The National Museum in Poznań is over 150 years old and is currently one of the greatest tourist attractions of the city.

 

The museum’s collection includes works by the most prominent painters from Poland and abroad, and exhibits related to the history of the city.

The history of the National Museum in Poznań dates back to 1857, when the Poznań Society of the Friends of Sciences founded the Museum of Polish and Slavic Antiquities in the Grand Duchy of Posen (Poznań was then under Prussian rule).
At the beginning of the life of the museum, its collection was expanded by the collection of count Seweryn Mielżyński, a prominent Polish patriot and social activist. Thanks to his help, a new home for the museum was constructed, which opened in 1882.

 

In 1894 the Prussian authorities opened the first German museum – the Provinzial Musem in Posen (Poznań Provincial Museum), which since 1902 has born the name of Emperor Friedrich III (Kaiser Friedrich Museum). In 1904, representative premises – a more modern museum building, was opened. The imposing, eclectic edifice that was erected specifically to house the museum collection was designed by the renowned architect Karl Hinckeldeyn. This building, which currently houses the Gallery of Painting and Sculpture, is still one of the most interesting examples of monumental exhibition architecture, with its centrally situated lounge surrounded by display rooms.

 

When Poland regained its independence in 1919, the museum changed its name to the Museum of Wielkopolska and was the first public museum in sovereign Poland.
In the interwar period, the German and Polish collections from the Mielżyński Museum were merged. A large collection of modern art was also purchased at that time, and as a result, the modern exhibition of paintings and sculpture in Poznań was one of the richest in the interwar Poland. Simultaneously, two autonomous sections were created, the Museum of Archaeology and the Natural Museum.

 

Then, during the Second World War, German authorities re-established the Kaiser Friedrish Museum Posen and a lot of the collection was taken away to Germany.
In 1950 the Museum of Wielkopolska in Poznań was promoted to the rank of National Museum and in the following years, the Museum acquired new sections: in 1949 – the Museum in Rogalin and the Section of Folk Culture and Art (currently the Ethnographic Museum), in 1952 – the Museum of Musical Instruments, in 1954 – the Museum of the History of Poznań, in 1962 – the Museum in Gołuchów, in 1963 – the Military Museum of Wielkopolska, in 1965 – the Museum of Arts and Crafts (currently the Museum of Applied Arts) and the Adam Mickiewicz Museum in Śmiełów.

 

In addition to this, in 1975, the Poster and Design Section was created at the Gallery of Painting and Sculpture, which in 1982 was expanded with several design collections. In 1992 the Gallery of Modern Art was expanded with the Photography, Film and Video Section. Finally, in 2001, a new wing of the museum was opened.
The National Museum in Poznań is one of the leading institutions of its kind in Poland. Its collection comprises 309,569 exhibits and includes work from all periods, from antiquity to modern times.

 

Photos: National Museum in Poznań