Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa Ethnographic Museum in Toruń

The Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa Ethnographic Museum in Toruń was established in 1959 on the initiative of Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa. The museum, which focuses on collecting, protecting, and promoting cultural heritage, currently holds approximately 68,000 objects from all over Poland. Its history began between 1946 and 1958 as part of the Ethnographic Department of the Municipal Museum in Toruń. The museum is housed in the building of the former artillery arsenal of the Toruń Fortress, which underwent a thorough renovation. Its official opening took place on April 17, 1959, and the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the material culture of Northern Poland opened in 1960. The museum conducts educational activities, organizing exhibitions, folk art fairs, and traditional music concerts. In 1969, the Ethnographic Park in Toruń was opened, showcasing historic rural architecture from Northern Poland. In Kaszczorek, there is an ethnographic park featuring folk buildings of the Chełmno Land and objects related to fishing. In 2018, the Olender Ethnographic Park in Wielka Nieszawka was opened—the first open-air museum dedicated to Olender settlers, presenting their traditions and architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum also has a library with approximately 18,000 volumes, focusing on ethnology, history, and culture. Every year, the Aspekty Visual Anthropology Festival is organized to promote documentary films related to visual anthropology. The museum has been led by four directors, with the first director, Maria Znamierowska-Prüfferowa, serving from 1959 to 1972. An interesting fact is that in 2007, the museum had about 60,000 objects, and due to irregularities in documentation, director Roman Tubaja lost his position in 2008. In 2019, the museum received the "Thorunium" Medal.