This is one of the branches of the Krakow Museum. The institution operates in a building located on the estate. E1 Center. The facility is the result of the merger of the previously operating Museum of the Polish People’s Republic and the History of Nowa Huta branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow. Now the institution has received the green light in the form of the necessary funds.
Thanks to the inclusion of Nowa Huta on the list of Historical Monuments, the Krakow Museum could apply for funds from the FEnIKS program (European funds for infrastructure, climate, environment”). The funds will be used for expansion, modernization and implementation of exhibitions.
– The building will house a temporary exhibition hall, or rather a complex of rooms that will create a permanent exhibition “Neighborhood space”. It is not only a new institution, but a new institution in an old, socialist realist building. We have complete documentation and a complete script for the exhibition, which is supposed to be a story about the phenomenon of Nowa Huta. – Michał Niezabitowski, director of the Krakow Museum, told journalists during a press conference.
The Mayor of Krakow, Jacek Majchrowski, emphasized that the investment requires the city’s own contribution (the organizer of the institution) in the amount of PLN 23 million. An appropriate resolution is to be presented to the Krakow City Council.
– , which tells about an important chapter in history and attracts residents of the district, the entire Krakow and guests. The interest and need to expand the institution’s activities is evidenced by the attendance record of the recent exhibition “Trzepaki, Reksio, Atari” or the popularity of the current exhibition “Rebellion in the system” – the mayor of Krakow said in a separate statement.
According to the museum, thanks to modernization and reconstruction, the area for cultural purposes will increase threefold – from the current 1,575 m2 to almost 4,400 m2.
Museum officials do not hide the fact that it will meet the standards of contemporary exhibitions. The project also includes a separate entrance to the superstructure, where an observation deck and a summer cinema will be built.
The exhibition presented in the building will tell the history of Nowa Huta and its inhabitants. And this one will be set in the times before the construction of the district, in the context of the Polish People’s Republic – there will also be contemporary threads. The people of Nowa Huta will combine all these stories into one. They will be the main heroes and heroines of the exhibition.
– The history of Nowa Huta cannot be told honestly and understandably without the history of the Polish People’s Republic. The permanent exhibition of the Nowa Huta Museum includes a story about the communist system in Poland, groundbreaking political events from a nationwide perspective, and Polish months (the defense of the cross, strikes in the 1980s). However, the exhibition will not be limited to political aspects, but will also focus on the everyday life of residents and the socio-cultural changes taking place in the district – this is how museum experts describe the exhibition.
Currently It is a story about anti-system music, composed of concert posters, recordings, photos, instruments and zines.
On the estate The Świt cinema still operated in the theater.
The interior and furniture were designed by a team led by
The facility that currently houses the museum was the first panoramic cinema in Nowa Huta. – viewers then saw a French-German comedy “Women won” in dir. Jacques Feyder.
– a large one with a balcony (680 seats) and a small one for 170 people. The building is a real architectural gem of its time – inside there are representative staircases, halls and two underground air raid shelters.
The following years brought changes, and Światowid became a commercial and service center. There was a tourist office and a furniture showroom here. Despite this, the former cinema building has retained its original shape. In 2006, Światowid was purchased by the Municipality of Kraków and since 2008 it has been a place of museum activities.
At the end of May 2015, the Małopolska Provincial Conservator of Monuments entered the building into the register of monuments. The former cinema building is located within the Nowa Huta Cultural Park and the urban layout of Nowa Huta, which was entered into the register of monuments in 2004.