Museums in Gdansk

Museums in Gdansk

There are plenty of museums in Gdansk, so everyone will find something to see. Most of them have one day with free entry and most of them close for one day a week, so it is best to plan your visit. Here are the most interesting ones:

Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk

This is one of the best museums in Gdansk, that you should find interesting regardless of your age.

The museum was opened in March 2017, but even before the inauguration, its main exhibition had been criticised by the right-wing Polish government. According to critics, the museum doesn’t fully present the heroic struggle of Polish soldiers during the Second World War, instead, it concentrates on the suffering of civilians. Therefore, the main exhibition is supposed to change in the near future. It’s worth going there now when you’re in Gdansk before they change the museum into propaganda.

The exhibition is divided into three parts:

The road to war – describing the time before the war and when it started

The horrors of war – showing the lives of ordinary people

The war’s long shadow – presenting the end of the war and its outcome

There is also an exhibition for children up to 12 years – Time travel – with the reconstruction of the family apartment in various periods of the Second World War.

To visit the museum, you should reserve at least 3 hours.

Practical information

Address: Bartoszewskiego Square 1

How to get there: 15 minutes walk from the main train station, alternatively, take the bus from the bus stop opposite to the train station (line 130, you should get off at a bus stop “Muzeum II Wojny Światowej”)

Opening hours: 10.00-18.00 (10:00-20.00 in July and August), ticket office: 9.30-17.00 (9:30-19:00 in July and August).

The Museum is closed on Monday

Ticket price: 28PLN/18PLN

Free entry on Tuesday. Tickets can be reserved online here.

Audioguide – 10PLN – available in 6 languages

European Solidarity Centre – Solidarity Museum

The big, rusty building was opened in 2014. Although its name doesn’t suggest that there is something to see for visitors, the museum that’s inside is one of the most important museums in Gdansk. It is devoted to the Solidarity movement, which had a great role in abolishing communism in Poland, and thus in the whole Soviet Block.

Practical information

Address: Solidarnosci Square 1

How to get there: 10 minutes walk from the main train station, alternatively, take the tram from the tram stop opposite to the train station (line 8 and 10, you should get off at a bus stop Plac Solidarności)

Opening hours:

Closed on Tuesday

Ticket price: 30PLN/25PLN, including audioguide

Tickets can be reserved online.

Museum of Amber

This museum is dedicated to Amber, with its origins, and uses. It includes some inclusions of various sizes, as well as jewellery or other works, As the museum is located in a medieval prison and torture house, some rooms present the medieval weapons or torture tools.

Practical information

Address: ul. Wielkie Mlyny 16

How to get there: It’s in the City Centre

Opening hours:

Monday: 10.00-18.00

Tuesday – Sunday: 10.00-18.00

Ticket price: 20PLN/14PLN, free entry on Monday

Archaeological Museum

Archaeological Museum in Gdansk is temporarily closed

This museum, like most archaeological museums, is dedicated to the (pre)history of the region told by archaeologists. So we can see here lots of excavated goods, some of them taken from the sea. Part of the exhibition is devoted to excavation works conducted in the Nile Valley in Sudan.

Address: Mariacka Street 25/26

How to get there: It’s in the city centre, in the most picturesque street in Gdansk. Just go along the Motlawa river and pass through Mariacka Gate.

Opening hours:

Closed on Monday

Ticket price: 8PLN/6PLN

Free entry: on Saturday

Tower: 5PLN

National Museum

This is the most prestigious museum in Gdansk. It houses a nice collection of paintings, old china, jewellery and medieval art. It is divided into six departments, two of them are in the centre of Gdansk.

The most important is the Department of Historical Art –  it houses Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 15th to the 17th century. The most significant painting is The Last Judgement by Hans Memling. Other prominent paintings include those painted by Peter Bruegel the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Jacob Swanenburgh, Paul Vredeman de Vries and many more. It also has over 250 paintings by Gdansk painters, among them Daniel Schultz, Anton Moller and Andreas Stech. Besides paintings, this department of the National Museum has a collection of furniture, iron, gold, silver, and bell–foundry artefacts, and copper and brass objects, as well as a collection of ceramics.

Practical information

Address: Torunska Street 1

How to get there: 10 minute walk from Brama Wyzynna. You need to walk towards Gdansk Srodmiescie Station, then look for signs.

Opening hours: 

On Mondays, the museum is closed

Ticket price: 15PLN/10PLN, Children and youths under 26: 1PLN

Free entry on Friday 

Dom Uphagena – Uphagen’s House

Johan Uphagen’s House Museum is a rare museum of the burgher house interiors. It is placed in Dluga Street, where Johan Uphagen lived in the XVIII century. The first museum was established here in 1911 and worked until 1944. After the Second World War, it had to wait over 50 years to open again. Inside the Uphagen’s House museums you can see the residential and commercial areas of the house, including the merchant cantor, living room, dining room

Practical information

Address: Dluga Street, 12

How to get there: It’s in the centre, not far from the Golden Gate

Opening hours: 

Last admission 30 minutes before closing time

Ticket price: 16PLN/12PLN, Family ticket: 45PLN (2 adults + 6 children)

Free entry on Monday

Main Town Cityhall

Gdansk Main Town City hall can’t be overlooked, as it is located exactly in the city’s heart – where Dlugi Targ meets Dluga Street. During its high times, it was a centre of the local authority, but the king’s representatives also resided here. It was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War but has been rebuilt and handed over to house the Museum of Gdansk. In its interior, there are several rooms to be visited – all of them equipped with medieval furniture and paintings.

During summer, you may also visit the viewpoint on the tower.

Practical information

Address: Dluga Street, 46

How to get there: It’s in the centre, opposite the Neptun Fountain

Opening hours: 

Last admission 45 minutes before closing time

Ticket price: 16PLN/12PLN, Family ticket: 45PLN (2 adults + 6 children)

        Ticket to viewpoint: 12/6 PLN

Free entry on Monday

Artur’s Court – Dwór Artusa

Named after the legendary King Arthur, this building uses to be the centre of social life and the meeting point of Gdansk merchants. Now it is one of the departments of the Museum of Gdansk but also serves as representative interior during official visits to Gdansk by prominent figures. The most interesting are the rooms and paintings – mostly reconstructed, as Artur’s Court suffered significant damages during the liberalisation of Gdansk in 1945.

Practical information

Address: Dlugi Targ 43-44

How to get there: It’s in the centre, opposite the Neptuno Fountain

Opening hours: 

Last admission 45 minutes before closing time.

Ticket price: 16PLN/12PLN, Family ticket: 45PLN (2 adults + 6 children)

Free entry on Monday