to the City Council in Nowogrod, to ask for a free, unused fragment of land, in order to build the museum. When he was met with rejection, he used his wife Sophia’s private money to buy one-third of land left behind the former city brickyard. In a few years, he forested, and fenced the area at his own cost.

When the Kurpie Open-Air Museum officially opened on June 19th 1927, its collection consisted of more than 2000 monuments. In the following years, the collection was gradually expanded.

Between 1928 and 1930, Adam Chetnik resigned from the museum in favor of the Polish Touring Association. In theory, The Kurpie Museum became the statute institution of the Polish Touring Association, but it was still under the care of Adam Chetnik.

In 1933, the Plock Science Association opened a Science Research Station nearby the Museum. The Station had a separate premises, workshop, library, and accommodation.

As a result of World War II destruction, the museum was completely destroyed. The remaining artefacts as well as those, evacuated to Lomza, Debowo and Szczepankow were irrevocably gone.