Museum in Tarnowskie Góry
ul. Rynek 1, 42-600 Tarnowskie Góry
tel. +48 32 285 26 07
e-mail: muzeum@muzeumtg@art.pl
The Museum in Tarnowskie Góry is managed by the Tarnowskie Góry Municipality
Opening hours
| Tuesday-Friday* | 10.00 am–4.00 pm |
| Saturday | 10.00 am–3.00 pm |
| Sunday | 12.00 am–5.00 pm |
*Free entrance
Last vistors enter half-hour befor closing.
In 2023, the Museum in Tarnowskie Góry is closed to visitors on Mondays and on the following days: January 1 and 6, April 8 and 9, May 1 and 3, June 8, August 15, November 1 and 11, December 24 and 25. In addition, the Museum reserves the right to change the date of sightseeing and the temporary closing of exhibitions.
Ticket prices
On Fridays visitors are free of charge. Tuesday–Thursday and Saturday–Sunday:
| Full-fare ticket | PLN 10 |
| Half-ticket | PLN 5 |
| Group ticket (a minimum of 5 people) | PLN 5 per person |
| Family ticket (max. 6 people, max. 2 adults and children under 18 years) | PLN 15 |
Additional service: Fee for guided tours in English: PLN 80 per group (booking: edukacja@muzeumtg.pl).
Location
History and historic building
The tradition of museology in Tarnowskie Góry dates back to, at least, the end of the 19th century. It was then that the idea of creating a town museum was first proposed. Yet,it was only possible to implement this idea after the Second World War on the wave of great achievements of the Tarnowskie Góry Land Lovers’ Association, which is dedicated to the protection and popularisation of the local heritage.
The museum is located in a historic tenement house on the corner of the market square and Gliwicka Street. This sixteenth-century building has gone down in the town’s tradition as a place to host important visitors: the Austrian Empress Eleonora Gonzaga and the Polish kings: John III Sobieski, August II, and August III. Since 1805, it used to be home to a famous winery, founded two decades earlier by Johann Sedlaczek.
On entering the building, you can notice the decoration above the entrance, and in the hallway – a lattice vault with heads at the intersections of the ribs. On the exhibition floor, there are wooden ceilings, polychromed in the Renaissance style, a stone portico and a Baroque vault with stucco decorations. They make the building one of the most valuable monuments of old architecture in the town.
Permanent exhibitions
THE RENAISSANCE ROOM
The main hall, known as the Renaissance Hall, because of its historical ceiling, houses a gallery of early modern Western European painting. The paintings belong to the collection of the Rev. Dr. Michał Lewek, the long-time parish priest of St. Apostles Peter and Paul church in Tarnowskie Góry. The predominating works include those by Flemish, Dutch and Italian artists from the 16th to 18th century.
Religious images constitute the most numerous group in these works. The most valuable, due to the fact that it was created by the most outstanding artist, David Teniers the Younger, is painted on a wooden board and is entitled The Temptation of Saint Anthony (deposited by the Tarnowskie Góry Land Lovers’ Association). Nativity of Jesus is represented in enamel on copper, an unusual technique, by Martin Didier. It is also worth paying special attention to Johann Georg Trautmann’s Destruction of Jerusalem, the Baptism of Christ associated with the Carracci brothers’ circle and the oldest of the paintings, the Madonna and Child with Saints.
Another group consists of portraits and genre scenes. These include Portrait of Dr Hendrik van Deventer by Thomas van der Wilt and Port Scene in Naples by Johann Lingelbach. The exhibition is complemented by two works from the collection of the Dukes of Henckel von Donnersmarck and antique furniture.
FROM THE HISTORY OF TARNOWSKIE GÓRY
The exhibition, occupying several rooms, shows the richness of the collections related to the nearly 500-year-old town history. It is divided into several main thematic groups. The following are presented successively: the prehistory of the region, mining and metallurgy with the Mining School and the Miners Company, the period before the foundation of the town and its early days, the town’s authorities, the Henckel von Donnersmarck family, trades, the Sedlaczek Winery and craft guilds. The next rooms host objects related to the railway, the Shooting Brotherhood, education and organisations, the Masonic lodge, the Lutheran, Catholic and Jewish communities, the military, the Silesian Uprisings and the occupation period.
Among the most interesting exhibits in the first section, it is worth mentioning the 19th century painting with the image of St. Barbara against the background of the Tarnowskie Góry mining landscape, a model of a steam engine, Portrait of Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck by Franz von Lenbach and a rich collection of tin vessels and guild chests. The tombstone of a dog named Yellow, belonging to two landrats of Tarnowskie Góry, also deserves attention.
Equally valuable are the memorabilia of the Tarnowskie Góry Shooting Brotherhood, a collection of Masonic accessories and badges, as well as exhibits related to various religions, such as a portrait of Pastor Fedor Bojanowski (deposited by the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Tarnowskie Góry), a house altar with St. Barbara, or ritual vessels from the synagogue in Tarnowskie Góry. Among the military-related objects, the Ur anti-tank rifle (model 35) is a curiosity. Another exhibit is also worth mentioning, namely the book of prelate Ignacy Siwiec, which was shot through.
VIVA JAN III SOBIESKI
The collection of objects related to John III Sobieski is a testimony of a strongly rooted tradition, recalling the monarch’s stopover in Tarnowskie Góry on his way to the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The event was strongly exposed in the 20th century narratives about the history of the town, to emphasise the Polish tradition of Tarnowskie Góry. Although the king’s stay in the city itself was a modest episode; nowadays, the awareness of it is widespread and the museum collections have reached a considerable size.
The exhibition, arranged in a way that resembles a Turkish tent, attracts attention primarily to the 18th century portraits of the king, paintings and prints depicting the Battle of Vienna, as well as a model of his monument. The exhibits display, among other things, elements of Sarmatian outfit and hussar armament, as well as weapons, including a black hussar sabre (deposited by Andrzej Janicki) and a Turkish yatagan. The exhibition also features medals and plaques, as well as commemorative old prints. The exhibition is supplemented by a model showing the routes of the royal army marching towards Vienna.
A special interest is the painting by Sigmund Grimer with the scene of John III Sobieski being welcomed by the Viennese after his victory over the Turks. It was painted in 1840 in Tarnowskie Góry.