Kraków Bobbin Lace – Living Heritage

In 2026, ten years will have passed since Kraków bobbin lace was inscribed on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. To mark the occasion, the Stowarzyszenie Koronczarek Ziemi Krakowskiej, together with the Muzeum Krakowa – Centrum Interpretacji Niematerialnego Dziedzictwa, invites you to the exhibition “Kraków Bobbin Lace – Living Heritage”.

The inscription on the National List covers not only preserved objects or historical patterns, but above all the knowledge and skills passed from one person to the next. Kraków bobbin lace remains precisely such a living practice.

Olga Szerauc, Zofia Dunajczan and Jadwiga Węgorek hold an important place in the history of Kraków lacemaking; their activities and projects contributed to the preservation and development of this technique. Maria Modés-Dudrewiczowa is also an important figure for research on Polish lacemaking: formerly director of the lace school in Zakopane, and after retiring, connected with Kraków. Here she published, at her own expense, methodical textbooks devoted to various lacemaking techniques. Her legacy is now the subject of further research and attempts at historical pattern reconstruction.

The contemporary community of custodians comprises a dozen or so women actively engaged in lacemaking, and the Stowarzyszenie Koronczarek Ziemi Krakowskiej brings together around 20 people. Knowledge and skills are passed on individually and during regular joint workshop meetings, serving learning, exchange of experience and work on patterns.

The exhibition presents works by contemporary Kraków lacemakers. Alongside works using historical patterns, there are reconstructions and original designs. This allows visitors to see different ways of engaging with tradition: from preserving and passing on historical skills to independent design and the re-reading of past technological solutions.

Reconstructing historical lace can be more than recreating its appearance. Analysing the source and pattern, identifying weaves, choosing materials, reproducing the way the threads are guided and solving practical problems make it possible to test in practice the information preserved in old pattern books and manuals. In this way, practice becomes a tool for understanding the historical lacemaking craft.

Ten years after its inscription, Kraków bobbin lace remains a tradition that is passed on, practised, studied, reconstructed and creatively developed.

Location: Muzeum Krakowa – Pałac Krzysztofory, 1st floor, room devoted to Kraków costume.

Opening hours: The exhibition is accessible during the opening hours of the permanent exhibition at Pałac Krzysztofory

Admission: Entry to the exhibition is included in the ticket price for the permanent exhibition “Kraków from the Beginning, Without End**”

Organiser: Muzeum Krakowa, Stowarzyszenie Koronczarek Ziemi Krakowskiej