The Mountaineering and Skiing Museum will be the 13th branch of the Zakopane Tatra Museum. It will have its seat in the former Music School building, which was purchased thanks to an earmarked grant awarded to the Tatra Museum by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and with the support of the Małopolska Voivodeship Self-government. The notarial deed of purchase was signed in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Gliński by a representative of the Museum and the Mayor of Zakopane.

“This place is excellently located – in the centre of Zakopane, which is constantly visited by many tourists. The building needs to be renovated, but with the right approach to the concept it will be possible to create an interesting place for tourists from all over Poland and beyond. For a long time, the Tatra and skiing communities and museum professionals have been calling for this type of museum branch to be created. I think that the Tatra Museum is the best recipient of these intentions”, said Deputy Prime Minister Gliński.

The head of the Ministry of Culture recalled that the former Music School building is the third property in Zakopane, after the purchase of the Palace Villa and the former Gymnasium building, which the Ministry of Culture purchased jointly with the Marshal of the Małopolska Voivodeship.

The exhibition themes of the new museum will complement already existing displays in the branches of the Tatra Museum. Among other things, it has a rich collection of around 100 pairs of skis, including skis by Stanisław Barabasz from 1888, skis by Jozef Schnaider from 1897, skis by Klimek Bachleda from 1902, skis from the manufacture of Zdyb, Bujak, Zubek, the Schiele brothers, Faden and others. In addition, the Museum has collections on the history of tourism, mountaineering, rescue and exploration of the Tatra Mountains. The families of Zakopane athletes have also declared their support for the creation of the Museum of Mountaineering and Skiing by donating valuable sports artefacts.

Adrian Andrzejewski