The Czartoryski Museum was established in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska and its collections are actually the work of five generations of the Czartoryski family. The collection has been moved to another city, gone underground and even missing; a small percentage of the original collection is what is open to the public today. The tale of the Museum is a story everyone must know. With the motto ‘From the Past to the Future’, Princess Izabela set up the museum in Pulawy, Poland to store Polish and other historic memorabilia. Da Vinci’s ‘The Lady with an Ermine’ was added to the collection by Izabela’s son, Adam, upon his return from Italy. After his political career failed, Adam moved to Paris along with the collection which was set up at Hotel Lambert. Adam’s children, Prince Wladyslaw and Princess Izabela Działyńska, also added to this collection. In 1878, the return of Prince Wladyslaw to Poland led to the inauguration of the current Czartoryski Museum. His son, Adam Ludwik, and Adam’s wife then took over the museum and further expanded the collection. During the Second World War, the museum was raided by the Germans and most artefacts were stolen. After the War, a massive attempt to recover lost collections was made but over 800 artefacts were lost forever. The Museum’s prized possession remains the Da Vinci painting which has toured the world. Over 12,000 visitors come to the Museum every year and keep Princess Izabela’s dream alive.

The city of Krakow is filled with historic monuments and structures from different eras of architectural history, and therefore, Krakow is nicknamed the art capital of Poland. One such place to marvel at the historical and architectural wealth of the city is the Palace of Arts. This present day museum houses some of the finest and most prestigious exhibitions in the city. Works of established artists and those who have gained global reputation are proudly displayed at the Palace of Arts. The venue is also used for art auctions and exhibitions of contemporary Polish art. The building was constructed as the headquarters of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts (Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciol Sztuk Pieknych in Polish) which was founded in 1854. Erected at the beginning of the 20th century, the Palace of Arts is the first Art Nouveau structure in Krakow. Designer Francis Mączyński was said to have drawn inspiration from the Pavilion Secession in Vienna for the construction of the Palace of Arts. The façade of the structure was designed by the famous symbolist painter Jacek Malczewski. Other famous Polish artists like Madeyski Antoni , Konstanty Laszczka and Theodore Rygier contributed to the façade with busts of masters of Polish art.

The Wyspianski Museum takes you into the world of Stanislaw Wyspianski, where you are invited to take a closer look at some of his best works and their making. Located in the house of the Szołayski family, the building too, is one of the city’s monumental buildings in its own right. Dating back to the 14th century, the structure underwent several reconstructions and renovations in the 19th and 20th century. Roped in as a part of the National Museum of Krakow in 1904, it has been home to several exhibits and treasures of the city.

Off late, the Szolayski house is playing home to the most prized possession of the city’s recent past – the works of its beloved Stanislaw Wyspianski, along with collections from Feliks Manggha. One of Poland’s most cherished artist of the 19th century, Stanislaw Wyspianski was one of the pioneers who merged modern trends and styles of art with the Polish folksy touch. Unique in his every endeavour, Wyspianski’s was also unofficially tagged as the Fourth Polish Bard.

The museum displays a wide collection of Stanislaw’s sketches, paintings, furniture, documents, stained windows, pastels etc. Although Stanislaw died young, his work lives on as proof of the maestro that he was.

The Main Market Square is home to many important sights in Krakow, one of which is the Museum of History. Housed in one of the most magnificent buildings, the Museum of History is filled with artefacts that prove that Krakow truly is Poland’s cultural capital.

The building that the Museum is located in is the Krzysztofory Palace, a part of Krakow’s prized heritage. A beautiful Baroque structure, the Palace was owned by Crown Court Marshal Adam Kazanowski in the mid-17th century. The building underwent a series of renovations and even housed a popular restaurant named Pod Palmą on its first floor. The interiors of the building display the brilliant Stucco work done by Italian architect, Baldassare Fontana.

The museum of History houses some interesting exhibits like photographs, old cartography sketches and development of maps, painting and prints etc. Also on display are a collection of clocks arranged in chronological order right from the 18th to the 20th century and weaponry from the fourteenth century. Apart from the historical artefacts, the Museum is also home to 'Szopki' which are the famous Polish Christmas Cribs. Made of paper mache, these cribs attract a lot of attention in the museum and are a delight to see.

Although museums may be the only window to look at how life was in yester years, rarely do you actually come across one that gives you a feel of how life was back then. The Hipolit House is one of the rare examples which give its viewers an experience of how everyday life was way back in time.

The Hipolit house was once owned by a wealthy Italian merchant family in the 17th century who went by the same name. The mansion saw a number of wealthy families throughout its years and underwent many renovations of its interiors. Today, the museum proudly displays life that the aristocrats lived in 17th century Krakow. Each room of the House is specially decorated to give it a look of the life in Krakow between the 17th and the 20th century.

Interesting exhibits include the Collector’s Room, Young Lady’s Bedroom, The Study and Granny’s room. With intricate details like fabric, furniture, paintings and decorations, one is bound to get transported to the 17th century and so on. This museum is highly recommended if you are a curious about the day to day activity of the years gone by.

In the land considered the epicentre of Poland’s cultural and artistic society, there can never be an excess of museums, art houses and conservatories. Even though they may be plenty in number each museum is very distinct and unique from the other. Located in the Main Market Square in Old Town District and just above the Cloth Hall, the Sukiennice Museum cannot be missed.

The Sukiennice Museum is one of the divisions of the National Museum of Krakow.
Focussing on art from the early 18th and 19th century, the Museum boasts an assortment of gifts, sculptures, paintings and other artefacts that were collected by artists and rich families.

The unique factor about the museum is that the exhibits are arranged chronologically. So the viewer is given a fair understanding of the different revolutions and eras that came about in the art world. The paintings best display the trends that swept the artistic world in Poland. Moving from Historicism, Romanticism, Symbolism, and Impressionism, the museum also successfully sheds light on how modern European art influenced the traditional folk oriented Polish art in that time.

One can view works of some very famous Polish artists like Jan Matejko, Józef Chełmoński, Julian Fałat just to mention a few.

The Jagiellonian University is one of the oldest universities in the world. Established in 1364 by Casimir III, the University faced hardships with the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Poland. When peace prevailed after the establishment of Duchy of Warsaw, the university was revived and renamed as the Jagiellonian University to honour Poland’s most prosperous rulers.
 
Historical records show that in the year 1400, King Wladyslaw Jagiello bought a house located at the corner of St. Anna and Jagiellonska Streets which was then owned by the Pecherz family. He donated this house to the university which came to be known as the Collegium Maius, the oldest university structure in Poland. Between the years 1949 and 1964 Collegium Maius underwent major conservation to remove the Neo Gothic installations and to restore the building to its former grace. It was then declared as the Jagiellonian University Museum, which now houses collections of the University itself. On your visit, you can see the first globe that maps North America, instruments used by Copernicus, a rock from the Moon, and the Nobel Prize.
 
Open from Mondays to Saturdays, this Museum on Jagiellonska Street also lets you catch a glimpse of the life the professors of yester years lived and their possessions. The halls of the museum are used for the elite visitors of the university and honour candidates who have completed doctoral degrees at the Jagiellonian University.