In Wroclaw,  Places,  Sightseeing,  Things to do

These are the 15 best Museums in Wroclaw!

The Historic Centrum in Wroclaw
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Rainy day? Just into culture and art? Not sure what to do in Wroclaw? You want to see something truly special in Wroclaw? No matter what motivates you, going to some great museums in Wroclaw is always an amazing idea!

In our new blog post today we will share the best museums in Wroclaw with you! As always, we picked the ones that we love, but we are sure that there will be something for all of you. We know that expectations might be different, depending on your preferences for weird contemporary art, or bringing your whole family with kids and grandparents to Wroclaw.

We will go on a little journey through some water related museums, a gigantic panorama painting, contemporary museums, classical art and history museums, a computer game museum and even a very special cemetery! 

1. Hydropolis

We are starting with a museum that is related to water. In the Hydropolis Museum Wroclaw (also known as “water knowledge centre”), you will be able to experience all about the element water.

And you will discover the very special bond between Wroclaw and water – there are different thematic zones, for example “Cities and the water”.

Also the part about oceans, our planet and water, different states of water and a really chilling relaxation zone are making this museum a great spot to see.

This is by the way one of our top recommendations if you visit Wroclaw with kids!

Hydropolis Wroclaw

2. Panorama Racławicka

One museum, one painting. Yes, you read that correctly – in this museum you will have no more than just one single painting!

But: It is massive… With 15×114 meters, it is possibly the largest painting that you will ever see in your life. It is painted as panorama, you will be standing in the middle and it feels like you are in the scenario that it shows yourself.

The panorama painting shows the victory of the Polish army over the Russians during the battle of Racławice.

Currently (in early 2021) it is under restoration works, but we will be updating you when it will open again for visitors. 

Panorama raclawicka

3. The City Museum of Wroclaw

If you are interested to learn more about the history of Wroclaw, then this is definitely the “must-visit”-museum! 

Here you will literally walk through the last 1000 years of Wroclaw and learn a lot about all the changes and dramatic events which took place in the last centuries. 

If you have been already on the historic trail in Wroclaw, and you are still thirsty for more detailed knowledge, then this is the place for you.

As you see in the picture, the historic palace where the museum is located is also an amazing motive for nice pictures in the garden.

The City Museum of Wroclaw

4. The Four Dome Pavilion

You are more up for something modern? No problem at all! The Four Dome Pavilion is the home to the contemporary arm of the National Museum.

The building designed by Hans Poelzig itself is already worth a visit and got featured it in our post about the 25 most amazing buildings in Wroclaw. No surprise as it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Centennial Hall.

Just freshly renovated and re-opened in 2016, you will be able to see some great pieces of work like collections from Magdalena Abakanowicz and many more.

Four Dome Pavilion Wroclaw

5. Wroclaw Contemporary Museum (MWW)

Wroclaw Contemporary Museum

We stick around with contemporary art and now go even one level further. In this old German air-shelter bunker, you will find the Wroclaw Contemporary Museum. 

Is it just a co-incidence that just in front of it you meet the train to heaven, one of the bizarre things in Wroclaw? Probably not. 

While the contemporary art in the Four Dome Pavilion holds pieces of quite established artists, the MWW has significantly more controversial and provokative items in the displays. Don‘t miss the roof top café which we recommended in our post on the most unusual cafés in Wroclaw!

6. The Museum of Bourgeois Art

Here we have another very “traditional” museum for you, but of course – totally worth it as well.

Probably there are not too many opportunities to get inside a real historical townhall building that was created many centuries ago – here you got one!

If you are into gothic architecture, this is the place to be for you. In particular we liked the presentation of the famous people from Wroclaw. 

And sometimes exhibitions from famous international artists are held here, for example Dali or Warhol.

The City Museum Rynek Wroclaw

7. Pan Tadeusz Museum

You want to learn more about Polish history and culture? Then the Pan Tadeusz museum could be a great choice for you.

The main exhibition is about the Manuscript of Pan Tadeusz, one of the most important Polish books, written by Adam Mickiewicz. 

The second part is showing the daily life with the “freedom” after Poland finally gained independence and found a place back on the map, the struggles with the the next world war coming up and the post-war-life. 

Pan Tadeusz Museum Wroclaw

8. OP ENHEIM

Is OP ENHEIM really a museum? Well, more a private art gallery which is open to the public. 

Various interesting exhibitions  and events are held here, all that we saw so far were really great and we highly recommend a visit.

One of the latest events was about “Stolpersteine”. For the ones who don’t know the term, these are cobblestones in the streets which commemorate victims of the Nazi-Regime. 

Usually covered with a brass tile, they have names of the victims, as well as day of birth and death engraved and are placed in front of their last home in the sidewalk.

We also enjoyed the Volker Diehl exhibition with contemporary art a lot!

OP ENHEIM Wroclaw

Many more artistic and cultural projects, often with Polish-German reference and strengthening the Berlin-Wroclaw-Connection, will be home here. And we didn’t mention yet how beautifully the old tenement house is renovated where OP ENHEIM is located…

9. The National Museum

Not only is the building of the National Museum in Wroclaw just beautiful (especially in autumn with all the leaves), but it holds a massive collection as well!

More than 200.000 exhibits from Wroclaw, Silesia and Poland are waiting to be discovered here. 

National Museum Wroclaw

10. The Architecture Museum

Originally this museum was collecting old architectonic elements from destroyed pre-war buildings. Now it shows the evolution of architecture, of course with focus on Silesia.

The building used to be an old Benedictine monastery, built in the 15th and 16th century and we just love the beautiful garden in the inner backyard.

However, we didn’t spend hours inside, you this might be a good option to see during a little rainshower…

The Museum of Architecture Wroclaw

11. The Historic Centrum Zajezdnia

The Historic Centrum in Wroclaw

A former bus depot – yes, the polish word for that is indeed Zajezdnia – was transformed into an amazingly interactive history museum in 2016, when Wroclaw was the European Capital of Culture. 

Inside you find all information about Wroclaw and also about Lower Silesia in the post-war years from 1945 till the present. And seriously, it is presented in a really nice and fresh way, that you won’t get bored like you might do with average history museums. 

Interesting is also the part about the Solidarity movement, which played a significant role in the reunification of Germany and kind of laid the grounds for these events to happen. During summer months, check their schedule online before you go – on some evenings there is a really nice outdoor cinema or sometimes other cool events (yes, hopefully after Covid again soon).

By the way, we have the best insider advise for you. On many trams you will see Zajezdnia as destination on the screen. No, don’t get in unless you are sure it is the right tram! We ended up ourselves at the final stop, just next to a tram depot, and far away from the museum itself. Good we read our own article on how to get around in Wroclaw and just called us an Uber taxi. Learn from our mistakes! 🙂

12. The Computer Games Museum

Another great fun museum in Wroclaw! But not only for families and kids – we as adults felt catapulted back into our childhood and spend quite some time here last time we have been.

This is one of the interactive museums that do not only tell you more about the history of computer games – the official title is “Wroclaw Museum Games and Computers of the past Era”.

Of course there are plenty of exhibits to see and follow the technological game evolution, just to mention Atari, Commodore, Nintendo and many more….

The best part however is that most of the games are just available for you to actually play! A place which is just very hard to leave again….

Ewa is racing

13. The University Museum

The University Museum of Wroclaw actually has three different “sub-museums” in it:

  • The Aula Leopoldina
  • Oratorium Marianum
  • The Mathematical Tower
While the Aula Leopodina and Oratorium Marianum are some of the most impressive baroque rooms in Poland and definitely worth to see, the Mathematical Tower is no less spectacular.
 
From the tower you will get an amazing view over the city, towards the old town and towards the Oder river on the north.  
 
University Museum Wroclaw

14. The Old Jewish Cemetery

Wow. This is just a magic place. Not only full of history, but the time has just stopped here many centuries ago. 

The Old Jewish Cemetery is so special, because after the war it was left untouched for around 40 years, only in 1984 the preservation process started. 

Probably this is the best place to get a feeling for Breslau and how it used to be before the war. Many famous Jews are buried here and the tombstones are telling many stories.

Even bullet holes from the war are still visible in the walls – it made us speechless when we saw it the first time.

This cemetery officially is a museum today and if you want to know how to get in for free, check our post on the best free things to do in Wroclaw here!

The Jewish Cemetery Wroclaw

15. Odra Centrum

We admit: The Odra Centrum is not a museum, and still we had to include it here!

It is designed as floating educational and cultural meeting point but also has some museum-like elements.

We love the collection of barometers, old post cards and maps from all different times of Wroclaw, not to forget the amazing view!

OdraCafe Wroclaw

We even have created a dedicated post just about the Odra Centrum as it is totally worth it, so if you are curious about the workshops offered (photography, 3D-printing, ecology, pottery and many more) or if you want to find out how to rent a kayak for free, check out our post with all details about the Odra Centrum here!

Bonus: The Museum of Illusions

And if you want to see something more alternative we also recommend the „Museum of Illusions“ where we wrote more about in our post about cool things to do in Wroclaw for kids and families. We promise, this is for adults as well 🙂

Museum of Illusions Wroclaw
Shadowplay Wroclaw Museum
Wroclaw Illusion Museum

You still want more Museums in Wroclaw?

This was our personal choice of the best museums in Wroclaw, however there is of course much more out here in Wroclaw.

We have a couple of more museums (or museum-like places) that we can highly recommend to you:

Post Museum Wroclaw

 

We hope that you enjoyed the best museums in Wroclaw as much as we do! Don’t forget to check out some other very hipster things to do in Wroclaw! What about the best free things to do in Wroclaw?

You want to get an overview of Wroclaw – here you will find it.

Maybe you want to plan a trip to Wroclaw? Here you can find all our planning guides for a great trip to Wroclaw!

Do you have some comments on this article? Did we miss some other great museums in Wroclaw? Help us and also help other visitors by leaving your feedback in the comment section below!

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