Zygmunt Krasiński Regional Museum in Złoty Potok

The Zygmunt Krasiński Regional Museum is housed in the Neoclassical Krasiński manor house in Złoty Potok, a village in Janów municipality in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland. The museum, opened in 2008 on the initiative of the municipal authorities, is directly subordinate to the Janów Municipal Office and to the minister of culture.

The manor house where the poet lived

The manor house stands next to the Raczyński Palace. In the summer of 1857, from May to 20 September, Zygmunt Krasiński lived in it with his wife Eliza née Branicka and their children. Walking in the surrounding forests, the poet gave names to many rock outcrops and to the pond at the foot of the palace, which he called Irydion. The stay was cut short by the death of his youngest daughter Elżbieta. The girl is buried in the Krasiński chapel in the church of St John the Baptist in Złoty Potok.

From a branch of the Częstochowa Museum to a municipal museum

After the war the manor house was home to, among others, teachers of the Agricultural Technical School that operated in the neighbouring palace. Later, in 1985-2007, the Zygmunt Krasiński Biographical Museum, a branch of the Częstochowa Museum, operated here.

After 2007 the building was in poor condition. The Częstochowa Museum returned it to the State Treasury, which handed the manor house to the local government for use. The Janów municipality renovated the monument and opened a regional museum in it. A tourist guide to the museum has been published (Alatus, Katowice 2010).

The park and palace next door

The manor house and palace are surrounded by an English-style park of almost forty hectares, through which the Wiercica flows. It was designed by Franciszek Szanior. On the grounds of the complex grows a pedunculate oak about 600 years old, “Dziad” (“the Old Man”). The neighbouring Raczyński Palace is in a very poor technical condition and cannot be visited.

In the same village also stands the monument to Jan Kiepura, and not far away lies the Parkowe nature reserve.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Tadeusza Kościuszki 11, Złoty Potok, Janów municipality.
• Check opening hours and visiting rules with the Janów Municipal Office, which runs the museum.