The building of the Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno i

Day trips

Museum of the Origins of the Polish State in Gniezno

The museum in Gniezno tells the story of the beginnings of the Polish state, the early Middle Ages and the history of the town. It was founded in 1973, and the permanent exhibition in the present building opened in 1983. A visit to the whole museum takes about an hour and a half.

About the museum

The museum grew out of archaeological research carried out in Gniezno since 1948. The building on ul. Kostrzewskiego was built as part of a complex commemorating Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave.

Exhibitions

The main exhibition “The Beginnings of the Polish State” about the first Piasts and Poland in the early Middle Ages.

Five permanent exhibitions: Gniezno ceramics (one of the largest collections of tiles and stove tiles in Europe), “The Painted History of the Piasts” with 19th-century paintings, “Gniezno. From Here into the Past”, Romanesque art in Poland and Slavic motifs in art.

In 2026 temporary exhibitions: “Truso. Legend of the Baltic” and “Re: Middle Ages. 1,000 Years, 1,000 Versions”.

Good to know

On Sundays admission is free. Tickets are bought in the museum shop, and sales end a quarter of an hour before closing.

The museum has a mobile guide, and you can also visit with an animal.

Opposite the museum is a free car park, and in front of the entrance a station of Gniezno's city bikes. The cathedral is about 700 m away.

Sources (in Polish)

More to explore