Kornel Makuszyński Museum in Zakopane

The Kornel Makuszyński Museum (Muzeum Kornela Makuszyńskiego) is a biographical and literary branch of the Tatra Museum, the second in Zakopane after Jan Kasprowicz's Harenda. It is housed in Villa Opolanka, where the writer and his wife Janina Gluzińska spent their summer and winter holidays almost every year from 1934, and where they settled for good after the Second World War. The museum opened in 1966, based on the collection the writer's widow donated to the public.

Kornel Makuszyński (1884–1953) was one of the best-loved Polish children's writers, as well as a journalist and theatre critic. He was born in Stryi and spent his youth in Lviv: he attended grammar school and the Jan Kazimierz University there, and before the First World War he was literary manager of the City Theatre. The war took him and his first wife deep into Russia; until 1918 he lived in Kyiv, ran the literary department of Stanisława Wysocka's Polish Theatre, and wrote his first novels there. Then came the Warsaw period and fame: in the 1930s he published "The Adventures of Koziołek Matołek", "The Two Who Stole the Moon", "Satan from the Seventh Grade" and "The Girl with the Wet Head". In 1931 Zakopane made Makuszyński an honorary citizen. He did not hike or do sport himself, but he patronised skiing, equestrian and motor competitions, and on his initiative the poorest highland children were given skis — children's ski races in his memory are still held in the town. After the Warsaw Uprising and the camp in Pruszków the couple moved to Opolanka for good. The writer died on 31 July 1953 and is buried in the Old Cemetery; his grave is always covered with flowers, toys and school badges left by young readers.

What to see

• Three rooms of the Makuszyńskis' former flat on the first floor: his desk, furniture mostly in the Biedermeier style, clocks, lamps, Polish and French glass, Chinese, English and Meissen porcelain, a Persian prayer book and a Japanese screen.
• The writer's art collection — paintings by Julian Fałat, Włodzimierz Jarocki, Kazimierz Sichulski, Władysław Skoczylas and Stanisław Wyspiański, sculptures by Konstanty Laszczka and Henryk Kuna, and designs for illustrations to his books.
• Two thematic rooms — "The Life and Work of Kornel Makuszyński" and "Literary Zakopane".
• Archive and library: manuscripts, letters from artists, scholars and politicians, a huge correspondence with readers, and photographs.
• The monument to the writer in front of the villa (1955) — together with Koziołek Matołek, the little goat beloved by children.

The museum also holds temporary exhibitions and has a sensory and educational space for children.

Practical information

Opolanka stands on Przerwy-Tetmajera Street, about 600 m from Krupówki, so it is a 10-minute walk from the centre of Zakopane. The museum does not mention its own car park — the town's paid car parks are more convenient. The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays; on Thursdays the permanent exhibition is free. Allow 45–60 minutes. It is a good place for families whose children know the Koziołek Matołek books; the museum publishes separate information for visitors with disabilities, and it is worth phoning ahead because the flat is on an upper floor.

Nearby: trails and peaks

About 700 m from the museum is our trail Antałówka – Gubałówka, upper funicular station, and a kilometre away begins the Droga pod Reglami — a level forest path below the Tatras from which it is easy to head into the valleys. Nearby in town are Villa Atma — Karol Szymanowski Museum, the Tatra Museum in Zakopane and the Old Church and Pęksowy Brzyzek Cemetery, where you can visit the writer's grave.

Official website: muzeumtatrzanskie.pl

Photos: User:Piotrus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.