University of Wroclaw Museum of Natural History

What to expect

The Museum of Natural History in Wroclaw is a museum of the University of Wroclaw where nature is shown on a scale you cannot take in within half an hour: according to Wikipedia and the muzeauczelniane.pl website, its four permanent exhibitions form the largest natural history exhibition in Poland. It is housed in a building at ul. Sienkiewicza 21, built specially for the museum.

The highlight is the “Świat zwierząt” (World of Animals) exhibition in the largest, historic hall, with more than 1500 exhibits. The other three are “Świat roślin” (World of Plants), with nearly 500 plant species from the museum’s herbarium, “Układ kostny kręgowców” (The Vertebrate Skeleton), with 66 complete skeletons, and “Owady i człowiek” (Insects and People). According to Wikipedia, the exhibitions show 3140 zoological and 600 botanical specimens.

The museum itself names two things that set it apart: the skeleton of a blue whale, which it calls the only one in the country, and “Świat roślin”, in the museum’s words the only permanent botanical exhibition of this size in Poland. Visitors rate the museum very highly: on Google Maps it has 4.7 out of 5 from 1914 reviews (read on 25 October 2026).

Who it suits: families with children, because the museum aims its main exhibition at all audiences, has a family ticket, and with a pushchair you get in through the porter’s lodge and then take the lift. Also anyone curious about biology: this is the largest natural history exhibition in the country, with animals, plants and skeletons under one roof.

Who should skip it: anyone coming for an anthropology exhibition. The Museum of Man (Muzeum Człowieka) is not part of the Museum of Natural History, and a ticket bought here does not cover it. Check the opening days too: the museum is closed on Mondays.

How long: with four exhibitions and more than 3700 specimens on show, allow at least an hour and a half, and two hours to see all four exhibitions at a relaxed pace.

Tips

• Do not miss the blue whale. The museum calls its skeleton of a blue whale, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, the only such skeleton in the country.
• The Museum of Man is separate. The anthropology exhibition of the Museum of Man is not part of this museum, so a ticket bought at the ticket office here will not get you into it.
• The family ticket pays off. It covers two adults and one to three children; when a child is over 4 and would otherwise pay for a reduced ticket, the family ticket works out cheaper than separate tickets with just one child. Single tickets: standard ticket 18 PLN (about 4 EUR), reduced 14 PLN (about 3 EUR); the price of the family ticket is in the museum’s price list.
• Who gets in free. Children up to 4, old-age and disability pensioners over 75, teachers and group carers (one carer per 10 people) and University of Wroclaw students with a student ID get in without paying.
• With a pushchair through the porter’s lodge. Visitors with disabilities and families with pushchairs enter through the porter’s lodge next to the main entrance (a gate in the steel fence) and take the lift between floors. Google Maps also lists a toilet and parking for wheelchair users.
• Not at the last minute. The ticket office stops selling tickets before the exhibitions close, and the museum does not state a last-entry time. For an afternoon visit, check the hours in the practical information box and arrive with time to spare.
• Groups call ahead. Because visitor numbers are growing, the museum asks organised groups to book ahead on 71 375 41 44, Monday to Friday. A guided tour is possible only after such a booking, and its fee, which depends on the size of the group, is added to the tickets.
• Cash or card. You can pay for tickets in cash or by card; organised groups can pay by bank transfer after registering and agreeing it with the museum.

Getting there

• Address: ul. Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław. The stops, distances and lines below come from the Wroclaw public transport timetable (the city’s open data).
• Tram: the nearest stop is “Pl. Bema” (about 210 m), served by tram lines 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 19 and 23. Lines 9, 17 and 19 also stop at “Ogród Botaniczny” (about 270 m), and lines 6, 8, 10, 11, 19 and 23 at “Na Szańcach” (about 370 m).
• Bus: the nearest stop, “Świętokrzyska” (about 160 m), is served by lines 111 and 128, which also stop at “Pl. Bema”. Buses 115, 145, 146, 914, 924, A and N also stop at “Ogród Botaniczny”.
• At night: night lines 244 and 251 stop at “Pl. Bema”, and line 246 at “Ogród Botaniczny”.
• By car: Google Maps lists wheelchair-accessible parking at the museum.

Background

The building you enter was built specially for the museum, and the collections were moved into it in 1904. The museum itself is 90 years older: it was founded as the Zoological Museum in 1814, soon after the founding of the secular University of Wroclaw, at the time a German university.

During the Second World War, in the siege of Festung Breslau, the building was bombed and a whole wing collapsed. The exhibitions were completely destroyed; only the Skeleton Hall survived.

What you see in the halls today is only a small part of the collections. According to Wikipedia, the museum holds about 2.5 million animal specimens and about 0.5 million plant specimens, and its exhibitions show 3140 zoological and 600 botanical specimens, roughly one specimen in eight hundred.