Bielsko-Biała Museum
The museum in Bielsko-Biała is located in the historic Sułkowski Castle in Bielsko , Poland (German Bielitz ). A number of branches have been added since the 1970s: the Julian Fałat Museum in Bystra Śląska , the Museum of Technology and Textile Industry and the Clothmaker's House .
History of the castle
The castle in the city center rises above the historic old town of Bielsko with its tin tower as the largest and oldest building. According to a legend, a small castle is said to have stood in its place once, from which robber barons attacked traveling merchants. The Ratibor Duke Casimir I († 1229/30) is said to have conquered this castle, exterminated the robber barons and built a hunting lodge at this point. In the vicinity of the castle, the original rural settlement Altbielitz ( Stare Bielsko) the city of Bielitz developed. The oldest parts of the castle date from the second half of the 14th century. Over the next few centuries, the castle was gradually expanded and redesigned. It presents itself as a type of city palace that was included in the city fortifications of Bielsko from the very beginning and at the same time formed its strongest point of defense.
For centuries the castle played the role of the Silesian border fortress. First it defended the border between the duchies of Teschen and Auschwitz . The state border between Poland and Bohemia had been here since the middle of the 15th century, the kings of which were the Habsburgs from 1526 . From the end of the 16th century the defensive function of the castle, which subsequently served as the residence of the Dukes of Bielitz, dwindled. The current appearance of the castle dates from the time of its last major renovation in the 50s and 60s of the 19th century, which completely obliterated its earlier stylistic features.
In the years 1899–1973, a long row of shops, the so-called castle bazaar with the “high sidewalk”, which formed an impressive architectural substructure of the castle building, stood in place of the retaining wall that is visible today from the eastern side. This was completely demolished when Ulica Zamkowa ( Castle Street ) was widened. The castle, built by the Piast dukes of Teschen, served as one of their seats for over two centuries. Since 1572 it was the administrative center and the economic center of an independent minority rule Bielitz, separated from Teschen, which was successively owned by the Promnitz , Schaffgotsch , Sunnegh, Solms and Haugwitz families . In 1751 Queen Maria Theresa made the minority Bielitz a free class rule , and in 1752 a principality , which had previously been acquired by Aleksander Józef Sułkowski. Two years later it was elevated to the Duchy of Bielitz . The Duchy of Bielitz existed until 1849 and was incorporated into the district administration of Bielitz after the administrative division. In 1920 Bielsko fell to Poland. The castle itself and its numerous goods in and around the town remained in the possession of the Sułkowski family until 1945. After the Second World War, the castle was confiscated by the Polish state as "formerly German property" and then served as the seat of various cultural institutions for years. Since 1983 its only user has been the museum, which is subordinate to the Silesian state government in Katowice.
exhibition
The exhibition includes a number of rooms on the first floor of the building. Access to the exhibition is through the 19th century vestibule, which was renovated in 2001. The hunting room and armory are located in the west wing of the castle. The part of the exhibition that relates to the history of the city and the castle and is dedicated to the craft traditions of Bielsko and Biala is housed in the rooms of the south wing. Next to it are the Rococo concert hall and the Biedermeier room. The old tiled stoves from the 18th and 19th centuries are a special decoration of the exposition.
There is a picture gallery in the east wing. Realistic and academic painting of the 19th century, art nouveau painting, works by artists associated with Bielitz-Biala in the inter-war period and works by local artists from the years after the Second World War are shown here. The Polish Art Hall in Zaolzie (the western part of Cieszyn Silesia, which was divided after World War I) shows works by Polish artists working in the Czech Republic. In the corridor on the courtyard side, a collection of graphics by artists from the beginning of the 20th century and numerous portraits of residents from Bielitz and Biala from the 19th and 20th centuries are shown. On the ground floor of the palace there are also three vaults in which the museum's special exhibitions take place.
history
The museum continues museum traditions that began in the early years of the 20th century. At that time, the authorities of the Silesian city of Bielitz (Bielsko) in Austria-Hungary and the Galician city of Biala established two independent museums.
The older was the museum in Biala, which was founded at the suggestion of the high school professor in Bielitz, Erwin Hanslik, by a municipal council resolution of December 19, 1902. At the same time, the local Protestant pastor Arthur Schmidt appeared at the municipal council of the neighboring city of Bielitz with a similar initiative. At his request, a large collection campaign for souvenirs with museum value was carried out in Bielitz-Biala and the surrounding area in the following months. The result was the exhibition of "local antiquities" in June 1903 in the rooms of the shooting range in Bielitz. A few months later, the Bielsko municipal council launched the Bielsko City Museum. A few months passed before the two museums in Bielitz and Biala were opened to the public. The museum in Biala was opened on December 3, 1904 in some rooms of the town hall in the former Sparkasse building. It operated here until 1920, when its activities were discontinued, the collection was stored in a room and the premises were used for other purposes. The museum was only reopened in 1932, this time in the basement of the Biala town hall, where it was active until the outbreak of the Second World War. Then it was closed.
The museum opened its doors to the public on February 25, 1906 in the so-called "Old Town Hall", Ringplatz 9, where it operated continuously until 1941. Thanks to the efforts of his custodian, the master chimney sweep Eduard Schnack, the museum's exhibitions were significantly expanded in the two decades between the two world wars. At that time it was one of the larger regional museums in Poland, the third largest in Silesia, after the museums in Katowice and Teschen.
In 1941, the German district management of the Bielitz district combined the two museums into a local museum, which was housed in Biala, in the former guild house of the drapers on Franzensplatz, today's Plac Wolności. The museum was active here until February 1945. After the city was occupied by Soviet troops, parts of its collection were destroyed and looted.
In 1945 the decision was made to restart the museum. The City Museum in Bielitz was opened to the public on February 14, 1947. A number of branches have been added since the 1970s: the Julian Fałat Museum in Bystra Śląska (1973), the Museum of Textile Technology (1979, now the Museum of Technology and Textile Industry) and the “Clothmaker's House” (1992). Since the beginning of 2001 the museum has been called "Muzeum w Bielsku-Białej" (Museum in Bielsko-Biala).
The "Blue Salon"
Museum of Technology and Textile Industry
"Clothmaker's House"
Julian Fałat Museum
literature
- Karl August Müller: Patriotic images, or history and description of all castles and knight palaces in Silesia and the county of Glatz. Second edition, Glogau 1844, pp. 191–193.
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 49 ′ 19 ″ N , 19 ° 2 ′ 40 ″ E