Monastery at the Czartoryski Museum

The exhibition in the Monastery [Klasztorek] at the Czartoryski Museum refers to the character of the first museum in Polish lands, created in Izabela Czartoryska’s residence in Puławy, in the Temple of the Sibyl (built: 1798–1801) and the Gothic House (1801–1809).

The part of Izabela Czartoryska’s collection presented in the Monastery fully illustrates the interests and tastes of the founder and a collector of not only great works of art but maybe above all: memorabilia, curiosities, unique objects, sometimes counterfeit… Extracted from the bottom of drawers, revealed after decades, they present the audience with the unique charm and atmosphere of a place that no longer exists.

The exhibition in the Monastery encourages reflection on the “language of objects” and the memory of great personalities, such as Fryderyk Chopin, William Shakespeare, Voltaire, or the leaders of national uprisings. Similarly carefully preserved in the Czartoryski collections in Puławy, Paris, and Kraków, are memorabilia of… legendary, or even fictional, figures such as El Cid and Chimene, or Romeo and Juliet.

The collections are exhibited in authentic, nineteenth-century showcases, whose conservation revitalization allows for time travel and reflection on the history of collecting and museology.

Curator: dr Katarzyna Płonka-Bałus

Coordination: Katarzyna Stolarz

Arrangement: ART FM

Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage

Project: “Permanent gallery in the Monastery in the Princes Czartoryski Museum”,

Co-financing: PLN 396 116,65,

Total value: PLN 464 209,77
The renovation and modernization of the building were possible thanks to targeted grants. More information about the investment project can be found here. Investment coordination: Mariola Kulczyńska