I have just received my guide certificate from the Home Army Museum in Kraków (Muzeum Armii Krajowej) so if you are interested, I will gladly take you on a tour there.
For the people interested in the Second World War this museum is a must. The first part of the exhibition gives you an insight into the situation of Poland from the interwar period. Then you learn about the September Campaign (Polish Defence War in 1939) and about the two occupations (German and Soviet). However, it’s just the beginning. The biggest part of the exhibition is situated underground, in the spacious basements of an Austrian fort, and it presents the Polish Underground State.
The exhibition is truly impressive. First of all, you can see some objects which belonged to Polish heroes, e.g. Emil “Fieldorf” Nil, Witold Pilecki, Tadeusz “Bór” Komorowski, as well as objects connected with the concentration camps, Katyń and the Warsaw Uprising. Then, there is an outstanding collection of militaria, including rifles, which as the war finished were walled up in a house on the outskirts of Kraków, and were rediscovered only in 1997. Finally, there are models of the V2 rocket, the Vickers tank, etc. The descriptions that accompany the exhibits are detailed and really well-organized. They let you know about the successes of the Home Army and about the fate of its members during and after the war.
The museum is easily accessible as it is located just outside the main train station in Kraków. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday 11a.m.-6.pm. Tickets cost 13PLN and 7PLN. On Sundays admission free.
More information on the website of the museum or in Polish on my other blog Przewodnik Krakowski.
Krakowianka 