Five unique museums in the Podkarpackie region

There is a place where throughout the year you can feel as if it was Christmas season. The museum was established by a company manufacturing unique glass boubles, and during a visit you will see that production of Christmas ornaments requires artistic skills, patience and creativity. There are workshops during which you will have the opportunity to create such ornaments yourself. Most notably, however, the museum exposition presents Christmas trees decorated in various styles.

There is a brightly coloured American Christmas tree, a lavish Victorian-style tree, an elegant French Christmas tree, a graceful Scandinavian-style tree, a traditional Polish Christmas tree and many more. It is a magical place where you can see how Christmas tree ornaments are manufactured, you can find out about the history and different styles of glass boubles and, last but not least, you can buy one as a souvenir. The Biliński company offers unique ornaments that are made entirely by hand.

The Museum of Bells and Pipes has been located in the 18th century Clock Tower in Przemyśl since 2001. The exposition is skilfully integrated with the architecture of the Baroque building.
The exhibition of pipes is expanding every year, but invariably you can see here the most original pipes, made of wood, clay, porcelain, with ivory or brass decorations. The most interesting exhibits include an extremely rare pipe made in the shape of a horse's head, a pipe decorated with a comic hunting scene, as well as several pipes ‘with a fake date’, a number of Biedermeier pipes and pipe accessories, pipes made from coconut and bamboo as well as a pipe with a fabulous hedgehog-shaped bowl.

The exposition related to the craft of bell-founding presents the production process, unchanged since the Middle Ages, and a large collection of bells and associated artefacts. Some massive exhibits are suspended in the tower on a steel framework. The exhibits on display also include documents relating to the Felczyński family, owners of the bell-foundry operating in Przemyśl for over one hundred years. At present, the company continues producing bells in two foundries in Przemyśl and in Taciszów near Gliwice.

We all remember the stories and the characters we grew up with. A visit to the Museum of Bedtime Cartoons will take you on a sentimental journey into the past, into the times of childhood. You will meet characters from bedtime TV shows: Jacek and Agatka, Uszatek Teddy Bear, Colargol, Bolek and Lolek. A long time ago they were known to children in Poland and in other countries. Today, young visitors can learn here about the old bedtime stories and the history of animation in the company of their parents or grandparents.

The idea for Poland's first Museum of Bedtime Cartoons was brought forth by Wojciech Jama, a private collector who over the years had acquired over 2,000 artefacts related to Polish bedtime TV shows for children. A visit to this museum will not be a waste of time.

Nowadays, the entire world relies on oil. Hundreds of millions of vehicles are powered by oil products and millions of people have jobs owing to this. You can learn about the history of oil drilling at Ignacy Łukasiewicz Museum of Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka. In an area situated within a beautiful forest, you can see machines and installations used in oil and gas industry in the 19th century. Inside the facility, the artefacts on display and the multimedia presentations take the visitors back to the times when Ignacy Łukasiewicz himself worked here. This great inventor gave the world the kerosene lamp, and he built the first modern oil refinery.

The museum is located at the site of the world’s oldest yet still operating oil well. You can see here the two original oil wells from the 19th century named ‘Franek’ and ‘Janina’.

This is the first museum in our country which commemorates the efforts to save Jews in the occupied Polish territory during the Holocaust. The museum, which opened in March 2016, honours the memory of the Ulma family as well as other Poles who helped Jews. The primary objective of the museum is to show the heroism of Polish people who gave shelter to their Jewish neighbours during the Nazi occupation, risking their own lives and those of their families. The Orchard of Remembrance planted nearby is intended to reflect the nationwide character of the museum: it comprises illuminated plaques with the names of Polish towns and cities where Jewish people were saved by Polish individuals recognised as the Righteous Among the Nations.

The place is dedicated to all those who care about intercultural dialogue and mutual respect.

As you can see, museums really are fascinating places. It was really difficult to choose only five unusual museum collections in the Podkarpackie region. We could definitely tell you about more exciting places. To those who have more time, we can recommend a few thematic expositions, such as: Museum of Power Engineering in Rzeszów, Maria Konopnicka Museum in Żarnowiec, Museum of Distilled Spirits in Łańcut, Museum of Dairy Production in Rzeszów, Museum of Dolls and Puppets in Pilzno; numerous municipal, regional and parish museums; historical museums including castles in Łańcut, Baranów Sandomierski and Krasiczyn, and underground tourist routes in Rzeszów, Przemyśl and Jarosław.