Wrocław Museum of Architecture

Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria, we explore an area which was in the (not too distant) past bonded together by the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and by Austria-Hungary.

At first we only had half a day in Wrocław, pronounced ‘Vrotswav’ and also known by its German name Breslau, but a change in the travel plans meant we didn’t stop in Warsaw. It gained us a full day in the capital of Lower Silesia.

We planned one museum there: the Museum of Architecture (Muzeum Architektury).

The museum was founded in 1965 and located in the historic Old Town or Stare Miasto we Wrocławiu. The museum is the only architecture museum in Poland. It is located in a 15th-century post-Bernardine set of buildings, including the St. Bernardine of Sienna Church and a monastic quadrangle with a garden.

The museum’s collections illustrate the evolution of architecture in general, although with a specific focus on Poland. The largest collection of stained glass in Poland can be found here.