Polish Learning Community and Resources

In my previous blog posts, I recommended to you some places that are worth visiting even though they aren’t usually on the top of the list for international tourists. Today I’d like to share with you 5 museums that you should add to your list if you want to learn more about Poland. 

Wieliczka Salt Mine 

Have you ever had a chance to see how rock salt is extracted? If not, head to Wieliczka (just 15 km from Cracow) and descend 327 meters underground to explore Wieliczka Salt Mine. It won’t be a simple visit to a mine - not only you will learn about the history of the site and some facts about salt extraction and production, it’s much more than that! First of all, you’ll have the chance to learn some elements of Polish history and what role the mine has played in it. Secondly, you can admire numerous salt sculptures all over the place, among which Nicolaus Copernicus and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (one of the first visitors to the mine). The most well-known place in Wieliczka mine is St. Kinga’s chapel - made entirely of salt (including the floor and the chandeliers), decorated with salt sculptures made by local artists. Moreover, this chapel is still used on various religious occasions and, thanks to excellent acoustics, sometimes it’s a venue for concerts. Finally, thanks to the presence of salt and specific levels of humidity inside the mine, visiting it may have some health benefits (remember Ciechocinek?). 

Copernicus Science Centre 

Centrum Nauki Kopernik opened in 2010 and immediately has become one of the most-visited local museums. What makes it unique is that the exhibits are interactive - the visitors can conduct scientific experiments on their own to have a first-hand experience of how they work. The permanent exhibitions are divided thematically - you may explore topics such as physics, magnetism, astronomy, optics, the human body and many, many others. The science centre regularly organises temporary exhibitions as well as numerous workshops, so check their website to make sure you’re not missing out on anything! If you’re fascinated by astronomy make sure you visit Planetarium Niebo Kopernika (Planetarium Copernicus’ Sky) which makes part of the Science Centre. If you’re overwhelmed by everything you’ve learned, after your visit to the museum you can take a stroll along the Vistula (Wisła) - Centrum Nauki Kopernik is beautifully located on the banks of the river. 

ms2 Lodz 

If you’re an art lover stranded in central Poland (or you got inspired by my February blog post and decided to visit Lodz), make sure you stop by the Museum of Art (Muzeum Sztuki) in Lodz. In fact, Muzeum Sztuki comprises of three museums - ms1 and ms2 focussing on contemporary and modern art and Muzeum Pałac Herbsta which displays mostly 19th century art. ms2 is located in a renovated textile factory building within the manufaktura shopping mall complex and exhibits mostly Polish avant-garde with special attention given to the local artistic currents. If you’re a fan of futurism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, formism or formalism, you must put this museum on your list. As I said, the museum puts a strong emphasis on the local artistic interventions, particularly on the works of “grupa a.r.” and the power couple of Lodz avant-garde: Władysław Strzemiński (the initiator of the local artistic current: unizm) and Katarzyna Kobro. 

Malbork Castle 

Did you know that the largest castle in the world (by land area) is in Poland, in the small town of Malbork (around 60km from Gdansk)? This 13th century Teutonic Order castle is a perfect example of a typical medieval fortress. It is estimated that it took around 130 years to build, and at the time of its completion in 1406 it was the largest brick castle (to this day it remains the largest brick complex in Europe). In fact, the whole complex consists of three castles separated by moats and towers. Why did it have to be so big? It is said that it hosted around 3,000 members of the Teutonic Order. If you would like to have a better idea as to its size, you can imagine that the outermost walls cover an area four times bigger than the enclosed area of Windsor Castle! As you can imagine, the castle was severely damaged during WW2 but has been beautifully restored since, so you can admire it in all of its glory. 

Rynek underground 

This blog post started with an underground museum near Cracow, so a nice way to conclude is to visit another underground museum, this time in the heart of Cracow. Everybody’s amazed by the beauty of Cracow’s central market square - Rynek, but did you actually know that you can learn even more about the history of the place right under your feet? First of all, by going underground you will realise how the surroundings have changes and that, in fact, the market square was much deeper than it is now. In the museum you can see preserved parts of the medieval roads, tools used by merchants, clothes, you can even find some artefacts from the Far East - brought to Cracow via the medieval trade routes. Thanks to the museum’s interactive exhibitions you can travel in time, 700 years in the past and fully immerse yourself in medieval Cracow’s atmosphere.