Museum of the Polish Bar Association
Muzeum Adwokatury Polskiej
Location
What to expect
The Museum of the Polish Bar Association can now be visited online only. The museum page run by the Polish Bar Council invites readers to the Virtual Museum of the Polish Bar - an interactive story of the Polish legal profession and a presentation of the collection the Council has gathered - and publishes neither hours nor terms for visiting in person. This profile is therefore not an invitation to visit 艢wi臋tojerska Street.
The museum was founded on 20 November 1975 at the initiative of attorney Witold Bayer and documents the history of the Polish legal profession from the late 18th century. The collection includes original legal robes (including Poland’s first design from 1930), legal incunabula from 1739, and case files from landmark trials - the Brest Trial, the Eligiusz Niewiadomski case (the assassination of President Narutowicz), and the trials of Arthur Greiser and J眉rgen Stroop. A separate part covers underground advocacy during World War II and educational materials from prisoner-of-war camps.
The oldest exhibit is a 1756 lawsuit over a land dispute. Among the more valuable objects are apprenticeship diplomas, medals, photographs and identity documents chronicling a profession that has served in Polish history as both a pillar of the rule of law and an instrument of resistance.
Tips
- Online only. The Virtual Museum opens on adwokatura.pl, with no booking and no ticket.
- Do not plan an in-person visit. The Polish Bar Council does not announce visits to the exhibition at its headquarters.
- Who it suits: anyone interested in legal history and the great trials of the 20th century - the files of the Brest Trial or the Niewiadomski case are material for a history or civics lesson.