Sieradzki Park Etnograficzny

Sieradzki Park Etnograficzny is an open-air museum at ul. Grodzka 1 in Sieradz, a branch of the Regional Museum in Sieradz. The park lies at the foot of Wzgórze Zamkowe, between the Żeglina river and the Paradzianka reservoir, and displays traditional architecture and daily life in the Sieradz countryside from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the post-war period.

How the park came about

The idea of gathering rural architectural monuments in one place arose in the 1960s, on the initiative of the then director of the Regional Museum in Sieradz, Zofia Neyman. The aim was to preserve traces of the region's culture that were disappearing before old village buildings vanished. The formal decision to establish the park was taken in 1973, but work on the historic buildings only began in 1986, after years of delay caused by economic crisis. The park opened a year later, in 1987, by decree of the Sieradz voivode [regional administrator].

The first buildings moved

The Weaver's House from Zgierza was the first building brought to the park. The next object was the homestead of Szczepan Mucha, a folk sculptor from the village of Szale. These two buildings formed the foundation of a collection that was supplemented over subsequent years with further examples of rural architecture from the Sieradz region.

What to see in the park

The exhibition includes, among other things, a broad cottage from Sieradz-Mąka, a stable, an outbuilding and a wooden granary. A separate pavilion is dedicated to agricultural tools formerly used in the Sieradz countryside. Together they form a picture of a farm from a hundred years ago, consisting of a residential building and outbuildings that accompanied it in everyday life.

Tradition of the Sieradz countryside

The park is not limited to buildings alone. The exhibition also shows the material and spiritual culture of village inhabitants, namely everyday objects, farm equipment and furnishings that accompanied people at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and in the first decades after the war.

Branch of the Regional Museum in Sieradz

The park operates as a branch of the Regional Museum in Sieradz, alongside the museum itself located within the castle grounds. This arrangement means that a visit to the open-air museum can be combined with a visit to the museum section devoted to the region's history, although both parts have a separate character and separate buildings.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Grodzka 1, Sieradz, within the castle grounds between the Żeglina and the Paradzianka reservoir
• Getting there: the park lies within the former castle complex, within walking distance of Sieradz city centre
• Opening hours are worth checking before your visit directly at the Regional Museum in Sieradz (tel. 43 827 16 39)
• What to expect: a dozen or so wooden village buildings in the open air, including cottages, a stable, a granary and a pavilion of agricultural tools