Arms and Uniform

Founded in 1879, the National Museum in Krakow was originally going to purely showcase art. “However, residents of the former Commonwealth were so moved by the creation of the first national museum under the partitions that they approached the institution donating gifts including weapons and uniforms of their ancestors. This popular drive shifted the museum’s focus and resulted in the formation of one of Poland’s largest and most fascinating collections of militaria,” explains curator Michał Dziewulski. A selection of the most valuable Polish, European and Oriental weaponry, made between around 1000 and the mid-19th century, goes on permanent display at the former city arsenal in October 2023. Together with the nearby Princes Czartoryski Museum, it is one of the most important venues presenting historic militaria in Poland.