Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów

Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów
Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie
The museum building (2022)
Established2019
Locationul. Metalowców 4a, Chorzów, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland
Coordinates50°18′14.2″N 18°57′29.1″E / 50.303944°N 18.958083°E / 50.303944; 18.958083
DirectorTomasz Owoc
OwnerCity of Chorzów
Websitemuzeumhutnictwa.pl/en/

The Museum of Metallurgy in Chorzów (Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie) is a municipal museum in Chorzów, Poland, devoted to the material and intangible heritage of iron and steelmaking in the region.[1] It is housed in the former power-plant building of the Royal Ironworks (Huta Królewska).[2] Since 2023 the museum has been part of the Silesian Industrial Monuments Route (Szlak Zabytków Techniki).[3]

History

The oldest part of the building dates to 1895 and originally served as the power plant of the Royal Ironworks; between 1898 and 1911 it supplied electricity to the town then known as Königshütte (now Chorzów).[4] In 2010 the City of Chorzów purchased the historic hall from Bank Handlowy in Warsaw and began plans to adapt it for a metallurgy museum.[4]

The museum was formally established by a resolution of the Chorzów City Council in 2019, and Adam Kowalski was appointed director later that year.[4] The redevelopment and preparation of the permanent exhibition were supported by European Union funding through a wider revitalisation project led by the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze (Muzeum Górnictwa Węglowego w Zabrzu).[4][5]

The museum was inaugurated on 26 November 2021 and opened to the public on 27 November 2021.[6][1][5]

Under the 2022 statute, the institution was formed through the merger (effective 1 January 2022) of the previous Museum in Chorzów and the then “in-organisation” Metallurgy Museum into a single cultural institution named Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie.[7]

In April 2025 Tomasz Owoc became director of the museum.[8][9]

Collections and activities

According to its statute, the museum collects, conserves and presents cultural heritage in the fields of technology, history, ethnology, archaeology, art and artistic craft, with particular emphasis on metallurgy, the Upper Silesian Industrial Region and Chorzów.[7] It also includes a City and Region History Department (Oddział Historii Miasta i Regionu).[7]

In 2020 the museum initiated the oral-history project Mów mi huto (“Tell me, steelworks”), recording interviews with former steelworkers for use in the permanent exhibition and as an archive of memories.[10][1]

Permanent exhibition

The core exhibition, The Kingdom of Iron (Królestwo żelaza), presents the history of the Royal and Batory steelworks and is structured around historical machinery as well as recorded testimonies from former workers.[11][5]

  • Entrance (2022)
  • Power plant hall (2022)
  • Interior before adaptation (2014)
  • Exhibition hall (2022)
  • Lobby (2022)
  • Exhibition (2022)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Dawna elektrownia Huty Królewskiej żyje na nowo – ruszyło w niej Muzeum Hutnictwa (PDF) (Report) (in Polish). Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie. November 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  2. ^ "Museum of Metallurgy". European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  3. ^ "Nowe obiekty na Szlaku Zabytków Techniki". Szlak Zabytków Techniki (in Polish). 10 January 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d "Historia". Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie (in Polish). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b c "W Chorzowie rozpoczyna działalność Muzeum Hutnictwa". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP). 26 November 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Muzeum hutnictwa otwiera podwoje". e-mh.eu (in Polish). 16 November 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b c Uchwała Nr XLV/745/2022 Rady Miasta Chorzów z dnia 27 stycznia 2022 r. w sprawie nadania statutu Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie (PDF) (Report) (in Polish). Dziennik Urzędowy Województwa Śląskiego. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Dyrekcja jednostki – Dyrekcja Muzeum Hutnictwa". BIP – Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie (in Polish). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  9. ^ Nowy dyrektor Muzeum Hutnictwa (PDF) (Report) (in Polish). Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie. 14 March 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  10. ^ "Chorzów. Akcja \"Mów mi huto\". Byli pracownicy huty zaproszeni do podzielenia się wspomnieniami". Radio eM (in Polish). 27 May 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Exhibitions – The Kingdom of Iron (core exhibition)". Muzeum Hutnictwa w Chorzowie. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
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