Strona Muzeum Okręgowego im. Stanisława Staszica w Pile

History

The historical exhibition presents a few chosen problems from the history of Piła and the region. Piła obtained municipal rights in the middle of 15th century. They were confirmed in 1513 as the portrait of King Zygmunt Stary presents. The period of Polish-Swedish wars is represented by three copperplates by Eric Dahlberg showing the Battle of Ujście, burning down the castles in Złotów and Drahim and the map of Poland with the Swedish army route. The next
artifact is a broken broadsword found at the Ujście battlefield. The artifacts gathered here include also funeral speeches, a coffin portrait of an unknown aristocrat, coins from the Royal Mint in Łobżenica and a the treasure of 17/18th centuries thalers found in Piła. The attention of visitors focuses on two figures: a Polish aristocrat from 17/18th century and a 17th century warrior. The exhibits important to the history of the region are the portraits of Wojciech Breza (17th century), a Poznań Voivod, foundator of Skrzatusz Church, and of Krzysztof Unrug, a Wałcz Starost in 17th century. Another group of exhibits are guild artifacts from Piła and the region including chests, banners, wilkom-cups, and seals dating back to 17-19th centuries. A separate group are baroque sculptures from St. John`s Church burnt down in February 1945. Its ruins were a landmark in Piła until 1975 they were blown up for safety reasons. Piła and the region got under Prussian rule at the time of partitions. The allegory of these events is the engraving Royal Cake by Noel Lemir (1795). The period of germanisation lasted over a 100 years, with a short break in the years 1807-1815 when Piła was within the boarders of the Duchy of Warsaw. The Napoleon times are represented by engravings of Polish and French soldiers and French and Prussian arms.
The views of the town can be seen on postcards and engravings from 19th and the first half of 20th century. There are also badges of numerous organisations operating in Piła before 1945 as well as coins, banknotes and personal objects belonging to inhabitants of the town which ceased to exist in February 1945. Other showcases present local Jewish artifacts and the local rifle club souvenirs. Another showcase is devoted to the Prussian garrison in Piła and the Wielkopolski Uprising. The figure of a soldier of 149 Infantry Regiment attracts visitors' attention.The regiment formed in 1892 consisted of Germans, Poles and Jewes from the Noteć area. This exhibition closes with the presentation of the pre-war Polish Republic Consulate in Piła and Polish organisations promoting sport, education and culture. It must be mentioned here that the District Museum is housed in the former Polish Consulate building. The figures of WW II soldiers represent the armies fighting in Piła in 1945: the Soviets and the Germans. There is also a figure of a Polish soldier in a 1939 uniform. The figures are presented against the backgroud of photographs of the town in ruins.

History of Art

The permanent exhibition FURNITURE AND INTERIORS FROM MID 18th TO 20th
CENTURY -OBJECTS BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL presents Polish and European handicraft completed with numerous examples of painting and engraving.
THE HALL: furniture with light, pastel polychromy and subtle carvings (18th century, Austria). Engravings based on the works of William Hogarth (1697-1764) and A KNIGHT FIGHTING A LION- the etching by Daniel Chodowiecki, an artist from Gdańsk sometimes referred to as THE BERLIN HOGHART create the atmosphere of the epoque.
THE GOLDEN SALON: arranged as a boudoir with elegant French rococo style furniture. In 1798 Teodor Fredrich Tietz of Konigsburg was a guest of the Goltz Family in Suchowo (Wałcz area) where he painted the portrait of four-year-old Karol Jerzy Goltz, the descendant of a powerful Pomeranian house living there since Middle Ages.
THE WHITE SALON emphasises aesthetical changes in furniture and art in the first half of 19th century. The decor is typical of Polish aristocratic mansions. An interesting exhibit is a walnut- veneered secretary with the inlay of sycamore, ash, pear and pearl presenting figure scenes. The secretary resembles Polish furniture manufactured in Kolbuszowa, often mentioned
in furniture catalogue lists of old mansions. According to the old Polish tradition on a Caucasian carpet, so called prajer carpet, an icon of Virgin Mary with Jesus was placed , with arms under it. The 19th century was the age of several uprisings, one of them being the November Uprising of 1830. A splendid lithohraph A REFUGEE FROM POLAND by Hipolit Bellange reflects the atmosphere of loss after the uprising was quelled. Other furniture and objects here are inspired with the empire style: a palmette frieze mirror, chairs with bronze and gold eagle heads and claws, a chess table, a bookcase with pilasters and profiled mould, a desk with strings in lyre-like shape, a French mantelpiece clock. Biedermeier is represented by a ''comfortable'' coach, a bag table, and a secretary with pillars. There are also two portraits here. The author of the bigger one presenting a woman in a Biedermeier hat is Józef Paszkiewicz (1781-1844), an apprentice of Marcelo Bacciarelli of the Royal Painting House founded by Stanisław August Poniatowski. The
oval portrait of a man in a suit of armour (1800) comes from the Tuczno Castle and presents one of the descendants of the powerful House of Wedel-Tuczyński.
THE GREEN SALON represents the interior design style dominating in the second half of XIX century, the historism style referring to all periods of history and borrowing the forms of the Gothic, Renessaisance, Baroque, Rococo and Classicism. The Dresden furniture (late 19th century), walnut -veneered, ornamented with painted china plaques along with a desk for a lady with an inkstand and a sandbox (Berlin,1850) represent the “second rococo”. Above a minature dagerotype of Adam Mickiewicz's bust made in Odessa in1898 to commemorate his 100th birthday. The only authentic rococo piece of furniture here is a dressing table (Germany, 1750 -70) in a desk-like form with a mirror top and a niche for personal utensils. A coach also bears resemblance to Rococo. A desk for a gentleman ornamented with Polish-Saxon armorial bearings of brass and gold (Saxonia, second half of 19th century) is typical of an old Polish house. Oil landscapes THE ALPS IN SUMMER by Rudolf Wimmer and KONIGSEE IN THE BAVARIAN ALPS WITH ST. BARTHOLOMEO CHURCH by K. Purtz complete the exposition.
Showcases present silverware, glassware, porcelain, fajence, stoneware and porcellanite from numerous European manufactures. The core of the collection are the products of Stanisław Mańczak Faience Factory in Chodzież, the leading one in Poland in the years 1934-1929. A unique object here is the FIVE SENSES vase by Stanisław Polankiewicz, awarded at exhibitions in Paris (1925) and Poznań (1929). The vase is hand-painted in cobalt.

Secession

Secession was born in the last years of 20th century to reject historism and eclectism of previous periods. In THE SECESSION SALON new trends can be easily spotted: stained-glass windows, ceiling frieze with a lily motif and bindweed on the tiles of a reconstructed stove (Chodzież, 1905). They are accompanied by a door curtain embroidered with tulips (Cracow, 1900) and a tapestry with a peacock and sunflowers (by Bolesław Bożuchowski, Poland, 1924). From the cradle of Secession -Vienna- comes a glazed cabinet with a sprout motif on columns, a kerosen lamp with a green-glass lamp -shade and a concert grand piano from the Schneider factory. A power-driven gramophone with a tube is the example of devices common in middle -class apartments. Inspiration with fauna and flora can be seen in numerous decorative and daily use objects such as: a brass sparrow, a walking stick with an ivory handle in the shape of a pointer's head, a leaf-like inkstand and blotter, a steel fireplace screen with thistle and poppy motifs, cutlery from Fraget and Norblin factories (Warsaw) and a faience dinner service (Ryga, 1907-1917). A GIRL IN A HAT (bust, Milan, 1900), porcelain figures DANCING GIRLS by Karol Meuser (Turingen, 1913) , A MANDOLINIST from Ilmenau and some daily use objects such as a pendulum of a fireplace clock, the handle of a paper-knife and a mirror with an inlay presentng dancers (Lvov,1900) reveal fascination with female body typical of the period. Leather hat-boxes, a must for every trendy lady, come from the renowned Chest and Bag Factory of Leopold Rosenzweig in Lvov. Oriental elements are to be found on two Chinese faience vases with dragon representations. Mysterious and sensual women can be admired in two paintings: A HETAERA by Franciszek Żmórka (1859-1910) and an OIL SKETCH by Henryk Siemiradzki (1843 - 1902). Some elements of horror can be noticed in A FIGURE IN A LANDSCAPE by Jan
Styka (1901).
The Secession glassware presents new design and technology trends. The most valuable
exhibits come from Ecole de Nancy factory founded by Emil Galle. They are examples of multi-layer, etched and cut glass with flower and landscape motifs.

Archeology

The oldest traces of human presence in the Noteć River area go back to the late paleolithic XII/ X- VII thousand BC. They include remnants of camps of nomadic hunting groups and few flint and bone tools.The archeological exhibition starts with neolithic (VI/ V - III thousand BC)
artifacts such as pottery and tools made of stone, flint, antler and bone. Other objects worth mentioning here are the fragments of a wodden dam (2490-2448 BC) found in Żuławka Mała in the Noteć Valley.The next step leads us to the early Bronze Age (II thousand BC) represented by pottery, jewellery, tools and weapons made of all the then available materials such as bone, antler, stone, flint and imported bronze. The artifacts from the Śmiardowo Krajeńskie cementary, explored by archeologists since 1930s, are of particular interest here. So is a reconstructed grave.
Other showcases present the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age objects connected with the Lusatian and Pomeranian cultures (1200-300 BC). Among them there are not only a bronze sword and face-like cinerary urns but also two bronze treasures: over 60 axes and a moulding form found in Rosko on Noteć. The jewellery and harness appliques discovered near Dobrzyca are also interesting. One cannot miss 5 pieces of pottery - the remnants of the rich collection of the Landesmuseum Schneidemühl destroyed in 1945. The last showcase is devoted to the early pre-Roman and early Roman periods (300BC -500/600AD). The artifacts here present wandering and settling of the Bastaran, Goth and Przeworski cultures (the Vandal Union) and the contacts of the Noteć area inhabitants with the Roman Empire. The Middle Ages (700-1600AD) are also present here with weapons, tools and utensils . You can also admire several pieces of bronze jewellery of Baltic origin. The archeological exhibition ends up with a photograph of the Knight Tower in Gołańcz.