John Sarkander Museum in Skoczów

The John Sarkander Museum is housed in a tenement house on Skoczów's Market Square, right next to the town hall. St John Sarkander was born in it in 1576, and the institution tells the story of his life and cult. It belongs to the parish of St Peter and St Paul in Skoczów.

The building and the history of the museum

The tenement house dates from the 17th century. The idea of a museum appeared before the Second World War, but it was only carried out in 1994: in November of that year the chapel was renovated and the exhibition rooms were opened. At first the institution operated under the care of the Gustaw Morcinek Museum in Skoczów, and it became independent on 1 September 1995.

What to see

The permanent exhibition presents the life and cult of the saint, who died in 1620, and whose cult in Skoczów was already well established in the 18th century. The exhibits come mainly from local churches, among others the parish church in Skoczów and the Church of St Bartholomew in Grodziec: old church prints, paintings and sculptures of saints, a 17th-century confessional, and a tabernacle and bas-relief by Jan Wałach from 1936. The last room is used for temporary exhibitions.

The museum is the starting point of the Sarkander Walking Trail, which was created in 1993 and leads to places connected with the saint. Nearby also stands the former synagogue in Skoczów.

Practical information

• Address: Rynek 2, 43-430 Skoczów.
• The museum asks individual visitors and groups to call in advance. Current opening hours are listed on the museum's website.