Zinar Castle

The intriguing world of distant Japanese culture is a permanent element of the cultural landscape of Krakow.

The Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology was founded on the initiative of director Andrzej Wajda and his wife Krystyna Zachwatowicz, fascinated by Japanese culture. When in 1987 Andrzej Wajda received the Kyoto Prize (the Japanese equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the field of philosophy, art, science and technology) in the amount of 400,000 dollars, he decided to spend it on the construction of a new museum in Krakow. The building was designed by the outstanding architect Arata Isozaki in cooperation with Krakow architects: Krzysztof Ingarden, Jacek Ewý and the JET Atelier office.

The modern building on the Vistula River was created to provide the seat for the rich collections of art owned by the National Museum in Krakow Far East. Their important part is the wonderful collection of Japanese art donated in 1920 by the outstanding collector Feliks Jasieński. The name of the museum, now an independent institution, was taken from the pseudonym "Manggha" used by the collector. Beautiful objects - woodcuts, arts and crafts, including ceramics, costumes, fabrics and weapons - serve as a starting point for periodic presentations of various topics related to Japanese art, culture and customs. It also hosts temporary exhibitions of external partners, and the Manggha museum function is combined with educational activities disseminating knowledge about the culture of Japan and other Asian countries.