DOI 10.2478/tour-2013-0008 Tourism 2013, 23/2 Beata Krakowiak University of Łódź Department of Urban Geography and Tourism [email protected] MUSEUMS IN CULTURAL TOURISM IN POLAND Abstract: The article presents the museums, their potential and their significance for cultural tourism in Poland. Its aims are achieved through a presentation of registered national museums, ‘monuments of history’, museum buildings and the cultural activities undertaken by these institutions. Key words : museums, culture, cultural tourism, cultural heritage, tourism attractions, cultural events. 1. INTRODUCTION Cultural tourism includes any type whose main related to tourism, especially cultural tourism. By defi- objective is to visit and discover sites and buildings nition, museums which present the culture of an area having some historical, artistic and cultural value, as (a country, region or city) and the heritage of a co- well as to attend cultural events (KUREK 2007). Accord- mmunity (an ethnographic, ethnic or national group), ing to T. JĘDRYSIAK (2008), cultural tourism makes are significant institutions in cultural tourism and it possible to learn about and experience different worth attention. This article presents museums as ways of living (social customs, religious tradition, a subject of research and the author’s aims are: intellectual thought, cultural heritage), as well as to − to present potential of museums, satisfy personal needs and expectations as regards − describe current cultural activity, culture. The element of cognition, stressed in many − establish the significance of museums for cul- definitions, makes cultural tourism a form of cognitive tural tourism. tourism, for which culture (understood as any material The spatial range is Poland, therefore the issues or spiritual achievement) creates ‘assets’. Treating the presented are illustrated by groups of or individual relation between tourism and culture very generally, Polish museums. we may assume, after W. GAWORECKI (2000), that tourism protects, enriches and popularizes culture, while culture inspires tourism development. Tourists taking part in cultural tourism visit 2. RANKING OF MUSEUMS AND THEIR historical cities, architectural monuments, religious IMPORTANCE FOR CULTURAL TOURISM and remembrance sites, places related to folk culture, etc. Museums occupy a special place here. Their fun- ction is to collect, conserve, research, popularize and According to reports from the National Institute of exhibit material evidence concerning people and their Museology and Historical Monument Protection, there environment ( International Museum Council ). The strong are 779 museums in Poland (480 main museums and relation between museums and cultural heritage is 299 branches), which function on the basis of a statute confirmed by the documents which regulate their or set of rules approved by the Minister of Culture and functioning – Museum Act (1996), Cultural Activity National Heritage. Polish museums are found in all Act (1991) and the Historical Monument Preservation voivodeships, as well as in tourist and historical and Protection Act (2003). regions. Considering the way in which they were Along with art galleries, theatres, cinemas and established, they may be divided into state, district libraries, museums are institutions under the respons- (voivodeship, powiat /county, gmina / commune) and ibility of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. private (institutions, foundations, private). The long From all these, museums are certainly the most closely list includes institutions of varied levels and import- Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/3/16 5:13 AM 24 Tourism 2013, 23/2 ance on national, regional or local scales. One way to museums, including those devoted to the beginnings give value to museums is to place them on the Na- of Polish statehood which can be found on the Piast tional Register of Museums, supervised by the Minister Trail (‘Museum of the First Piasts’ in Lednica, ‘Museum of Culture and National Heritage. Only museums of the Origins of the Polish State’ in Gniezno). Other which meet certain criteria – including the importance museums present the long process of regaining in- of its collection, a team of well-qualified professionals, dependence (‘Museum of Independence’ in Warsaw). an appropriate building and a stable source of finance Recently, a particular role has been played by the – may be placed on the register (under the Museum ‘Second World War Museum’ in Gdańsk, or the Act). Usually, it is the museum that applies for a place ‘Museum of the Warsaw Uprising’. A particular group on the list. It museum should be able to confirm its of institutions here are museums treated as remem- status and in return it may additionally receive special brance sites or of martyrdom (e.g. ‘State Auschwitz- protection (including financial support from the state, Birkenau Museum’ in Oświęcim, ‘Gross-Rosen Mu- as well as first refusal when buying artefacts). By seum’ in Rogoźnica, ‘Stutthof Museum’ in Sztutowo). meeting the formal requirements, the museum con- They preserve the memory of the tragic events and the firms the high level of its activity and the importance martyrdom of the victims, and at the same time give of its collection, thus attaining the highest rank. The Poland a particular place on the historical map of registration itself should be treated then as a guarantee Europe. of high quality given by the Minister, and these in- As regards the history and culture of our country, stitutions rank highest among museums. particularly valuable places are the former royal The list of registered museums currently includes residences, due both to the buildings themselves and 118 buildings (www.mkidn.gov.pl), which makes up the collections inside – Wawel Royal Castle, Warsaw about 15% of all the museums in Poland catalogued by Royal Castle, Łazienki Museum in Warsaw, and the the National Institute of Museology and Historical Wilanów Palace Museum. It is hard to imagine a trip Monument Protection. They differ as regards collec- to Kraków or Warsaw without visiting them. All the tions (art, historical, martyrdom, etc.), scale (city, national museums situated in large Polish cities (more regional, national) and distribution (found in every information further in the article) have similar value. voivodeship). The museums can be seen as represent- Apart from the historically important institutions ing the whole country (Fig. 1). mentioned above, the register includes many regional museums (e.g. ‘Museum of the Kujawy and the Dob- rzyń Region’ in Włocławek, ‘Tatra Museum’ in 0 50 100 km Puck Wejherowo Gdansk Zakopane or the smaller ‘Kashubian Museum’ in Slupsk Kartuzy Koszalin Sztutowo Frombork Kartuzy and ‘Museum of the Puck Region’ in Puck). Kolobrzeg Bytów Wegorzewo Wdzydze Malbork Olsztyn Ethnographic and open air museums are in a way Kiszewskie Chojnice related to regions too. Let us mention here the rural Olsztynek Szczecin Grudziadz Bydgoszcz museums (Kielce and Lublin), museums of folk build- Pila Lomza Bialystok Torun ings (Olsztynek and Sanok) or ethnographic parks Szamotuly Ciechanów Gorzów Lednica Wielkopolski Gniezno Wloclawek Plock WARSZAWA Ciechanowiec (Kashubian – Wdzydze Kiszewskie, and Oravian – Poznan Wolomin Oporów Otr busyę Biala Zielona Szreniawa Podlaska Zubrzyca Górna). The institutions listed above show Góra Lowicz Drzonków Kalisz Zyrardów Miedzyrzec the internal diversity of Poland, the particular Ochla Leszno Lódz Podlaski Glogów Opatówek Kazimierz character of individual regions, as well as the rich Dolny Koz ówkał Wielun Wroclaw Lublin folklore, both materially and spiritually. In times when Jelenia Rogo nicaż Szydlowiec Góra Ostrowiec Chelm Swidnica Opole Swietokrzyski regions and regional development are given pro- Walbrzych Kielce Sandomierz Zamosc minence in European Union countries, institutions like Duszniki Klodzko Stalowa Zdrój Katowice Wygielzów Kolbuszowa Wola Number Kraków these gain special importance. of registered Pszczyna Lancut Tarnów Rzeszów To sum up, the list of registered museums includes museums Oswiecim Wieliczka 16 Zubrzyca Przemysl Górna Krosno remarkable, high-quality items of historical, artistic or 8 Nowy Sacz 3 Sanok cultural value, which may and should be visited by 1 1 National Museums Zakopane Polish and foreign tourists interested in culture. Fig. 1. Distribution of registered and national museums in Poland Unfortunately, the exceptional character of all these S o u r c e: author’s compilation based on www.mkidn.gov.pl institutions is not accompanied by knowledge about them. The concept of the ‘register’ is found mainly Due to their large number, it is difficult to discuss among museum professionals; some museums put all of them, but it is worth focusing on several selected information about inclusion on the register on their institutions. In the context of cultural tourism, let us websites, but the truth is that an average visitor is not mention museums which are important because of the aware that such a list exists, its significance or which theme they present. They include, above all, historical museums it includes. Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/3/16 5:13 AM Articles 25 T a b l e 1. Times of establishment and the branches of national museums in Poland Destination, Year of establishment, main National museum branches major preceding stages building City Museum – 1872 4 branches in Gdańsk : 1. Gdańsk Artistic Crafts Museum – 1881 Green Gate; Photography Gallery, Opatów; Palace in Oliwa; Modern Art