Phillumeny Museum in Bystrzyca Kłodzka

The Phillumeny Museum in Bystrzyca Kłodzka is the only institution in Poland devoted to fire, matches and lighters. It is housed at Mały Rynek, in the building of a former Protestant church and parish school.

The former church building

The museum's home was built as a Protestant church erected between 1821 and 1822, and rebuilt a year later to a design approved by Karl Schinkel. The building is made of brick, kept in the Classicist style, and is listed in the register of immovable heritage sites, originally entered in 1972 and again in 2010.

Founding of the museum

The institution was established on the initiative of the Society for the Development of the Western Territories, the Society of Friends of the Kłodzko Land and the town's residents. The new museum was officially opened on 19 July 1964, and the local Bystrzyca Match Factory helped with adapting the former church for exhibition purposes. In 1968 the museum additionally received the building of the former parish school, which allowed the exhibition space to be extended.

Collections

The collection numbers about half a million matchbox labels and about 1,400 lighters of various types. The exhibits also include metal and flint firestrikers, oil lamps and match packaging from around the world, including numerous examples from China and Japan. The museum's name comes from phillumeny, that is the collecting of matchbox labels, boxes and other items connected with the history of fire, and the institution remains the only one of its kind in Poland.

Mały Rynek

The museum stands at Mały Rynek, a small square within the medieval urban layout of Bystrzyca Kłodzka, surrounded by other monuments of the old town. The former church building has retained the shape and proportions typical of early 19th-century Classicist sacred architecture, despite its change of function to exhibition space.

Practical information

• Address: Mały Rynek 1A, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, Kłodzko County
• From September to June the museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 8:00-16:00 and Sunday 10:00-15:00, in July and August Tuesday to Saturday 9:00-17:00 and Sunday 10:00-16:00, closed on Mondays; it is worth checking the hours on the official website before a visit
• Admission to the permanent exhibitions is free on Tuesdays
• The museum lies in the very centre of the town, close to the pillory, the Holy Trinity Column and the underground tourist route