Museum of Folk Culture – Open-Air Museum in Węgorzewo

An open-air museum by the Węgorapa

The Museum of Folk Culture in Węgorzewo runs an open-air museum on Portowa Street, close to the harbour and the canal that links the town with Lake Mamry. It gathers wooden rural buildings from the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, moved here from villages around Masuria. Together they show everyday life in the region before the changes of the twentieth century.

What to see

Individual buildings hold furnished interiors and themed displays: living rooms with original fittings, workshops of former craftsmen, farm tools and household equipment. The ethnographic holdings of the museum add textiles, pottery and devotional objects. The site is best seen at an unhurried pace, walking from one homestead to the next.

Who it suits

The museum works well as a stop while touring the Great Masurian Lakes, especially with children: it runs museum lessons and handicraft workshops, and in season it hosts outdoor events with demonstrations of old crafts. It is worth checking the calendar of events before arriving.