Jan Matejko Manor House in Krzesławice

What to expect

The Jan Matejko Manor House in Krzesławice shows the painter away from the city: he bought this country manor in 1876, renovated it, added a studio and made Krzesławice his favourite summer residence. Today it is a museum of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Krakow (Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Sztuk Pięknych), in Nowa Huta, at ul. Melchiora Wańkowicza 25.

In the salon stands an old piano that belonged to Matejko, and in the next room his revolving easel and a copy of “Stańczyk”. You will also see the dining room with its large table, mementos of Hugo Kołłątaj and Matejko’s sketches for the polychrome decoration of St Mary’s Church in Krakow.

Many of Matejko’s paintings were made in the studio here; the museum names among them “Rzeczpospolita Babińska” (The Babin Republic), with the Krzesławice orchard in the background, and “Kościuszko at Racławice” from 1887. The shingle-roofed manor is surrounded by an extensive landscape park with century-old trees, among them a rare copper beech; with the garden, the whole site covers four hectares.

Visitors rate the place highly: on Google Maps the manor has 4.6 out of 5 from 852 reviews (read on 26 October 2026).

Who it is for: those who know Matejko’s paintings and want to see where some of them were made, and anyone who will combine a short visit with a walk in the old park. Families with children will find something here too: Google Maps marks the place as suitable for children, and the museum sells a family ticket.

Who should skip it: anyone who mainly wants to see large canvases, because in its description of the interiors the museum lists furniture, the easel, sketches and mementos and, of paintings, a copy of “Stańczyk”. Anyone who comes by public transport on a Saturday or Sunday and does not like walking should also think twice: the nearest stop with service on those days is about 520 m in a straight line from the manor.

How long: allow about an hour. The interiors are a few rooms, and the longer part of the visit will be the walk around the four-hectare park.

Tips

• Check the day before you set off. The manor receives visitors only on some days of the week (Mon: by telephone appointment, Tue-Thu: closed, Fri: 11:00-18:00, Sat: 11:00-17:00, Sun: 11:00-18:00), so do not come on the off chance.
• Monday by appointment. On Mondays a visit is possible by prior arrangement by telephone. The landline number is in the practical box, and on its contact page the museum also gives a mobile number, +48 511 514 355.
• Guided visits with the curator. In a Facebook post of 5 June 2026 the museum invited visitors to weekend guided visits with the curator, during the same hours in which the manor is open. The post is several months old, so ask by phone before you come whether this option still runs.
• No bus 149 at the weekend. Bus 149, which stops closest to the manor, runs on weekdays only. On Saturday and Sunday you are left with buses 139 and 174 from the “Łempickiego” stop or trams from the “Zalew Nowohucki” stop.
• On Friday, go back by tram. According to the MPK Kraków timetable for Friday 6 November 2026, the last line 149 buses leave the “Krzesławice Młyn” stop before the manor ends its day. If you stay until the end, go back by tram 16, 22 or 74 from the “Zalew Nowohucki” stop, which they serve until the evening.
• Tickets for seniors and families. Besides the standard ticket and the reduced ticket for pupils and students (standard ticket 30 PLN (about 7 EUR), reduced 20 PLN (about 5 EUR)), the museum has a separate reduced ticket for retirees, disability pensioners and seniors, and a family ticket for up to four people, including at least one child in education. A holder of the Karta Dużej Rodziny (the Large Family Card) buys the family ticket regardless of the number of people; the prices of both tickets are on the museum’s page for visitors.
• Wheelchair access according to Google Maps. Google Maps states that the entrance is wheelchair accessible, but does not list an accessible toilet among its attributes. If this matters to you, ask the museum by phone before your visit.

Getting there

• Address: ul. Melchiora Wańkowicza 25, 31-752 Kraków, Nowa Huta district.
• Bus on weekdays: the nearest stops are “Krzesławice Młyn” (about 180 and 240 m in a straight line) and “PCK” (about 240 and 290 m in a straight line). According to the MPK Kraków timetable only line 149 stops there, on weekdays only and infrequently: on Friday 6 November 2026, seven departures from each of the two platforms of the “Krzesławice Młyn” stop.
• Bus on Saturday and Sunday: line 149 does not run then. The nearest stop with service is “Łempickiego”, about 520 m in a straight line, with buses 139 and 174, which on the checked weekend of 7-8 November 2026 had several dozen departures a day each.
• Tram: the “Zalew Nowohucki” stop, about 650 m in a straight line, is served by trams 16, 22 and 74 on all three days on which the manor is open. Tram 74 also stops at “Grodzki Urząd Pracy”, about 680 m in a straight line.
• Verdict on getting there: on Saturday and Sunday, two of the three opening days, there is no stop with service within 300 m of the manor. Count on at least half a kilometre in a straight line; the walking distance has not been measured, and the route will be longer than the straight line.
• By car: the museum states on Facebook that it has a car park for its visitors, and Google Maps marks it as free. At the weekend this is the most convenient way to get there.

Nearby

At os. Szkolne 37, about 0.69 km from the manor in a straight line, is Nowa Huta Underground - os. Szkolne 37 . A little further, at os. Szkolne 22, about 0.74 km in a straight line, lies Nowa Huta Underground - os. Szkolne 22 .

Background

The piano in the salon and the easel in the next room are traces of the years when Krzesławice was Matejko’s summer residence. The painter bought the manor from the Kirchmayers in 1876 and added a studio to it. With his own money he also built a school for the village children, today a community room at ul. Wańkowicza 17.

After the Second World War the manor fell into ruin. Maria Burzyńska gave it, with its four-hectare grounds, to the Society of Friends of Fine Arts in Krakow on condition that it would always house a museum of mementos of Kołłątaj and Matejko. The Society began a thorough renovation in 1960 and carried it on for several years.

Sources give different years for the museum’s opening: the Polish Wikipedia gives 1966, the English one 1965. The museum’s website dates the formal opening after the renovation to January “1866”, but in the same text gives Mrs Burzyńska’s age in 1966, which points to an error in the date.

The sources also differ on the building in which Hugo Kołłątaj lived. According to the museum’s website, Kołłątaj, who leased the Krzesławice estate at the end of the 18th century, lived in the manor with his mother. The Polish Wikipedia, by contrast, says that the manor built by Kołłątaj stood where a lamp by the car park stands today and was demolished in 1918, and that the present manor was built by the Kirchmayers in 1826.