National Museum, Gdańsk, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

The National Museum in Gdańsk (Muzeum Narodowe w Gdańsku), established in 1972 (although the history goes back the third quarter of 19th century), is one of the main branches of Poland's National Museum system. Its main location is in the old Franciscan monastery, which has been used to house exhibits since the end of the 19th century. Currently the museum has seven departments.

The first floor is given over to paintings, with a section devoted to Dutch and Flemish work. The jewel of the collection is Hans Memling's (1435-94) triptych of the Last Judgment, one of the earlier works of the artist, dating from 1472 to 1473. You'll also find works by the younger Brueghel and Van Dyck, and the beautifully macabre Hell by Jacob Swanenburgh, who was the master of the young Rembrandt.

References:

Museums in Poland

User Reviews

Юлия Федосенко (3 years ago)
Great museum, beautiful exhibitions, impressive architecture

Frédéric Wah (3 years ago)
A great museum just a little bit outside of the busy Gdańsk. It got great collection of silver and painting. Old medieval painting were quite impressive. And I was surprised by their collections of Dutch painting. Anyway, a nice museum to do when you're in Gdańsk. Especially on Friday because it's free!

Giacomo Spagnoli (3 years ago)
A fine collection of paintings around its masterpiece: 1471 Memling's Last Judgement.

Thomas Robichaud (3 years ago)
An appealing and interesting collection of art exhibits. Environmental conditioning left much to be desired. English speakers should keep in mind that only a few of the exhibits have English text in the descriptions.

Vykintas Valužis (3 years ago)
A good museum, but I think a title is a bit misleading: it's called "National Museum of Gdańsk", but actually its just an art gallery (except the few original furniture). But of course, The Last Judgment by Hans Memling is magnificient and definitely worth seeing. Other paintings are also very good. I recommend going it there on Friday, because the entrance is free then.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright saxuisse

Historic Site of the week

Les Invalides

Les Invalides is a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building"s original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l"Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d"Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the burial site for some of France"s war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte.

Louis XIV initiated the project in 1670, as a home and hospital for aged and unwell soldiers: the name is a shortened form of hôpital des invalides. The architect of Les Invalides was Libéral Bruant. The enlarged project was completed in 1676, the river front measured 196 metres and the complex had fifteen courtyards. Jules Hardouin Mansart assisted the aged Bruant, and the chapel was finished in 1679 to Bruant"s designs after the elder architect"s death.

Shortly after the veterans" chapel was completed, Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to construct a separate private royal chapel referred to as the Église du Dôme from its most striking feature. Inspired by St. Peter"s Basilica in Rome, the original for all Baroque domes, it is one of the triumphs of French Baroque architecture. The domed chapel is centrally placed to dominate the court of honour. It was finished in 1708.

Because of its location and significance, the Invalides served as the scene for several key events in French history. On 14 July 1789 it was stormed by Parisian rioters who seized the cannons and muskets stored in its cellars to use against the Bastille later the same day. Napoleon was entombed under the dome of the Invalides with great ceremony in 1840. In December 1894 the degradation of Captain Alfred Dreyfus was held before the main building, while his subsequent rehabilitation ceremony took place in a courtyard of the complex in 1906.

The building retained its primary function of a retirement home and hospital for military veterans until the early twentieth century. In 1872 the musée d"artillerie (Artillery Museum) was located within the building to be joined by the Historical Museum of the Armies in 1896. The two institutions were merged to form the present musée de l"armée in 1905. At the same time the veterans in residence were dispersed to smaller centres outside Paris. The reason was that the adoption of a mainly conscript army, after 1872, meant a substantial reduction in the numbers of veterans having the twenty or more years of military service formerly required to enter the Hôpital des Invalides. The building accordingly became too large for its original purpose. The modern complex does however still include the facilities detailed below for about a hundred elderly or incapacitated former soldiers.

Do you know an ancient castle or magnificent church near you?

Why not share it with other people interested in history? You can add your own historic sites and attractions to SpottingHistory.com.

It's absolutely free, easy, and doesn't even need registration!

Upload data

National Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Rhodes, The Island of Knights

Great Spa Towns of Europe

History of Guernsey & Jersey

Historic Site of the week

Les Invalides

Looks like you are a history fan!