Museums

Porta Posnania | Photo: Łukasz Gdak / CTK TRAKT

For a relatively small city, Poznań has an impressive range of museums - though they also tend to be on the smaller side. Here we’ve listed the most important and interesting institutions, from state-of-the-art interactive museums to more traditional artefact collections. Scan the QR code to the right to head to our complete list of museums, which includes some very niche establishments.

1956 Uprising Museum

Hidden down a side entrance of the Imperial Castle (p.23), this basement masterpiece honours the first armed resistance the Polish communist regime faced. QSee p.49.

Applied Arts Museum

Housed in the Royal Castle of Poznań, this museum has recently undergone huge changes which shifted the focus from medieval craftwork and princely decorations exclusively to applied arts, rolling out a 2000-piece exhibition of furniture, fabrics, ceramics, glassware, weaponry, and clothing from around the world. For those more interested in the actual history of the place, we recommend skipping the arts and checking out the (sparse) ground-floor exhibition dedicated to the castle and its founder, Duke Przemysł II, as well as climbing the seasonally-open tower.QH‑7, Góra Przemysła 1, www.mnp.art.pl. Open 10:00‑17:00:00; Fri 11:00‑ 20:00; Sat, Sun 11:00‑17:00; closed Mon. Admission 20/1‑13zł. Tue free. U Archaeological Museum

Housed in the beautiful 16th-century Górka Palace, Poznań’s Archaeology Museum contains a collection of 42,000 rare and mystifying objects that chart life in North Africa and prehistoric Poland. The first part of the museum takes you through the earliest settlements in the region, with life-sized figures as well as miniature dioramas depicting life from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The other permanent exhibits include‘Death and Life in Ancient Egypt,’ ‘Archeology of Sudan,’‘Rock Art of North Africa,’ and there is also a three-metre-tall granite monolith, the Obelisk of Ramesses II, located in the courtyard.QI‑7, ul. Wodna 27 (Pałac Górków), www.nowa.muzarp.poznan.pl. Open 09.00‑16:00; Fri 10:00‑17:00; Sat 11:00‑18:00; Sun 12:00‑16:00; closed Mon. Admission 10/6zł. Sat free. Free audio guides avaliable in English. U

Archdiocese Museum

Devoted to religious art and relics, the Archdiocese Museum houses paintings, statues, and robes preserved from Poznań’s line-up of bishops.QSee p.27.

Armoured Weaponry Museum

Do you really, really like tanks? Do you want to see one that was autographed by Steven Spielberg and used in his film Bridge of Spies (parts of which were filmed in PL)? If you answered yes, then this museum will be a treat for you, though it does require some determination to get there - it’s all the way out by the Airport. Spread out over four squat metal buildings, the museum features all manner of armoured vehicles and heavy artillery, plus a sprinkling of WWI, WWII, and Cold War history in Polish, English, and even Dutch. The staff are knowledgeable and eager to answer questions, brushing up their knowledge by reading WWII history magazines during down-time.Qul. 3 Pułku Lotniczego 4, www.muzeumbronipancernej.pl. Open 10:00‑16:00; closed Mon, Sun. Admission 20/10, Tue free. UL

Chocolate Museum

Joining the Croissant Museum is another sweet temptation under an educational guise: the Chocolate Museum where kids of all ages (including those quite grown and greying) can learn about cacao tree plantations, the history of chocolate, and chocolatemaking techniques while sampling decadent creations. The guided tours last an estimated 50 minutes and include workshops during which participants create their own chocolate bars - to take home, of course (if you can refrain from wolfing them down on the spot). QH‑7, ul. Wrocławska 12, www.muzeumczekolady.edu. pl. Open 10:00‑18:00. Admission 40zł/person. U

Enigma Cipher Centre NEW Very cool new museum dedicated to three Poznań cryptologists who decoded the German Enigma machine and helped to bring WWII to a close a few years earlier.QSee p.47.

Museum of Armaments

The remains of this Prussian fort prove to be the perfect location for the Museum of Armaments, which features various weaponry and ammo.QSee p.57.

National Museum

A large and excellent museum with a rich collection of modern Polish art (including interesting Impressionist works) in the new wing, and medieval art, impressive Italian, Dutch, and Flemish paintings in the connected old building. The museum also holds the largest collection of Spanish art in Poland and plenty of Polish art from the 16th century onwards. In addition, a Monet painting stolen in 2000 is back on display. Paintings have extensive English explanations about the artist and topic.QH‑7, Al. Marcinkowskiego 9, www.mnp.art.pl. Open 10:00‑17:00; Fri 11:00‑20:00; Sat, Sun 11:00‑17:00; closed Mon. Admission 15/1‑10zł, Tue free. U Porta Posnania Interactive Heritage Centre of Cathedral Island

This modern culture complex symbolically connects Poznań's two oldest districts - Ostrów Tumski and Śródka - presenting the area's history.QSee p.?5.

Poznań Army Museum

This museum provides an overview of the city’s military history, with a particular focus on WWII and the inter-war period.QSee p.56.

Poznań Bamber Museum

Learn about the Bamber people, ethnic Germans from Bamberg who settled in Poznań in the 18th century, inside a mildly interesting museum that includes a 19th century timber house once owned by a wealthy Bamber farmer. Inside displays include old bonnets, looms, paintings, clothing, and timber furniture – everything you’d expect in an ethnographic museum - but very little written information.QJ‑8, ul. Mostowa 7/9, www.bambrzy.poznan.pl. Open Fri, Sat only 10:00‑14:00. Admission free. U

Poznań Croissant Museum

Dedicated to the delicious local delicacy of St. Martin’s Croissants, the Croissant Museum hosts numerous daily and weekly shows, one of which is in English and takes place at 14:00 on the weekends and irregularly during the week (check the website). The 50min session includes a multimedia presentation, legends, a tour of the historic museum building, a chance to bake croissants using traditional tools, and - of course - a tasting.QI‑7, Stary Rynek 41/2 (entrance from ul. Klasztorna 23), tel. (+48) 690 07 78 00, www.rogalowemuzeum.pl.

Poznań Kaiserpanorama

Think that explaining cassette tapes to your kids is difficult? Try to get them to wrap their heads around this crazy 1920s entertainment system. Peer inside the Kaiserpanorama (called Fotoplastykon in Polish) for a collection of stereoscopic photographs of turn-of-the(twentieth-)century Poznań. In previous years this antique - which made it intact through WWII, and went through stints of basement confinement in the postwar years - resided in the Arsenał City Gallery on the main square before finding a new home inside the Arkadia building, originally a theatre, on Plac Wolności. Until July 31st 2022 you can also view a batch of photographs of Rome as part of a special exhibition.QG‑7, ul. Ratajczaka 44, www.fb.com/fotoplastykonpoznanski. Open 10:00‑ 18:00; Sat 10:00‑17:00; closed Sun. Admission 5/2zł. Poznań Potato Museum

Part of Poland’s holy trinity of cabbage, potatoes and vodka - this fittingly underground museum is indeed devoted to the humble ‘ziemnak’ or ‘pyry’ as they are proudly known in the local dialect. A bit self-aware of the absurdity of such a museum, the costumed staff take pains to be very earnest, but also keep things light-hearted, fun and highly interactive as they guide you through the exhibits, which recount the full history of this favoured tuber through the ages, and its importance to Poznań. You’ll discover all the different varieties of potato, the immense myriad of potatoey things that Poles can create in the kitchen, and every guest gets to season and bake their own pyra. Entertaining a lot of school groups, individual guests are welcome from Fri-Sun, and tickets should be booked online.QI‑6, ul. Wroniecka 18 (entrance from ul. Mokra), tel. (+48) 609 12 16 11, www. muzeumpyry.pl. Open 11:00‑18:00; Wed 09:00‑17:00; closed Mon, Tue. Admission 20/19zł, in English 22zł; the price includes guided tour and workshops.

Wielkopolska Martyrs Museum

One of 18 forts built by the Prussians in the 1870s to protect Poznań’s perimeter, ‘Fort VII’ gained notoriety when it was used as a Gestapo penal camp between 1939 and 1944. The first Nazi concentration camp organised in occupied Poland, at least 18,000 Polish prisoners were processed here, of which 4,500 were murdered, though other estimates have the death toll as high as 20,000. The windswept grassy grounds make for a thought-provoking walk, along which visitors will see the ‘death wall’ - where up to seven prisoners were executed daily during Nazi rule, as well as dark underground tunnels used as makeshift gas chambers. Elsewhere a vaulted brick room holds a small but haunting display that includes a guillotine, an execution block, truncheons, whips, and arrest warrants. The personal effects of prisoners have also been preserved, including hand-written letters, playing cards, rosaries, and identity papers. Chillingly graffiti etched into the walls by prisoners can still be discerned, the writing framed with red and white ribbons. Reaching Fort VII is not an easy task, however. It’s found in the western suburbs, so your best bet is a taxi or Uber.QAl. Polska (Jeżyce), tel. (+48) 61 848 31 38, www.wmn.poznan.pl. Open 10:00‑17:00, Sun 10:00‑ 16:00, Mon closed; from Nov‑Feb open 10:00‑16:00, Mon closed. Admission 12/6zł; Tue free.

Wielkopolska Uprising Museum

This modern museum chronicles the 1918-1919 Wielkopolska Uprising in a market square structure that once served as home to the Royal Guard.QSee p.45.