Museum of Silesian Organs

The Museum of Silesian Organs is a university museum in the basement of the main building of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, on the ulica Wojewódzka side. It collects instruments, their parts and documents related to the organs of Upper Silesia.

How the museum came about

The museum grew out of many years of collecting organ components found during research in Upper Silesia. Part of the collection was shown at exhibitions accompanying the scientific conferences "Organs in Silesia" in 1983 and 1994. The institution was established by the university Senate on 4 April 2002, and organisationally it belongs to the Department of Organ and Church Music. The museum occupies five large rooms adapted for display, with others used as stores, so only part of the collection is shown.

What you can see here

The exhibition includes organs from the 18th century and the early 20th century, from churches in Upper Silesia, including Ćwiklice, Zawada Książęca and Szombierki, and from other parts of Poland. Among the most valuable exhibits the museum counts the organ from the church in Przyszowa, built after 1750 by an unknown builder, which from 1959 stood in the church in Brynów in Katowice and in 2004, after conservation, went to the academy's collection. The second exhibit is the organ from the Church of St Martin in Ćwiklice, reconstructed from surviving parts (Heinrich Dürschlag of Rybnik, around 1880). The third is the console of the organ of the basilica in Piekary Śląskie, made in 1927 by the firm of Klimosz and Dyrszlag of Rybnik.

Besides whole instruments you will see organ components: cases, consoles, stop boards, keyboards and bellows. The collection includes more than a hundred pipes by Silesian firms and organ builders, as well as 35 harmoniums, and photographs and documents of old instruments and workshops.

The museum as a base for research

The collection also serves research. The department runs a workshop and conservation studio at the museum, a research studio and an archive, which in 2012 was transformed into the Organological Archive, collecting documents on the history of Silesian organs. The museum also plans to recreate an organ builder's workshop with old tools.

Practical information

• Address: basement of the main building of the Academy of Music in Katowice, entrance from the ulica Wojewódzka side.
• Admission is free, according to the academy's website.
• Current visiting times are given on the academy's website. Organised groups can arrange another date. The times change during the summer holidays, so check them before your visit.
• Nearby: the Katowice History Museum (about 100 m), the Silesian Theatre and the Silesian Museum (about a kilometre).