CLOSE TO THE PEOPLE. BRONISŁAW PIŁSUDSKI AND THE BEGINNINGS OF ETHNOGRAPHY IN ZAKOPANE

Close to the People. Bronisław Piłsudski and the Beginnings of Ethnography in Zakopane

Bronisław Piłsudski was born in 1866 in Wileńszczyzna. While studying law in Petersburg, he was arrested for preparing a plot against the life of Tsar Alexander III and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour on Sakhalin. There he learned the language, everyday life and folklore of the island's inhabitants and became their finest expert. After returning to his homeland, he turned his attention to the people of the Podhale region. In 1911 he came to Zakopane intending to conduct research, founded the Ethnographic Section at the Tatra Society and linked its activity with the Tatra Museum. He carried out research, tried to interest the local community in collecting folk objects and documenting local culture, was involved in the publication of „Rocznik Podhalański” – a journal publishing research results on the past and present of the region – and designed the future of the ethnography department.

The exhibition, organised on the 160th anniversary of the birth of this eminent ethnographer, recalls this little-known research and museum work carried out in 1911–1914 at the foot of the Tatras. The main element of the presentation is the ethnographic collection gathered by Piłsudski, shown in full for the first time, as well as selected objects assembled by his collaborators. In this collection, as if in a lens, the ideas that accompanied his work converge: acting together to save what is irretrievably disappearing, close knowledge and understanding of people, and documenting past and present life in all its manifestations. The ethnographic artefacts have been arranged following the guidelines of Bronisław Piłsudski, author of Zasady i sposoby organizacji działu ludoznawczego, considered the first textbook of Polish museology, thus drawing attention to his museum craft, experience and even visionary thinking. The backdrop to the ethnographic exhibits consists of photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries showing their cultural context.

Curator: Anna Kozak

HONORARY PATRONAGE: Embassy of Japan in Poland, Mayor of the City of Zakopane, National Institute of Museums

MEDIA PARTNERS: Radio 357, Tygodnik Podhalański, 24tp.pl

The exhibition can be seen from 7 November 2026 to 16 May 2027 in the Main Building of the Tatra Museum, ul. Krupówki 10.