Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum of Kraków

Established in 1911, the museum houses over 80,000 items reflecting Polish peasant culture and worldwide folklore, including miniatures, drawings, and photographs.

Planning your visit

The Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum occupies the old town hall of Kazimierz, and its subject is Polish peasant culture — a tradition that, unusually in Europe, remained substantially intact into the twentieth century because so much of the population stayed rural until relatively late.

The collection of over 80,000 items covers the material world of village life: reconstructed cottage interiors from different regions, agricultural implements, costume, textiles, painted furniture, and the crafts of woodcarving, papercutting and glass painting. Ritual objects for the calendar year — Christmas szopka nativity constructions, Easter customs, harvest traditions — show a folk Catholicism layered over older practice.

Non-European collections extend the museum's reach to folk culture worldwide, reflecting the comparative ethnography of its founding period.

Kazimierz around it was Kraków's Jewish quarter, and the museum sits on Plac Wolnica in what remains a distinctive district. Allow ninety minutes. The main booking is an entry ticket. Current availability is shown below.