check_circle In a room
The Tatra Museum is in the center of Zakopane, a mountain town in southern Poland. It stands on Krupówki, the main pedestrian street. It is one of the oldest regional museums in Poland. The museum shows the nature of the Tatra Mountains and highlander (Górale) culture. You will see Tatra plants and animals, many rocks and minerals, and the inside of a traditional highlander wooden house, plus folk costumes and musical instruments.
Tatra Museum for children
Will children enjoy the exhibits? We think yes! There are things to touch, listen to, and discover on your own—a hands-on style that kids love. The topics are fun and inspiring: see what highlander cottages looked like inside, and learn about tools and objects that were common in old farmhouses but are no longer used today. In the display cases you can look closely at Tatra animals—you will come face to face with a marmot, a fox, or a brown bear.
In the museum you will also learn everyday facts about the Górale (highlanders), for example that people ate three meals a day from one shared bowl. Meals were eaten not at a high dining table but at a low table called a "stolica".
Young visitors can also explore regional highlander outfits using a wooden dress-up board.
Tytus Chałubiński – the museum’s patron
The Tatra Museum is named after Tytus Chałubiński. Although he was not born in Podhale (the region around Zakopane in southern Poland), he spent every summer here. He was called the "discoverer of Zakopane" and the "King of the Tatras." As a doctor, he helped residents fight a cholera outbreak—at his own expense he brought medicines and food from Kraków and had contaminated wells removed or closed. He promoted hygiene and disease prevention among the highlanders. His work helped transform Zakopane from a small highlander village into a tourist resort. He also promoted Zakopane as a place for climate therapy for people with respiratory illnesses.
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