POLSKI 
KONTRAST 
Rich in offer
Although the Museum of Kurpie Culture in Ostrołęka is a relatively young institution, its holdings are quite impressive. Currently there are over 14,000 items and 7,000 volumes. These are various heritage objects of archaeological, ethnographical, historical and artistic value. The museum concentrates on collection, exhibition, education and conservation activities. Being the central museum institution in Kurpie, its focus is on the culture of the region. It holds a unique collection of ethnographical objects related to all aspects of daily work and to festive customs of the Green Forest (Puszcza Zielona) inhabitants.
The museum is located in a neoclassical town house from the 20’s. The house has recently undergone substantial modernisation and renovation. On its lowest floor you can visit some modern multimedia exhibitions. In November 2015 there was a new permanent exhibition open to visitors, entitled “Ostrołeka and Kurpie – between the thread of history and the fabric of life” (Ostrołęka i Kurpie – między wątkiem historii a osnową życia) presenting everyday life and festivity time of the inhabitants of the region in the interwar period.
Glazed patio of the building has become the place for meetings, concerts, events and workshops. The museum has a reach offer of educational classes for kids and teenagers. Some example subjects are: Kurpie paper cutting, folk music instruments, Christmas and Easter rituals, Kurpie folk costumes. Recurring events organised by the museum include, for instance, “Patriotic Singing” (Patriotyczne śpiewanie) on 11th November or a historical reconstruction show “The Battle of Ostrołęka on 26th May 1831” (Bitwa pod Ostrołęką 26 maja 1831 roku) during which hundreds of people from all over Europe, dressed in historical uniforms, reconstruct for the audience the episodes from this second biggest battle of the Poland’s November Uprising.
A separate establishment belonging to the museum is the Mausoleum of the Battle of Ostrołęka (Pomnik Mauzoleum) – a one-of-a-kind such object in Poland. It holds a sarcophagus with the ashes of insurgents who lost their lives in the Battle of Ostrołęka. The mausoleum was built inside an earthen tsarist fort on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the battle.
A branch of the museum is also The Kurpie Region Farmstead in Kadzidło – a small open-air museum presenting an example solitary dwelling typical of the Green Primeval Forest (Puszcza Zielona). Each year in the farmstead there are events held which attract large numbers of tourists: Old Occupations (Ginące Zawody), Kadzidło Sunday (Niedziela Kadzidlańska) and Kurpie Wedding (Wesele Kurpiowskie).
