Archdiocesan Museum in Wrocław

The Archdiocesan Museum in Wrocław, founded in 1898, is one of the oldest archdiocesan museums in Poland. It is located at Cathedral Square on Ostrów Tumski (Cathedral Island), in the building of the former Chapter House, and holds a rich collection of sacred art from Silesia.

Why it was founded

The museum was created to save sacred art threatened by church renovations and Prussian secularisation, which from 1810 led to the destruction of many monasteries in Lower Silesia. The institution's first director, from 1898 to 1918, was Father Josef Jungnitz, a Silesian historian, who took charge of selecting exhibits for the diocesan archive building. The first exhibition opened in 1903, in a Gothic hall from 1520, with cross vaulting and heavy pillars, probably built by the same craftsmen as Wrocław's town hall.

The Chapter House building

The museum's seat has roots going back to 1382. In the time of Bishop Jan V Thurzo, who held office from 1464 to 1520, the building underwent a Renaissance renovation, after which a portal with the bishop's coat of arms survived, dated to 1527.

The fate of the collection over the years

During the Second World War the then director, Kurt Engelbert, evacuated the collection in 1942 to several towns in Silesia. Some exhibits were lost forever, including works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and a unique numismatic collection. The museum was formally reopened on 16 July 1947, on the occasion of an exhibition dedicated to the Recovered Territories. The institution was closed around 2014 due to fire risk, and from 2021 a thorough renovation was carried out, after which the museum reopened in December 2024.

What you will see in the collection

The collection numbers over 6,000 exhibits. Among the sculptures are Romanesque stone figures from around 1160, Gothic keystones and capitals, 16th-century alabaster works, and wooden pietàs, triptychs and images of the Madonna from the 14th-16th centuries. In painting it is worth noting the picture "Christ in the Wine Press" (Polish: "Chrystus w tłoczni win") from 1486, altar wings with saints, and "The Madonna under the Fir Trees" (Polish: "Madonna pod jodłami") by Lucas Cranach the Elder from 1510. The metalwork collection includes chalices from 1400-1634, monstrances in the form of a cylindrical tower, reliquaries, croziers and liturgical vessels. Among the textiles are fragments attributed to St Hedwig from around 1250, as well as embroidered chasubles and silk vestments from the 16th-18th centuries, imported from Western Europe. The antiquities section shows artefacts from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, early Christian bas-reliefs, an Egyptian mummy from the 3rd-2nd century BC, cuneiform tablets, the oldest bell in Poland, Świętosław, from 1300, and a medieval archive chest from 1455. The museum also runs a library of over 500 volumes and organises concerts in the "Music among Monuments" (Polish: "Muzyka wśród zabytków") series.

Nearby

The museum stands next to the Archcathedral of St John the Baptist and Cathedral Square, on which it stands. Nearby there is also the Castle on Ostrów Tumski and the Museum Footbridge, which connects the island with the rest of the city and leads towards the National Museum.

Practical information

• Address: Cathedral Square 16, Wrocław, Stare Miasto district
• Access: Ostrów Tumski, near tram and bus stops in the area of Cathedral Square
• What to expect: permanent exhibitions of sacred art in a building renovated after 2024, according to the museum's website open Wednesday to Sunday; it is worth confirming the hours on the official website before visiting