Racibórz Museum

The Racibórz Museum is housed in the Gothic, 14th-century building of the former Dominican nuns' Church of the Holy Spirit. It holds about 30 thousand objects, among them an Egyptian mummy, the only such display in Silesia.

Egypt in a former church

The exhibition “In the House of Osiris” is, according to the museum, the only display in Silesia presenting a set of ancient Egyptian artefacts. Its main element is the mummy of Djed-Amun-iuef-ankh with cartonnage and two sarcophagi, donated in 1861 by Baron Anselm von Rothschild.

What else to see

The museum runs nine permanent exhibitions in two buildings, at ulica Gimnazjalna 1 and Chopina 12. In the church on Gimnazjalna there are, among others, the exhibitions "Discoveries in the Dominican Church", "Silesian Pewter" and "Old Art", that is sculptures and paintings from the 15th-18th centuries after conservation.

In the townhouse on Chopina the displays include "The Ritual Year on the Upper Oder", an exhibition on old dental techniques, and archaeological displays, including one on the Lusatian culture cemetery in Samborowice. The museum also presents the exhibition "Vanishing Trades" on crafts such as gingerbread making, blacksmithing, cooperage and pottery.

The collections also include a grave with a broken sword discovered in the chancel, a tiled stove from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries reconstructed from tiles found during renovation, 19th-century Racibórz folk costumes with richly decorated bonnets, and 249 pewter items from the 17th-19th centuries. In the late 1930s a fresco of the Descent of the Holy Spirit from the first half of the 17th century was also discovered in the church.

From the museum's history

Collecting began around 1819 at the Royal Protestant Grammar School, and the museum was officially opened on 4 December 1927. In 1945 a large part of the collection was destroyed or dispersed, and about 900 exhibits remained. Since 1990 the museum has been a unit of the city of Racibórz.

Nearby

The museum is in the centre of Racibórz. Next to it stands Racibórz Castle, and from here a walk leads to the Church of St Nicholas and to the Oder Boulevards (Bulwary Nadodrzańskie).

Practical information

• Exhibitions: ulica Gimnazjalna 1 and ulica Chopina 12, Racibórz; administration at Rzeźnicza 15
• Current opening hours of the exhibitions are given on the museum's website.
• Check hours and tickets before your visit at muzeum-raciborz.pl, where you can also book visits and guide services