Polish Museum in Budapest

The Polish Museum (since 2016 its full name: Polish Research Institute and Museum, in Polish: Polski Instytut Badawczy i Muzeum, formerly: Museum and Archive of Polishness in Hungary) is a minority institution established in 1998 in Budapest, Kőbánya, by the National Polish Minority Self‑Government. It is unique in the world in that its main research area is the thousand‑year Hungarian‑Polish historical relations and the history of Poles in Hungary. Its collection is constantly expanding, with the greatest support provided by the Hungarian and Polish states. It presents the special, mutually unique sympathy of the two peoples, supported by historical facts and displayed with modern visual tools and in traditional ways. It has two branches in Borsod‑Abaúj‑Zemplén County: in Ládbesenyő‑Andrástanya (Dolna Drenka) and in the ruin village of Derenk.

With Hungarian and Polish state support, the museum building was expanded with an additional floor in 2005/2006, and at that time the collection also grew significantly. In 2011 the permanent exhibition was enriched again and complemented with modern visual tools.

Since 2006 the museum has published colorful, trilingual catalogues related to its temporary exhibitions. In addition, it has contributed to the creation of several publications. In 2003 it became a member of the international organization “Permanent Conference of Polish Museums, Archives and Libraries Abroad”, which brings together similar Polish institutions. In addition to its basic tasks, it also carries out scientific research activities.

Permanent exhibition: “A Thousand Years of Hungarian‑Polish Relations”

The permanent exhibition presents the rich shared history symbolically, divided into five chapters:

Royal and State Relations

The relationship of the royal houses of Hungary and Poland began in the 10th century. A prominent place is given to King Saint Ladislaus, who was born in Poland to a Polish mother and is also the patron saint of Poles in Hungary. An important piece of the exhibition is a copy of his coronation mantle, the original of which is kept in Zagreb. In this chapter three maps show Hungary and Poland from the periods when the two states were under a personal union with a common crown: the reigns of Louis the Great (1370–1382), Ulászló I (1440–1444) and Stephen Báthory (1568–1578). The walls are decorated with engravings and paintings by well‑known Polish artists – Jan Matejko, Juliusz Kossak – including a copy of one of Matejko’s most famous works, the picture titled “Stephen Báthory after the Battle of Pszków”, which depicts the submission of the Russian boyars. Among the items displayed in the vitrines are, among others, a copy of the Jagiellonian eagle that survived on the wall of Buda Castle (15th–16th century) and a miniature of Stephen Báthory’s sarcophagus located in the royal castle in Kraków, Wawel.

Friends in Trouble

The memory of the Lencs who participated in the 1848–49 revolution and war of independence still lives vividly in the historical consciousness, as shown by numerous street names, public statues and the names of social organisations (e.g., Polish Legion, Bem, Dembiński, Wysocki). The exhibition emphasizes this significance with weapons, legionary uniforms and a painting depicting the Battle of Nagyszeben (detail from Jan Styka’s “Transylvanian Panorama”). In this chapter there is also a reference to Polish support in the Rákóczi uprising, as well as to Hungarian assistance after the failed 19th‑century Polish uprisings (Artúr Grottger’s work “Grief”). The theme of World War II and Polish refugees in Hungary also receives space (Henryk Sławik, the Polish Wallenberg). Maps show the locations of Polish military and civilian camps, and a portrait of Prime Minister Pál Teleki is also displayed, who actively participated in shaping contemporary pro‑Polish policy. The showcase contains elements of contemporary military equipment, and here are also the personal items of the war pilot Ernő Nizalowski, who died in 2014. The last part of the chapter commemorates the 1956 Poznań and Budapest uprisings. The “Solidarity 1980” bronze statue is also visible – the Solidarność movement had a great impact on the Hungarian anti‑communist opposition.

Economic Relations

The 18th‑century situation is recorded by a map presenting important trade routes, although the connection was already lively in the Middle Ages. The exhibited objects refer to major goods: salt (from the Wieliczka mine), postage stamps and textiles. The largest space is given to the wine trade: a wine‑carrying wagon from the slopes of Tokaj, barrels, vats and winemaking tools appear in the collection. As an interest on the walls, medieval charters and privileged letters concerning trade are visible.

Cultural and religious relations

Cultural relations began in the Middle Ages, during the reigns of Kings Casimir the Great and Louis the Great. In Kraków at the Jagiellonian University – mainly in the 15th and 16th centuries – a whole line of Hungarian students studied. The first Hungarian-language books were printed in Poland. In the Renaissance period Polish scholars went to Hungary (Gregory Sanok), Hungarian poets (Bálint Balassi), musicians (Bálint Bakfark) went to Poland. During World War II Hungary was a particularly important place for the cultivation of Polish culture. Symbolic objects refer to the cultural relations: a copy of the Florian Psalter made for Queen Hedvig of Poland (the Anjou coat of arms is visible in the open codex); a Renaissance‑style painting depicting the main square of Kraków; and Polish‑language publications printed in Hungary during World II.

The ecclesiastical relations are indicated by a salt‑carved statue of Saint Kinga. The litographs of Jan Gumowski made between 1927 and 1929 present the Częstochowa monastery, a decisive shrine of Polish history and faith cared for by the Pauline order founded in Hungary. The chapter also includes the Polish church in Budapest.