Description of the attraction
The National Museum in Wroclaw is one of the largest museums in Wroclaw, created in 1947. The museum continues the tradition of German museums that have existed since the 19th century. The collection consists mainly of paintings and sculptures, with great emphasis on the art of Silesia.
The predecessor to the National Museum was the Royal Museum of Art and Antiquities, opened in Breslau in 1815. Also, during that period, the Museum of Silesian Antiquity and the Museum of Fine Arts of Silesia were opened. The work of these museums was interrupted during the Second World War, when all collections were taken out of the city. The removed part of the collection has survived, however, many exhibits were stolen, destroyed or disappeared during military operations and looting by looters.
After World War II, when Wroclaw came under Polish jurisdiction, it was decided to create a new museum, which was opened on January 1, 1947. Most of the historic buildings in Wroclaw were destroyed or badly damaged, so the Polish Department of Museums and Monument Protection chose for the new museum the preserved building of the former Silesian Regency, built in 1886 according to the design of Karl Friedrich Endell.
The museum was opened to the public in July 1948. It changed its name several times, and in 1970 it was elevated to the status of a national museum.
The permanent exhibition is spread over several floors and is divided into different historical eras. The oldest is the section "Silesian Art of the 12th to 16th Centuries", showing the tombs of the Silesian princes and the most valuable works of Gothic art. This is followed by "Silesian art from the 16th to the 19th century": sculpture, painting, decorative and applied arts from the Renaissance to romanticism. The next exhibition is "Polish Art of the 17-19th Centuries": portraits, a collection of glass and porcelain, and much more. And finally, "Polish Contemporary Art from the Beginning of the 20th Century", where you can see the works of Tadeusz Makovski, Stanislav Witkiewicz, Władysław Strzeminski, Józef Schein and many others.
