Koszyce Land Museum

What to expect

The Koszyce Land Museum, named after Stanisław Boduch, was established in 2007 in the renovated building of a former synagogue in Koszyce. The premises themselves speak to the multicultural past of this small town on the Vistula and Nidzica rivers. The exhibition is divided into three departments, through which a modest local museum tells the story of the region from prehistory to the present day.

The archaeological department displays finds from excavations in the surrounding villages, representing the Lusatian and Trzciniec cultures. The historical department gathers source documents, including royal charters and seals, along with mementoes of the Second World War. The ethnographic department holds objects once used in the region’s craft workshops. For a traveller who likes to get off the tourist track, it is an honest, small-scale museum where the history of the Koszyce land is told through concrete objects.

Visiting in practice

The museum is at Wspólna 11 in Koszyce. Because opening hours are limited, it is worth confirming them in advance by telephone using the number above before making the trip. About 45 minutes is enough to see the three departments. Displays are in Polish.

Getting there

Koszyce lies about 40 km north-east of Krakow, where the Vistula meets the Nidzica, near the border with the Świętokrzyskie region. By car the DK79 road towards Sandomierz takes around fifty minutes. Suburban buses also run from Krakow. This is a quiet, little-visited corner that pairs well with a drive along the Vistula valley.

Nearby

The archaeological thread of the Koszyce collection is developed at Krakow’s Archaeological Museum, while traditional folk culture is the focus of the Ethnographic Museum in Kazimierz. A similar regional character can be found at the Limanowa Regional Museum.