Rzeszów City History Museum

The Museum of the History of the City of Rzeszow is one of two branches of the Rzeszow District Museum and is located on the first floor of the 17th-century building No. 12 on Rzeszow's Market Square (entrance from Baldachowka Street).

The Museum was officially opened by Rzeszow Mayor Andrzej Szlachta on September 22, 2002, and the guest of honor at the ceremony was the last President of the Republic of Poland in Exile Ryszard Kaczorowski. It should be added here that the Museum was created through the efforts of several people, among whom Małgorzata Jarosińska (then head of the Historical Department) should be particularly noted. Until the end of 2007, the institution functioned in conjunction with the Underground Tourist Route (currently the administrator of the “Rzeszowskie Piwnice” is MZBM Sp. z o.o. Rzeszów).

In 2002, our institution was honored with a prestigious award in the field of museology - the “Sybil”.

What can you see with us? The colorful life of the city's inhabitants from the Middle Ages to the end of World War II, based on the permanent exhibition “Six Centuries of Rzeszow”, smaller exhibitions related to the history of the city and the region, and multimedia shows - details on our website. Among the exhibits are such unique pieces as original knight's swords from the Rzeszow area, hussar armor from the time of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, and memorabilia from the Jewish community. Rzeszow was a private city, in the hands of the magnate families of Rzeszow, Ligęza and Lubomirski until 1844, and although it was somewhat on the sidelines of big politics, it was also the site of various historical events. Mention should be made here, for example, of the visit of King John III Sobieski, who, after the Vienna Victory, wanted to thank the residents of the city and its environs for their participation in the victory over the Turks. Rzeszow was also the arena of the struggle between the Bar Confederates and Russian troops. Occupied by the Austrian invaders as early as 1772, it waited many years to regain its freedom. It regained its independence as one of the first cities - on the night of October 31-November 1, 1918. On display are museum pieces related to these events - military equipment, documents, souvenirs of everyday life. It is worth adding that the exhibition also features relics related to the activities of the Edward Janusz Photographic Company - a company whose legacy is a unique collection of almost 32,000 glass negatives. This collection is housed in the museum's collection.

We also have a wide educational offer, prepared for students at every stage of development. Some of the museum's classes are workshops and all of them are conducted using activation methods.

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