Oskara Schindlera Muzeum, Krakow, Malopolskie Voivodeship, Poland
The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków is a municipal museum. Councillors of Kraków decided already in 19th century to take an effort to create city’s own historical museum. The first discussions on creating museum, which could gather city’s memorabilia started in the 1860’s. Organized by City Council in 1890 Archive of Old Acts for Kraków City started to gather the collection, and raised in 1897 Society of Kraków’s History and Monuments Amateurs endorsed museum organization initiative. The Archive employees such as professor Stanislaw Krzyzanowski and Adam Chmiel PhD participated in creation of collection for future Historical Museum. The collection contained iconographic materials of Kraków, portraits of celebrities and famous citizens, graphics, historical items and documents related to guilds’ activities, stamps, numismatics and medal, weaponry and other material culture elements, related to Kraków’s history.
The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków has been erected at the City Council session on 31st May 1899. At this time Museum started its activities, although it was a branch of Archive of Old Acts rather than self-managed institution. Collection has been gathered in not accessible to visitors’ ground floor room of building located at Sienna street 16. Soon there were active actions taken to make museum’s collection accessible for visitors, however they took many years. Important event was an exhibition of old Kraków’s views called “Old Kraków”, organized in 1936 byJerzy Dobrzycki PhD in renewed but not yet fully furnished rooms of Wawel castle 2nd floor. In 1937 for museum’s purpose the building at Swietego Ducha Street 5 (currently Szpitalna street 21), so called “The Cross House”.
In 1937, as well by initiative of Jerzy Dobrzycki PhD museum organized under its patronage first annual contest of Kraków’s cribs, since then it is set annually apart from Second World War years. In December of 1945, during City National Council the proposition for museum statute has been presented. According to it, The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków was planned to be “independent and self-managed city branch, its aim is gathering and proper protection of all historical materials related to life and culture of Kraków since the first ages of the city’s history till the current time, as well as development of science, research and education activities”. One of tasks of new institution was to take care of local tradition, customs and ceremonies.
Independent museum activity in meaning of gathering and organizing collections, started with taking over from Archive of Old Acts more than two thousands of items, requiring stocktaking and restoration.
At the end 1946 and beginning of 1947, thanks to the agreement with Society of Kraków’s History and Monuments Amateurs it was possible to get for museum’s purposes part of the building being home of society – “Krauzowska House” at Sw. Jana Street 12. Soon the museum opened first two temporary exhibitions there: “Kraków old and modern” and “1848 Revolution” .
The permanent exhibition in Krauzowa House has been established on 24th of June 1952, and building set for museum’s purposes just before Second World War “The Cross House” has been used as office and stocks.
In 1949 part of former defence walls: St. Florian’s gate, Haberdashers’ tower and city walls pass between has been given to Museum for exhibition purposes. Exhibition set up was “The old defences of Kraków”. It covered reconstructed guardroom of old city guards, using historical weaponry and series of views of not existing already city towers and gates. This part of City walls was used by the Museum until the end of 1950s.
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