The general changes in the balance of power and production relations during the 18th century, and above all the rapidly progressing industrialisation of the area surrounding Kielce, had a fundamental impact on the occupations of the people living in the city centre. The city, and particularly its market square, quickly adapted to new economic needs. The first brick houses in the city were built at that time. This period also saw the construction of the first buildings with arcades.
The Museum of the Dialogue of Cultures occupies the premises of the so-called Tenement House under the Three Coats of Arms, or rather a complex of three adjoining tenement houses: the Tomkiewicz family house, built in the second half of the 18th century, and two neighbouring buildings, which acquired their present form following reconstruction in the 1940s. The 18th-century tenement house once had a Polish mansard roof covered with wooden shingles. The two narrower buildings are known today mainly through preserved photographs, which provide the only evidence of the character of this part of the pre-war development of Kielce Market Square.
The building is an important part of the history of the National Museum in Kielce. In 1945, the Świętokrzyskie Museum began its activities here, in the premises known as “Pod Filarami” at the then Plac Partyzantów 3–4–5. In 1946, the first temporary exhibition held in Kielce after the war was opened here, followed a year later by the first permanent exhibition. Until the former Kraków Bishops’ Palace was handed over to the Museum in 1971, the tenement house served as its main headquarters.
Today, the building houses the Museum’s library, as well as studios and facilities for the Departments of Archaeology, Natural History and Folk Art.
The Museum of the Dialogue of Cultures first appeared in the plans for the building in 2012. The idea of establishing an innovative, narrative branch of the National Museum in Kielce originated in 2009 on the initiative of its director, Robert Kotowski. The concept received support from the Regional Operational Programme of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship for 2007–2013.
The project, entitled “Modernisation and Equipment of the Tenement House under the Three Coats of Arms for the Museum of the Dialogue of Cultures”, began in February 2010 and was completed with the official opening of the new branch on 14 September 2012.
The Experts Behind the Museum’s Concept
A team of distinguished experts representing various fields of science, culture and art was involved in developing the concept of the Museum of the Dialogue of Cultures.
Prof. Robert Kotowski, PhD, DSc — professor of humanities, historian, academic lecturer and researcher of social history and the history of women in the 20th century, as well as a quality management specialist. Since 2009, he has served as Director of the National Museum in Kielce. He is Chair of the National Committee of ICOM Poland and a member of numerous Museum Councils. He is a pioneer of museum therapy in Poland and the initiator and organiser of the National Scientific Conference “MUSEUM THERAPY”. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of the National Museum in Kielce and the author of numerous publications on history and museology.
Prof. Regina Renz — historian and former Rector of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. Her research focuses on social and economic history and cultural relations in the Polish lands in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Prof. Adam Massalski — historian associated with Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce for 50 years. He served as Rector of the university, then known as the Świętokrzyska Academy, from 1999 to 2005. He was a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute for the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw and a Senator of the Republic of Poland during the 5th and 6th terms (2005–2011). He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Pedagogical University of Kraków and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. His research focuses on the history of education and science, as well as social and regional history in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Marek Cecuła — ceramic artist and designer. A native of Kielce, he returned to his hometown after many years of living and working in Israel, Brazil and New York. From 1985 to 2004, he served as Dean of the Department of Ceramics at Parsons School of Design in New York and was a professor at the National College of Art and Design in Bergen, Norway.
Adam Bartosz — ethnographer and Romani studies scholar, and longtime director of the District Museum in Tarnów. He is the author of numerous publications on Romani culture and history, including books and articles published both in Poland and abroad. He has also curated exhibitions devoted to national minorities, particularly Romani and Jewish communities.
Bogdan Białek — founder and honorary president of the Jan Karski Association. He has received numerous awards for his social activism, including the Irena Sendler Award, the Professor Łukasz Hirszowicz Award, the Reverend Stanisław Musiał Award and the Polcul Foundation Award. He is also an honorary member of the Kieltzer Society, an association of Kielce Jews in New York.
This team of experts played a key role in giving the Museum of the Dialogue of Cultures its distinctive character as a place of encounter, reflection and open intercultural dialogue.