About us

Thanks to the initiative of Professor Jan Karłowicz and Jan Maurycy Kamiński, the Ethnographic Museum was opened next to the then-existing zoo. The rapid development of the institution was ensured by the active efforts of its creators, numerous donations, and the involvement of Polish travelers who offered exotic exhibits.

The liquidation of the zoo ended the operation of the first facility, and the collection was at risk of being transported to St. Petersburg. The museum’s founders saved it by purchasing the collections at their own expense. The Tsarist authorities did not allow the legalization of a new institution, so a “Permanent Ethnographic Exhibition” was opened at Krakowskie Przedmieście.

The desire to end the series of relocations of the collection—from Krakowskie Przedmieście to the Frascati Palace, and then to Nowy Świat—influenced the decision to house the collections in the Museum of Industry and Agriculture.

Conducting scientific research and regularly developing ethnographic collections—these were the tasks set for the newly established Ethnological Workshop, initiated and led by Professor Stanisław Poniatowski. The dynamic growth of the Museum’s activities was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.

During the period when Professor Eugeniusz Frankowski managed the Ethnographic Collections, the Ethnographic Museum gained the status of a state museum institution. In addition to his extensive ethnographic knowledge, Director Frankowski also demonstrated managerial acumen, which led to significant progress in the institution’s activities.

President Stefan Starzyński granted the museum a permanent home in the building at Podwale Street, but the collections did not make it there in time. The Museum of Industry and Agriculture building, bombed in 1939, was completely destroyed, and the collections of the Ethnographic Museum were lost.

After the war, the institution received a new name — Museum of Folk Cultures — and its organization was led by Dr. Jan Żołna-Manugiewicz. Its temporary headquarters became the historic 18th-century Brühl Palace in Młociny.

The first post-war exhibition, “Polish Folk Costume,” opened on May 22, 1949. Shortly thereafter, the first collection of non-European artifacts titled “Art of the Black African Peoples and Oceania” was presented in the newly built exhibition pavillons.

The cargo barge Bat became a floating branch of the museum. Two exhibitions were presented on it: “Art of Mazovia” and “Polish Folk Costume.” In subsequent years, the museum on the “Złota Kaczka” barge reached 180 localities along the Vistula, Noteć, and Oder rivers, as well as in Masuria.

The institution’s name was changed to the Museum of Folk Culture and Art. In 1956, Ksawery Piwocki, a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the author of the Museum’s new form, became its director.

The Museum received a permanent seat at the intersection of Kredytowa and Mazowiecka streets in the building of the former Land Credit Society, and in 1964 – a new name. As the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, it also gained a new statute outlining its goals, tasks, forms of activity, and organizational structure.

The museum’s relocation began in 1971, and the official opening in the new headquarters took place in December 1973. The work was coordinated by Dr. Kazimierz Pietkiewicz, who took over as director in 1969.

Two temporary exhibitions were presented to commemorate the museum’s 100th anniversary. One of them, presenting the African collection, was officially opened by the king of the Bakuba tribe from Zaire – Kwete M’Bokashanga with his entourage, invited to Warsaw by director Dr. Jan Krzysztof Makulski.

Thanks to the efforts of the then director of the Museum, Dr. Jan Witold Suliga, the PME was entered into the National Register of Museums and became the owner of the building at ul. Kredytowa 1. At the same time, the PME received the status of a provincial, self-governing cultural institution, for which the Marshal of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship is the founding body.

A new chapter in the museum’s history was begun by Dr. Adam Czyżewski, author of works in the field of urban anthropology, visual culture, and the anthropology of objects, who has served as director since 2008. His work is the restitution of the Museum in its 1959 form, fully adapted to contemporary needs.

The **Museum for Children** was established, the first and only such place in Poland where the youngest visitors can learn about culture and art without glass display cases. Years of interior modernization also allowed for the creation of new permanent exhibitions: “Time of Celebration” with a magnificent collection of folk costumes from Poland and Europe, and “The Order of Things. Piotr B. Szacki’s Warehouse” presenting over 3000 objects related to farming and craftsmanship.

The Museum entered a new era. These changes were recognized by the European Museum Forum, which nominated the PME for the title of **European Museum of the Year Award**. This is a prestigious distinction sought after by the best institutions across Europe.

During his one-year tenure, the museum opened nine exhibitions, moved its operations online, and finalized an EU investment worth over PLN 10 million, culminating in the opening of a new permanent exhibition presenting the rich African and Asian collections from the PME.

Robert Zydel is a graduate of the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Warsaw. For many years, he conducted laboratories and classes related to the practical application of ethnographic tools in marketing research. He was unanimously selected for the position of Director during the deliberations of the Competition Committee composed of representatives of the Organizer, industry associations, and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Since February 2021, the Museum can be visited accompanied by pets. Director Robert Zydel removed the “no pets allowed” sign from the museum’s facade, symbolically opening the institution’s doors to their presence.

From June 8-11, 2022, the **Vistula Ethnographic Expedition** took place. Museum staff ventured into the field, traveling along Poland’s most important river – the Vistula – to learn from people and nature about the world we live in. This initiative echoed past museum endeavors and paid tribute to the pioneers of ethnography, thus continuing the institution’s tradition.

On October 25, 2023, a ceremonial jubilee gala was held to celebrate the **135th anniversary of the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw**. 135 years represents the achievement of many generations of museum professionals, ethnographers, and individuals of various specializations and talents, including organizational, educational, and technical.

Dr. Magdalena Wróblewska was appointed Director of the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw on May 15, 2024. She is an art historian and museologist, interested in decoloniality, and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Artes Liberales, University of Warsaw. She completed a post-doc fellowship at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2012-14). From 2015-2021, she led research at the Museum of Warsaw, and several teams: the Department of Warsaw Studies, the Archaeological Department, the Center for Heritage Interpretation, and Korczakianum. She was a co-curator of the main exhibition “Warsaw Things,” responsible for the “Portrait Cabinet.” Her project “Where do Varsovians come from? Migrations to Warsaw in the 14th-21st centuries” was awarded the Sybilla by the National Institute of Museology and Collection Protection (2016). In 2023, she completed a research internship at the Department for Anthropology, Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C.