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Etnographic parks and open-air museums in Poland

Poland is a country with a long and turbulent history. Over the centuries, Poland has witnessed various events, some of which were more memorable and influential for the country’s fate than others. Nowadays, people can visit many objects and monuments associated with the history of Poland, which include, among others, etnographic parks and open-air museums. In these places you can learn what life used to look like 100 years ago, or even earlier. This article will give you information about some of the most interesting etnographic parks and open-air museums in Poland.

The Folk Construction Museum in Sanok

The Folk Construction Museum in Sanok is the first etnographic museum in Poland established after World War II, as well as the largest one in terms of the number of the gathered objects. It was established in 1958 from the initiative of Jerzy Tur, who was the regional monument conservator in Rzeszow.

The museum presents folk culture at the area of the eastern part of Karpaty (Bieszczady and Beskid Niski). Up until the 1940, these areas were inhabited by several etnographic groups, which included Pogorzanie, Boykos and Lemkos.

The Folk Culture Museum in Kolbuszowa

The Folk Culture Museum in Kolbuszowa was opened for visitors in 1959. In the beginning, it was run by the Society for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Monuments in Kolbuszowa. After being nationalized in 1971, the museum gauned its current name – the Folk Culture Museum in Kolbuszowa. This etnographic park is located at the area of three villages located next to each other – Brzezowka, Kolbuszowa and Kolbuszowa Gorna, and occupies the area of nearly 30 hectares, most of which belongs to the village of Brzezowka.

The Radom Countryside Museum

The Radom Countryside Museum is an open-air museum located in the town of Radom, in the mazowieckie region. This museum wa established in 1977 at the outskirts of Radom. It gathers monuments from the surrounding areas and shows the characteristics of the buildings from the past. The main purpose of the museum is to gather and showcase monuments of folk architecture, as well as houses of wealthy people. Apart from buildings, the museum also has original dishes, everyday items, and even farm animals, including sheep, goats and others.

The Upper Silesia Etnographic Park

The Upper Silesia Etnographic Park in Chorzow is an open-air museum located at the area of the Silesian Park. The objects of folk construction in this etnographic park originated from the Upper Silesia and the region of Zaglebie Dabrowskie. The first idea of creating the etnographic museum was conceived in 1938, but the outbreak of

World War II interrupted its completion. In 1963, the Krakow Design Offce developed the final concept of the open-air museum, and the following year, the project was approved, and its fulfillment began.

The Opole Countryside Museum

The Opole Countryside Museum is an open-air museum created in 1961. The main initiator of the creation of the museum is considered to be Stanislaw Bronicz. Between 1956 and 1958, he organized a field research in the opolskie region, during which several dozens of wooden objects were chosen for the future open-air museum.

The Opole Countryside Museum was appointed on November 14th 1961. Since then, it was known as a specialist, regional museum institution. Five years later, in April, it gained full independence and a statute.

The Greater Poland Etnographic Park in Dziekanowice

The Greater Poland Etnographic Park in Dziekanowice is a division of the First Piasts Museum at Lednica. At the area of approximately 21 hectares there are approximately 60 objects, which were brought here from various parts of Greater Poland. The museum gathers objects associated with the life and activity of the people living in the

Greater Poland countryside. The permanent exhibit consists of various objects of architecture, such as houses, livestock buildings and old barns. Some of the buildings are equipped with appliances, tools and clothing, which illustrate the living conditions of families, whose lives depended on farming.

The Lublin Countryside Museum

The Lublin Countryside Museum is an open-air museum, which gathers artefacts of wooden architecture, as well as etnographic objects from the lubelskie region. In 1960, the District Museum in Lublin created the Division of Folk Construction. On January 1st, that division was transformed into the autonomous Lublin Countryside Museum.

Becuase of the diversity of the gathered objects, the exhibit of the Lublin Countryside Museum is divided into 7 sectors, each dedicated to a different part of the region. In the Roztocze sector, visitors can see, among others, a Greek Catholic church. From Tarnoszyn.

The Nowy Sacz Etnographic Park

The Nowy Sacz Etnographic Park is a regional open-air museum, which presents wooden architecture and traditional folk culture of the historical Nowy Sacz region.

In this etnographic park, which occupies the area of approximately 20 hectares, there are 68 objects grouped into several complexes. These include 9 multi-building peasant farms, a 17th-century noble mansion., an 18th-century Lemko church and several smaller objects. Most of the buildings have a permanent exhibit of residential, economic and manufacturing interiors.

The Mazowsze Countryside Museum in Sierpc

The Mazowsze Countryside Museum in Sierpc is an open-air museum established on March 24th 1971 in the village of Sierpc as a local etnographc museum. At the area of 60.5 hectares at the junction of the rivers Sierpienica and Skrwa there is a collection of more than 80 objects of small and large architecture. The exibit has 11 peasant farms from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a reconstructed noble mansion, an 18th-century wooden church from the village of Drazdzewo and many other objects.

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