Historical and Ethnographic Museum in Kamieńczyk

An interesting piece among the exhibits is a wooden boat, which had “played its role” in the well-known Polish film “With Fire and Sword”. The collection also includes everyday items and tools which had been used centuries ago, in households and on farms, and some folk crafts articles. There is also a collection of historic motorcycles, military items, beautiful set of several hundred years old saddles, and most importantly, objects related to the history of Kamieńczyk and the timber rafting, for which the place had been famous. Many unique items were rescued thanks to this initiative – like the drill machine made of wood, for example. The founder, owner and curator of the Historical and Ethnography Museum in Kamieńczyk is Mr Henryk Słowikowski, a real man of passion. For many years he had worked as a plumber and done some photography. Decades ago he has also decided to rescue from oblivion the everyday things and the historic items. Ten years ago his passion has turned into the museum, where all his collectibles are gathered. Mr Henryk Słowikowski is a happy, fulfilled man who can now fully pursue his passion.

The exhibits are divided into thematic sections, and Mr. Słowikowski will tell you all about each one of the pieces, in his usual passionate and eager way. Each item has its own story, waiting to be discovered. After all, the items had once been used, belonged to some person, still seem to bear traces of someone’s hands. They are the tangible form of the past which has been preserved in them. And the owner is a living catalogue of his collection. You can stroll among these artefacts, admire them, breathe in the special museum air, set free your imagination. These items, with their outward simplicity, and even meagreness at times, seem to express the long gone will to survive. Their aesthetics level close to zero and their functionality up to maximum.

Museum in Kamieńczyk, with its unique collection, does bring back the old times. Some of the items are even 200 years old and initially, for fear of destruction, they were being shown only to family members and to close friends. At present, the Museum in Kamieńczyk hosts a few thousand visitors per year. By majority they are the students from nearby schools and the tourists, mostly the owners of summer houses located nearby, who spend their time off in the region.