MNK Czartoryski Museum

The Czartoryski Museum houses a unique, most valuable collection of art in Poland and Europe. The collection was founded by Izabela Czartoryska (1746–1835), belonging to one of the most influential magnate families of the First Republic of Poland. The history of the collection was inextricably linked with the fate of the country. After the defeat of the November Uprising (1831), the collections were evacuated from the family estate in Puławy to Paris. In 1876, thanks to the goodwill of the city authorities, the Czartoryski collection was moved to Kraków, to its present location.

During World War II, part of the collection was lost and still appears on the lists of war losses. The majority of the most valuable objects were recovered, including the famous Lady with an Ermine, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci and the Landscape with the Good Samaritan by Rembrandt. The collection was cared for by the National Museum in Krakow and then the Princes Czartoryski Foundation from 1950 to 1991. Since 2016, thanks to a purchase by the Polish government, along with the buildings – the Palace, the Monastery (Klasztorek), and the Arsenal – as well as the book collection of the Czartoryski Library, it has become an integral part of the MNK. This handover enabled a comprehensive, conservation renovation of all parts of the museum and opening them to the public in 2019-2023. 

The permanent gallery in the Czartoryski Palace presents collections of Polish and European art: genre paintings by Jan Piotr Norblin, historic memorabilia of the Czartoryski family and testimonies to the history of Poland from the Jagiellonian dynasty to the end of the First Republic of Poland, works of sacred art and collections of art of the Far East. On the second floor of the Palace, the most valuable objects in Polish museum collections are presented: Lady with an Ermine and Landscape with a Good Samaritan, medieval art and modern painting from the north of Europe. In the Polish Hall, memorabilia are presented that originally were displayed in the Temple of the Sybil in Puławy – the first museum building on Polish lands.

In the annexe of the Czartoryski Palace, temporary exhibitions of prints, drawings, and collections from the Czartoryski Library are presented – a unique, specialized collection, a significant part of which includes original historical legal acts and documents.

Curatorial team: Katarzyna Płonka-Bałus, …

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Project title: “The Past of the Future” („Przeszłość przyszłości”) renovation and equipment of the Princes Czartoryski Museum, National Museum in Krakow to make the unique collection accessible