Museum of Archaeology, Wrocław City Museum
The Museum of Archaeology in Wrocław is one of Europe’s earliest dating institutions of this kind. Founded in 1815, the Museum has operated despite the upheavals of wars and political transformations.
Founded in 1815, the Museum is based on private archaeological collections and on assemblages put together in the course of the secularization of Catholic Church property. The founder of the Museum was J.G.G. Büsching, a scholar of great merit and Breslau University lecturer. The Museum of Archaeology is one of Europe’s earliest dating institutions of this kind. The Museum has operated without interruption since its foundation, despite the upheavals of wars and political transformations.
From the beginning, the Museum's activity was focused exclusively on the acquisition, study and presentation of archaeological artefacts from Silesia.
The Museum holds archaeological monuments from various eras spanning the early Stone Age (500 thousand years ago) and Modernity (19th century). Apart from artefacts featured in archaeological literature written by scholars and popular authors alike, the Museum also showcases items that have been recovered from archaeological excavations and those that have been accidental discoveries, mainly in Wrocław’s Old Town.
Today it continues the Prussian and German museum tradition of Silesian archaeology, skilfully combining the heritage of the past centuries with the present. This is showcased not only by artefacts, but also by priceless archival and photographic documentation.
