National Museum in Wroclaw

The National Museum in Wroclaw, established in March 1947 and stands as one of Poland’s main branches of the National Museum system, with one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country.

While most historic buildings in Wroclaw were damaged or destroyed in WWII, the task of selecting a suitable place for the newly arriving cultural artifacts was given to the new Polish Department of Museums and Heritage Protection. The location was chosen among the ruins of the old city center at the former Silesian regency office which had been built in 1883.

Designed by Karl Friedrich Endell, the building was constructed in the Northern Neo-Renaissance style. After the war, it underwent extensive renovation and was adapted from its previous function to better suit the new nature of its use as a museum.

Regarded as one of the largest and most important museums in the country, the museum was originally established as the “State Museum”. Two years into its tenure, the name was changed to the Silesian Museum [Muzeum Silaskie].

Today, the collection is comprised of more than 200,000 artifacts representing all artistic disciplines from mediaeval Silesian sculpture to contemporary and modernist sculpture, along with an extensive library of books and documents.