The initial efforts to collect artifacts for the future Museum of the Sanok Land were undertaken by Aleksander Rybicki[pl], Adam Fastnacht, and Stefan Stefański[pl], who were students at the Sanok gymnasium[pl] at the time.[3] A significant role in establishing the Museum of the Sanok Land was played by the then-mayor of Sanok, Tadeusz Malawski[pl], who gathered numerous artifacts and memorabilia in the city hall, which were later transferred to the newly established museum.[4] The institution was formally established in 1934 as the Museum of the Sanok Land, initiated by Dr. Jadwiga Przeworska from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education and the Sanok starosta, Dr. Bolesław Skwarczyński[pl].[5][6] Under Polish auspices, the Museum of the Sanok Land operated until 1939 at the Sanok Castle, with its exhibition divided into historical, ecclesiastical, and ethnographic sections.[7] Its mission was to collect, scientifically study, and make accessible the historical artifacts of the Sanok Land.[8] In 1934, a commemorative plaque was installed at the museum's entrance, reading: "In this building, part of the former Sanok Castle built by King Casimir the Great in the mid-14th century, notable for the wedding celebrations of King Władysław Jagiełło on 2 May 1417, rebuilt under King Sigismund the Old by his wife Bona Sforza in the 16th century, the Museum of the Sanok Land was established through the efforts of the Friends of the Sanok Land Society in 1934".[9][10] Historical research on the Sanok Land was conducted by Adam Fastnacht. In September 1937, an exhibition titled "Sanok Land in Painting, Sculpture, and Photography" was organized.[11]
Sanok Castle
Following the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, the castle was looted.[12] During the occupation, the castle housed the Kreismuseum in Sanok (District Museum in Sanok) and the Lemkivshchyna Museum.[6] In August 1944, the museum's collections were again devastated by German forces, who removed approximately 300–400 of the most valuable artifacts, including royal charters for Sanok, paintings, handwritten books, and complete sets of folk costumes.[13]
By order of the Minister of Culture and Art on 9 June 1950, the Museum of the Sanok Land was renamed the Sanok Museum.[14] It later operated as the Sanok Regional Museum.[15] In 1959, the museum celebrated its 25th anniversary.[16]
A branch of the museum, General Karol Świerczewski Memorial House, was opened on 28 March 1987 in Jabłonki, near the general's monument, funded by the city of Sanok.[17][18][19][20]
Collections and exhibitions
Collections of the Historical MuseumMarian Kruczek GalleryCollections and Exhibition
The museum currently holds over 20,000 artifacts, organized into archaeological, iconographic, historical, and conservation departments. It includes the Maria and Franciszek Prochaska Contemporary Art Gallery[22] and the Zdzisław Beksiński Gallery, located in the rebuilt southern wing of the Sanok Castle (2010–2011).[23]
The collection "Pokuttia Ceramics from the Donation of Curator Aleksander Rybicki", housed in the Inn building, represents the largest collection of Pokuttia ceramics in Poland. Donated by Aleksander Rybicki on 28 May 1978, it was exhibited during the Sanok Days in June 1978.[24][25][26] On 20 November 1978, the museum received works from the heirs of Polish artists Franciszek Prochaska[pl], Tadeusz Makowski, Józef Pankiewicz, Hanna Rudzka-Cybisowa, and Jan Cybis.[27]
In 1974, a medal titled "40th Anniversary of the Historical Museum in Sanok" was minted, designed by Roman Tarkowski[pl]. In 1984, a medal titled "Historical Museum in Sanok: 50th Anniversary" was minted, designed by Czesław Dźwigaj. In 1986, two medals commemorating the Historical Museum in Sanok branch in Jabłonki, featuring General Karol Świerczewski, were minted, also designed by Czesław Dźwigaj.[30]
Honorary Diploma from the Minister of Culture and Art (1984).[31]
Badge "Meritorious for the Krosno Voivodeship" (1984).[32]
Ministry of Culture and Art Award in the competition for the most interesting museum event of the year, for establishing the General Karol Świerczewski–Walter Memorial House exhibition (1988).[33][34]
↑ Stefański, Stefan (2005). Kartki z przeszłości Sanoka[Pages from Sanok's Past] (in Polish). Sanok: Muzeum Historyczne w Sanoku. p.5. ISBN8391947092.
↑ Zając, Edward (1995). "Środowisko kulturalne, Pomiędzy wojnami światowymi 1918–1939" [Cultural Environment, Between the World Wars 1918–1939]. In Kiryk, Feliks (ed.). Sanok. Dzieje miasta[Sanok: History of the City] (in Polish). Kraków: Secesja. pp.616–617.
↑ Fastnacht, Adam (31 March 1936). "Muzeum Ziemi Sanockiej"[Museum of the Sanok Land]. Warszawski Dziennik Narodowy (in Polish). 90B: 4.
1 2 Misiewicz, Jan (1946). "Muzeum Ziemi Sanockiej"[Museum of the Sanok Land](PDF). cyfrowaetnografia.pl (in Polish). pp.398–399. Archived from the original(PDF) on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
↑ Stefański, Stefan (1991). Sanok i okolice. Przewodnik turystyczny[Sanok and Surroundings: Tourist Guide] (in Polish). Sanok: Muzeum Historyczne w Sanoku. p.34.
1 2 Ząbkiewicz, Józef (1995). "W latach powojennych. Życie kulturalne. Muzeum Historyczne" [In the Postwar Years. Cultural Life. Historical Museum]. In Kiryk, Feliks (ed.). Sanok. Dzieje miasta[Sanok: History of the City] (in Polish). Kraków: Secesja. pp.911, 934.
↑ Romaniak, Andrzej (2018). Sanok. Fotografie archiwalne – Tom III. Samorząd, oświata, organizacje, instytucje[Sanok: Archival Photographs – Volume III. Local Government, Education, Organizations, Institutions] (in Polish). Sanok: Muzeum Historyczne w Sanoku. p.4. ISBN9788360380413.
↑ Zając, Edward (1995). Zarys dziejów Muzeum Historycznego w Sanoku[Outline of the History of the Historical Museum in Sanok] (in Polish). Sanok: Muzeum Historyczne w Sanoku. pp.272–273.
↑ "III. Realizacja 3-letniego planu odbudowy. Muzea" [Implementation of the 3-Year Reconstruction Plan: Museums]. Kształtowanie się władzy ludowej na Rzeszowszczyźnie[Formation of People's Power in the Rzeszów Land] (in Polish). Vol.II. Rzeszów: Komitet Wojewódzki PZPR w Rzeszowie. 1966. pp.165–166.
1 2 Stachowicz, Władysław (2008). "Nr 8: Samorząd Gminy Miasta Sanoka 1867–1990. Miejska Rada Narodowa w Sanoku 1950–1990" [No. 8: Local Government of the Sanok City Municipality 1867–1990. Sanok City Council 1950–1990]. Zeszyty Archiwum Ziemi Sanockiej (in Polish). 8. Sanok: Fundacja Archiwum Ziemi Sanockiej: 288, 301. ISSN1731-870X.
↑ Zając, Edward (2009). Sanockie biografie[Sanok Biographies] (in Polish). Sanok: MBP. p.53. ISBN978-83-61043-09-6.
↑ Oberc, Franciszek (1995). "Kalendarium sanockie 1974–1994" [Sanok Timeline 1974–1994]. In Kiryk, Feliks (ed.). Sanok. Dzieje miasta[Sanok: History of the City] (in Polish). Kraków: Secesja. p.953.
↑ Banach, Wiesław (19 May 1993). "Kiedy artysta odchodzi..."[When an Artist Departs...]. Tygodnik Sanocki (in Polish). 7 (90): 10–11.
↑ Zając, Edward. "Szpital Powszechny w Sanoku"[Sanok General Hospital](PDF). zozsanok.pl (in Polish). p.36. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
↑ Romaniak, Andrzej (2005). Medale, medaliony, plakiety. Katalog zbiorów[Medals, Medallions, Plaques: Collection Catalog] (in Polish). Sanok: Muzeum Historyczne w Sanoku. pp.66, 94, 98. ISBN83-919305-8-0.
↑ Koszela, Wiesław (10–20 October 1988). "Wyróżnienie dla Muzeum Historycznego"[Award for the Historical Museum]. Gazeta Sanocka – Autosan (in Polish). 29 (464): 2.
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