Tarnów, Muzeum Diecezjalne
Diocesan Museum
in Tarnów
Having been a private city for centuries, Tarnów was turned into an administrative centre by Austrian authorities after Duke Eustachy Sanguszko in 1787 abdicated his authority over the city. It also became the seat of a bishopric, appointed to manage the part of the Kraków diocese that fell within the borders of the Austro- Hungarian Empire after the First Partition of Poland (1772). The Diocese of Tarnów was created in 1786.
The Diocesan Museum, established in 1888 – the oldest museum of this kind in Poland – is located next to Tarnów’s cathedral church. Its establishment was promoted by the Seminary Vice-chancellor at the time, Reverend Józef Baba. Originally, the museum was accommodated in the seminary building. Between the world wars, the museum collection was transferred to the town hall, and today it is displayed in historical 16th-century tenement houses: the Akademiola (the first school building in Tarnów), ‘Mikołaj’s House’ of 1524, the Missionaries’ House and the Scholasteria.
Gothic sculptures and art from the Małopolska region are the most precious pieces in the collection. Most of the exhibits come from the churches and villages of the Tarnów diocese. In many cases, their transfer to the museum saved them from devastation or robbery. The triptych of ‘Lamenting the Christ’, dating to approx. 1470, is one of the most precious showpieces. The original central painting was later connected to (c. 1500) side panels that also originated around Stary Sącz and presenting St Kinga and St Clare dressed in monastic vestments. It is the oldest known panel painting (i.e. on wooden board) representation of St Kinga. Equally precious are the famous Descent from the Cross from Chomranice, and the painting of Virgin Mary with a carnation, brought here from the Church of St Marcin on the Mountain near Tarnów.
Another important collection of the museum contains liturgical robes from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. It boasts a wealth of fine decorated chasubles, stoles, copes, altar cloths and palls.
In the 20th century the Diocesan Museum acquired two new collections. In 1957, Norbert Lippoczy, who was of Hungarian descent, presented his collection of European folk art. In 1988, on the 100th anniversary of its existence, the museum received a collection of early 20th- -century art, mostly paintings by famous artists (Jacek Malczewski, Vlastimil Hofman and others). The museum also gained fine porcelain showpieces and clocks. The latter were donated by Olga Majewska, a Tarnów art collector.
