Regional Museum in Środa Śląska

The Regional Museum in Środa Śląska is housed in the historic Old Town Hall building, in the town centre. The institution is an organisational unit of Środa Śląska County, co-financed by the Środa Śląska municipality, and its best-known exhibit is the Środa Treasure, discovered in the 1980s.

From Heimatmuseum to regional museum

The history of museum-keeping in Środa Śląska goes back to the 1920s. On the initiative of Dr Franz Zmarzlik, a professor at the local grammar school, and Bruno Klebs, rector of the Protestant school, a Heimatmuseum was founded then. The institution was first housed in the grammar school building, and from 1935 in the now-nonexistent Holy Trinity Protestant church. During the Second World War the collection was scattered, and the surviving exhibits were moved in 1946 to the State Museum in Wrocław.

A new museum was established in Środa Śląska in 1964 as the Museum of Wood Crafts, and over time took the name Regional Museum. From the start it has operated in the rooms of the Środa Śląska town hall, and since 1993 it has functioned as an independent cultural institution.

The Środa Treasure and other exhibitions

The institution's main attraction is the Środa Treasure, discovered between 1985 and 1988 and comprising a crown, coins and ornaments. Alongside it visitors can see the prison tower with reconstructed 14th-century cell rooms, the Workshop exhibition devoted to old carpentry tools used among others by wheelwrights, coopers and joiners, and an exhibition on the archaeology of the Środa region.

A separate room houses the Small Środa Treasure, that is, family keepsakes and jewellery belonging to the merchant Otto Paul Pavel, discovered in 2000.

Seat in the Old Town Hall

The museum occupies the Old Town Hall building in Środa Śląska, one of the oldest buildings in the town. Visiting the exhibitions therefore goes together with viewing the interiors of the town hall itself. The same town is also home to the Środa Śląska Palace, and nearby is the Środa Śląska Water Park, where you can spend time after visiting the museum.

Practical information

• Address: plac Wolności 3, Środa Śląska, the Old Town Hall building.
• Getting there: Środa Śląska, Środa Śląska County, the museum is in the town centre, by the market square.
• The institution is open every day except Mondays, admission is paid. It is worth checking the hours on the museum's website before your visit.