MNK Ciołek

The palace was built between 1501 and 1503 for Erasmus Ciołek, the Bishop of Płock and secretary to King Alexander Jagiellon. Bishop Ciołek was a diplomat, humanist and patron of the arts. The architecture of the building features traditional Gothic elements (pillars in the vestibule) and influences of the Italian Renaissance (main portal).

At the beginning of the 16th century, Florian Ungler’s printing house was located here, next to the bishop’s residence. The palace was expanded in the 1520s. (the decor of Tomicki Hall on the first floor dates back to this decade) and at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was thoroughly renovated in the first half of the 18th century, when fresco decorations were added to the representative rooms on the first floor (the so-called Hall of Virtues), and the façade was reinforced with a sloping wall and adorned with a painted decoration in the form of cream-coloured latticework against a pink background. In 1805, the Palace became the property of the Austrian authorities. It was turned into a police station and a prison. Later, various state offices were located here until the 1990s.

In 1996, the Palace was donated to the National Museum in Krakow. A general renovation of the building was carried out between 1999-2006, financed by the Citizens’ Committee for the Renovation of Krakow’s Historic Monuments, during which the Palace was restored to its former glory. In 2007, two permanent galleries presenting the collection of the National Museum in Krakow were opened in the Palace. The first floor houses the exhibition titled Art of Old Poland. The 12th – 18th Century. (from 10 March 2014 to 28 February 2015 closed to visitors for conservation reasons), where visitors can admire Polish works of art from the medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. The ground floor presents an exhibition titled Orthodox Art of the Old Polish Republic (closed for visitors from August 1, 2014, to February 28, 2015, for conservation reasons). In addition to the permanent galleries, the Palace is home to two academic sections: the 1st Department – Polish Painting and Sculpture before 1764 and the 18th Department – Orthodox Church Art. The building also houses a painting and sculpture conservation studio. The exhibitions offered in the Palace constitute the foundation of extensive educational activities.

In 2009, the National Museum in Krakow was announced the winner of the “Well-preserved Monument” competition, organised by the General Conservator of Monuments – The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage came to appreciate the comprehensive restoration of the Bishop Erazm Ciołek Palace.