Museum of the Kościerzyna Region

The Museum of the Kościerzyna Region is located at Rynek 9 in the market square of Kościerzyna, a town in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of northern Poland that is often described as the capital of southern Kashubia. The town lies amid forests and lakes between Gdańsk and the Tuchola region, on routes that have long linked the Baltic coast with the interior. The museum collects and displays material on the history, folk culture and everyday life of the local area, with particular attention to the Kashubian people and their language and traditions.

The collection typically combines several strands: archaeology and early history of the area, the development of the town and its trades, regional folk art and crafts, and the history of the 19th and 20th centuries including the Second World War and the postwar period. Visitors may see tools, textiles, furniture, ceramics, embroidery, photographs, documents and household objects, many of them connected to Kashubian domestic life. Characteristic items include Kashubian embroidery and pottery, as well as exhibits on regional occupations such as fishing, forestry and farming. The presentation is mainly thematic and chronological, and temporary exhibitions are added through the year.

The museum occupies a historic building on the market square, which adds to the visit and makes it easy to combine with a stroll around the old centre of Kościerzyna. Conservation of the building and collection is carried out gradually, in keeping with its regional scale. For travellers following the Kashubian trail, the museum is a useful stop before or after the open-air Kashubian Ethnographic Park in Wdzydze, the National Anthem Museum in Będomin and the museum in Wejherowo, providing a compact introduction to the area's history.