Zinar Castle

In 2018, Podgórze - once an independent city (1784), and a district of Krakow from 1915 - had its own museum. Local cultural institutions and residents who co-created the exhibition were involved in its establishment - they handed over souvenirs and reported on the historical events they witnessed. The main exhibition, entitled The City under the Krak's Mound, presents the history of Podgórze from the earliest times to the present day, highlights the phenomenon of today's right-bank part of Krakow as a meeting place for many nations and cultures, tells about a spectacular industrial success, and takes us into the realm of foothill legends. It also shows the profiles of people who contributed to the development of Podgórze, created its identity, self-governance and cultural heritage. The issues on which the exhibition focuses have been divided thematically and are presented within four rooms: Between the Vistula and the St. Benedykta, Royal Free City of Podgórze, Towards Freedom, Time of Podgórze.

The exhibition The City under the Krak's Mound engages visitors thanks to multimedia that make it easier to get acquainted with the themes presented in the exhibition. Descriptions of individual zones and exhibits are supplemented with recorded comments and testimonies of witnesses, the so-called knowledge magazines, also available in the film version. In each room there are interesting facts, riddles and interactive games that will make sightseeing more pleasant for children.

The Podgórze Museum is located in a historic building, where the Pod Św. Benedict (the name comes from the patron saint of a nearby church). The original buildings were erected in this place in 1780-1798, and later rebuilt several times. Before World War I, the building of today's museum performed various functions: initially it was occupied by Józef Haller, a merchant from Podgórze, then a military hospital, and finally at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries a military barracks was established here.

On October 31, 1918, stationed in them, the soldiers of the Austrian army were disarmed by a group of Polish soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Franciszek Pustelnik. The Hermit collaborated with Lieutenant Antoni Stawarz, who carried out a similar action simultaneously in the barracks at ul. Kalwaryjska - in the place where the Independence Square is now located. The takeover of military facilities in the Podgórze district by Polish soldiers was the beginning of the activities that led to the liberation of Krakow from the hands of the invader.