Folk Culture of Gdańsk Pomerania

The Ethnography Department of the National Museum in Gdańsk is housed in the three-storey granary building of the Abbey Granary (Spichlerz Opacki), erected in the early 18th century during the time of Abbot Franciszek Mikołaj Zaleski. The date of completion (1723) is inscribed on a cartouche above the entrance arch, carved at the base of the Godziemba coat of arms.

The exhibition presented within its interiors concerns traditional forms of rural economy of the various ethnic groups inhabiting the area of Gdańsk Pomerania: Kashubians, Kociewiacy, Borowiacy, Powiślanie and Żuławians. The material on display makes it possible to trace the basic occupations of these groups, tied to everyday existence: fishing, land cultivation, animal husbandry and domestic food processing. It spans a time when peasant economy was still largely self-sufficient and many necessary tools and equipment were made on one's own.

Chronologically, the exhibition covers the period from the mid-19th century to the second half of the 20th century, although many of the objects displayed have preserved a form reaching far earlier in time.

The natural conditions of this cultural area, numerous rivers and lakes and the sea coast, created favourable conditions for the development of various forms of fishing. The exhibition shows a great variety of work tools, from the simplest, used for individual catching, to more complicated ones, both in construction and in the way they were used.

The most important occupation of Pomerania's inhabitants, forming the basis of their livelihood, was land cultivation and the animal husbandry associated with it. The tools gathered in this part of the exhibition illustrate the full cycle of farm work: loosening the soil, ploughing, plant care, harvesting and threshing.

Animal husbandry was closely linked with land cultivation. It provided valuable food products: meat, eggs, milk, fats; raw materials: hides, wool, feathers, horn, bristles; and manure essential for fertilising the soil. Beekeeping was a common occupation, and almost every farmer kept several hives. The most characteristic for this area were straw hives, popularly called koszki, which can also be seen in the exhibition.

The diet of the rural population was based mostly on products from their own farms. The objects in the exhibition related to household economy concern the processing of grain, meat, milk and fish. We present utensils and vessels used in the kitchen and pantry, associated with the preparation and consumption of meals.

In the garden adjoining the granary building, you can admire works by Pomeranian folk artists created during a plein-air event held on its grounds: picturesque wayside shrines with figures of saints placed inside, and several figural beehives.

curator: Teresa Przała adaptation: Wiktoria Blacharska