CZARTORYSKI PRINCES' MUSEUM

The Czartoryski Museum is one of Krakow's finest museums, and its historical collection is certainly one of the most comprehensive in Poland. If you don't like museums, or don't have the time or inclination to visit several during your stay, the Czartoryski is the one to visit. The reason is simple: its objects are among the finest and best preserved in Europe, its collection is extremely diverse and covers all eras, its museography is modern and manages to convey (at least in part) the value of the pieces on display and, last but not least, it houses a great masterpiece of Renaissance art: Leonardo da Vinci's The Girl with an Ermine (as well as a Rembrandt, totally overshadowed by the Italian master). The Czartoryski exhibits more royal relics than the Wawel castles, more beautiful weapons and armor than the History Museum, more beautiful religious objects than the dedicated museum, trophies and a Turkish field tent far more impressive than those in the Wawel Oriental Museum... in short, you get the message. The extraordinary quality of the Czartoryski comes from... the Czartoryski, a princely, influential and wealthy family in the final years of the Polish kingdom's independence. Izabela Czartoryska, a great patriot, patron of the arts and fascinating personality, decided to create a museum in 1792 (some of the exhibits are more recent than the museum that houses it) to protect her country's cultural and historical heritage. The initial collection grew over the years, and was not abandoned when Izabela died, nor when it had to be transferred to France when the Russians invaded a Poland that had dared to stand up to them. The museum's collection was first transferred to the Russian state in 1870, then sold a second time to the city of Krakow in 2017, which explains the unusual redundancy of many of its exhibits. Despite this transfer, there was no question of breaking up the collection or dispersing it to other museums. The current wealth of exhibits tells us as much about the country's history as it does about the Poles' determination in the face of adversity and their constant struggle for independence over two centuries. That's why the main exhibition begins with a tribute to the Czartoryski family. A must-see!