Salesian Missionary Museum

What to expect

Note: the museum has no hall of its own today. The Salesian Missionary Centre writes on its website that it has the exhibits but nowhere to show them, and that part of the collection is currently on display at the centre while most of it stays in storage. The centre is raising funds for a new Missionary Exhibition in its building and in the crypt of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; it gives no opening date. The description below refers to the exhibition as it used to be. Ask before visiting: +48 22 644 86 78 or som@misjesalezjanie.pl (as of 23 September 2026).

Three halls, roughly 3,000 artifacts from five continents - from indigenous feather headdresses to a seven-metre snake skin. The Salesian Missionary Museum on ul. Korowodu is Poland’s second-largest missionary museum, run by the Salesian Missionary Centre since 1995.

The exhibition follows the route of St. John Bosco’s “last missionary dream” - from Valparaiso in South America, through Africa, to Beijing. Five sections: ethnographic (African musical instruments, Chinese porcelain, Australian boomerangs), natural history (reptile and primate models, sawfish rostrum), numismatic and philatelic, special collections (butterfly-wing artwork, ivory objects, Chinese lacquer), and folk art (paintings on antelope skin depicting Ethiopian daily life, acacia wood sculptures from Zambia).

The collection has been growing since 1980, donated by Salesian missionaries, sisters, and volunteers. In 1995, the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw catalogued the holdings.

Ursynów is a residential district in Warsaw’s south - the museum is about 30 minutes from the centre by metro and bus.

Tips

• Do not come without contacting the centre first. The centre at ul. Korowodu 20 shows only part of the collection today and publishes no visiting hours. Call +48 22 644 86 78 (Mon-Fri 8:00-16:00) or email som@misjesalezjanie.pl.
• Visits can include documentary screenings and a meeting with a missionary - worth asking about when booking.
• The museum mostly receives Warsaw school groups. Book individually for a quieter experience.
• Likely free or donation-based - confirm by phone.
• Accessibility: the exhibition occupies three halls of the Salesian Missionary Centre, and the operator has not confirmed step-free access - which is why wheelchair, stroller and elevator are all marked unavailable.

Getting there

Metro Wilanowska (M1, red line), then bus 709, 727, 739 or 715 to the Sojki stop. From Sojki, head toward the Shell station, turn right, continue to ul. Taneczna, turn left, then right onto ul. Korowodu after about 100 metres. Allow 30-40 minutes from central Warsaw.

In the neighbourhood

Ursynów Museum (ul. Barwna 8, 2 km) - regional district museum with an Alternatywy 4 room, currently closed for renovation. SGGW Museum (ul. Nowoursynowska 166, 3 km) - university natural science collections.