{"id":3232,"date":"2026-06-17T09:12:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T09:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/historiapomorza.pl\/epoka\/museums-in-pomerania-until-1945\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T10:45:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:45:33","slug":"museums-in-pomerania-until-1945","status":"publish","type":"epoka","link":"https:\/\/historiapomorza.pl\/en\/epoka\/museums-in-pomerania-until-1945\/","title":{"rendered":"Museums in Pomerania until 1945"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Until 1945, today’s West Pomerania was part of the Prussian, and subsequently German, province of Pomerania (Provinz Pommern). Just as in other regions of Germany, a well-developed network of regional museums emerged here as well. Both in district towns and in many smaller localities, there existed regional museums of the Heimatmuseum type or memory rooms functioning under the name Heimatstube. This process was closely linked to the activities of societies that, from the late eighteenth century and primarily during the nineteenth century, began to play an essential role in the cultural life of Pomerania. The founders and members of these societies belonged to the educated German bourgeoisie\u2014including teachers, civil servants, and professionals\u2014for whom this activity constituted both a form of intellectual pursuit and a means of building social standing. These initiatives encompassed musical, literary, and educational societies, which frequently combined various fields, ranging from art to history and the natural sciences. They initially developed in larger centers, particularly in Szczecin (Stettin), from where they gradually spread to smaller towns.<\/p>\n\n

A turning point came in the first half of the nineteenth century when, following the Napoleonic Wars, historical societies focusing on the study of the region’s past began to emerge. The most important of these institutions was the Society for Pomeranian History and Antiquities, founded in 1824 in Szczecin (Stettin). The organization conducted research and publishing activities, while simultaneously gathering antiquities and historical artifacts from all over Pomerania.<\/p>\n\n

In the second half of the nineteenth century, this activity intensified significantly. Research was expanded, collections were organized and made accessible to the public, and scientific methods of cataloging the holdings\u2014such as chronological classification\u2014were increasingly applied. Archaeological finds related to early medieval culture and former Slavic settlement also generated growing interest. Private collections gradually evolved into systematically organized scholarly holdings. Initially, Pomeranian museums operated primarily as society collections exhibited in town halls, schools, and other public buildings; over time, however, they began to transform into permanent institutions, laying the foundation for the region’s future museum network.<\/p>\n\n

The Province and Its Memory<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the network of Heimatmuseums began to expand across Pomeranian towns. These museums, as the name itself implies, served as a home for local memory and an expression of attachment to the ‘little homeland’ and its history. They gathered archaeological artifacts, church furnishings, municipal and guild documents, everyday objects, and craft products.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

These institutions emerged from the need to endow the local past with a material form in the public sphere. They combined an educational function with a documentation process and were strictly linked to the activities of urban elites as well as historical and regionalist societies. The interest in folk culture and the ancient Slavic heritage of Pomerania aligned with the trends of regionalism and the search for local cultural identity popular in the first half of the twentieth century, which were also present in modern art and architecture. The museums reinforced the image of Pomerania as a province with its own historical continuity, rooted in regional tradition, yet integrated into the broader framework of the German state.<\/p>\n\n

The greatest surge in the establishment of such institutions occurred in the period following World War I. By 1939, approximately fifty facilities of diverse character operated within the province, ranging from large municipal and district museums to small school and church museums, as well as local regional rooms. Some of them were permanent in nature, while others functioned provisionally in town halls, schools, or administrative buildings.<\/p>\n\n

Examples of Regional Museums in Pomerania<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Regional museums were established across all of Pomerania, from large urban centers such as Szczecin, Koszalin, or Stargard, to smaller towns like L\u0119bork, Dar\u0142owo, or Szczecinek. Their beginnings were usually modest. The initial collections were created on a voluntary basis, through the activities of teachers, civil servants, pastors, and local collectors, and the exhibits were presented in public or school spaces. The common denominator of these endeavors was the grassroots activity of local communities, convinced that the region’s history required institutional care and public presentation. These institutions served not only a documentation function but also an identity-building one, organizing the region’s past and reinforcing the memory of Pomerania as a space with its own historical and cultural tradition. Although they emphasized the German character of the province, traces of the earlier Slavic heritage were also present in museum collections and publications, especially within archaeological materials.<\/p>\n\n

The Museum in Koszalin<\/p><\/h2>\n\n

The first attempts to establish a museum in Koszalin were made as early as 1879 on the initiative of the German Scientific Society (Wissenschaftlicher Verein in K\u00f6slin). A particular role in these endeavors was played by Rudolf Hamcke and Robert Hildebrand, local researchers and collectors who gathered primarily archaeological artifacts from Pomerania. However, this venture did not lead to the creation of a permanent museum institution. For a long time, the accumulated collections remained unorganized and were not recorded in an inventory. Following the deaths of Hamcke and Hildebrand, part of the collection was dispersed, while another part was transferred to the Municipal Museum in Szczecin. Despite the failure of this initial initiative, this very moment is considered the beginning of museology in Koszalin.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

The idea of establishing a regional museum re-emerged in Koszalin at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1910, local enthusiasts of the region founded the Association for Regional Studies and Heritage Protection (Verein f\u00fcr Heimatkunde und Heimatschutz zu K\u00f6slin), whose primary objective was to create a museum documenting the history and culture of Pomerania. The first exhibition was prepared in 1912 in the Old Town Hall, and this date is most commonly recognized as the symbolic beginning of the Museum in Koszalin’s activity, even though the association itself was formally registered only a year later. In 1914, the museum was granted rooms in the Town House on what is today Szpitalna Street. It was not until the end of World War I that a permanent exhibition could be arranged there. In 1929, the institution received a new headquarters on Gda\u0144ska Street, where archaeological, natural, and ethnographic collections, as well as works of art, were displayed. It served as a regional center for collecting and popularizing knowledge about Pomerania’s past.<\/p><\/p>\n\n

The Museum in Stargard<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Muzeum w Stargardzie tak\u017ce wyros\u0142o z dzia\u0142alno\u015bci miejscowych stowarzysze\u0144 historycznych, kt\u00f3re na pocz\u0105tku XX wieku zacz\u0119\u0142y gromadzi\u0107 zabytki zwi\u0105zane z histori\u0105 miasta i Pomorza. W 1908 roku, z inicjatywy nadburmistrza Alberta Kolbego, utworzono miejskie Heimatmuseum, pierwsz\u0105 publiczn\u0105 plac\u00f3wk\u0119 muzealn\u0105 w Stargardzie. Pocz\u0105tkowo opiera\u0142o si\u0119 na spo\u0142ecznych kolekcjach i dzia\u0142alno\u015bci lokalnych regionalist\u00f3w, a jego siedziba mie\u015bci\u0142a si\u0119 w ratuszu miejskim. Po przerwie spowodowanej I wojn\u0105 \u015bwiatow\u0105 rozw\u00f3j plac\u00f3wki kontynuowano pod kierownictwem Martina Hasenj\u00e4gera, podejmuj\u0105c tak\u017ce plany przeniesienia jej do dawnego arsena\u0142u miejskiego. Zbiory obejmowa\u0142y materia\u0142y archeologiczne, dokumenty miejskie, zabytki rzemios\u0142a oraz eksponaty zwi\u0105zane z histori\u0105 Stargardu.<\/p>\n\n

The District Museum in \u015awinouj\u015bcie<\/p><\/h3>\n\n

The Museum in \u015awinouj\u015bcie was established in 1911 and covered the Usedom\u2013Wollin district within its scope. Its profile was closely linked to the character of the city itself, which had been developing as a modern port center since the nineteenth century. The expansion of the quays, the opening of the Kaiserfahrt (Emperor’s Canal) toward the end of the nineteenth century, and the significance of \u015awinouj\u015bcie as the outport of Szczecin meant that the sea and shipping were not only an economic reality here but also a source of local identity. Therefore, alongside archaeological and historical materials, the museum gathered exhibits concerning shipping, fishing, and port life. Initially, it operated in the spa administration building, and in the 1930s, it was relocated to the former city hall\u2014one of the city’s most important administrative structures, erected in the Neoclassical style in 1809.<\/p>\n\n

The Museum in Dar\u0142owo<\/p><\/p>\n\n

The beginnings of the museum in Dar\u0142owo were linked to the activities of the German teacher and regionalist Karl Rosenow. The impetus for creating the collection came with the discovery in 1923 of three bronze-age cauldrons, after which Rosenow began the systematic gathering of archaeological, historical, and natural artifacts related to Central Pomerania. The collections were first exhibited in the town school and the Evangelical Community building on what is today Bogus\u0142awa Street, and in the 1930s, they were relocated to the renovated Castle of the Pomeranian Dukes, where the first museum exhibition opened on July 1, 1930.<\/p>\n\n

By 1933, the institution already functioned as the District Regional Museum, occupying twelve exhibition rooms, and Karl Rosenow became its first director. The collections comprised archaeological, historical, geological, and natural science departments, and a significant portion consisted of artifacts donated by local collectors, including Major Diether von Kleist. In 1945, after the Red Army captured Dar\u0142owo, Rosenow was interned in transit camps in Sulech\u00f3wek and Sulech\u00f3w; however, upon his return to the town, he once again became involved in securing the collections.<\/p>\n\n

The Museum in S\u0142upsk<\/p><\/h3>\n\n

The beginnings of museology in S\u0142upsk were linked to the activities of Johannes Werner, a veterinarian and director of the municipal slaughterhouse, who was also an avid collector and passionate enthusiast of regional history. He was one of the founders of the Pomeranian Ethnographic Association, which had been operating in S\u0142upsk since 1906. The members of the society gathered prehistoric artifacts, evidence of cultural history, natural finds, collections of manuscripts and numismatics, as well as guild documents and objects. In 1910, on the occasion of the city’s 600th anniversary, the collection was donated to the city with the intention of establishing a municipal museum; however, this plan was not realized until after World War I.<\/p>\n\n

In the 1920s, under the supervision of the building councilor Kienitz, the New Gate was remodeled and adapted for its new function, where the Homeland Museum was solemnly opened in September 1924. The collections included archaeological artifacts, works of art, furniture, ethnographic exhibits, and uniforms of Prussian military units. Despite its modest conditions, the institution quickly gained popularity.<\/p>\n\n

The Museum in L\u0119bork<\/p><\/h2>\n\n

The nucleus of the museum in L\u0119bork consisted of collections established toward the end of the nineteenth century under the patronage of the church, alongside local social activists and enthusiasts. The initial artifacts comprised accidental archaeological finds, primarily face urns of the Pomeranian culture, stone axes, bronze ornaments, and coins. Following the commissioning of the new city hall in 1900, the collections were exhibited in glass display cases along the building’s corridors. In 1904, on the initiative of a group of dedicated activists, the publication of district calendars dedicated to the history of the L\u0119bork land began, and the first museum exhibition combined with a scholarly session was organized in May 1924 in the city hall’s assembly hall.<\/p>\n\n

In 1925, the collections were relocated to the District Office building, where a permanent exhibition of a prehistoric character was arranged. It was prepared by Edward Stielow, the director of the District Social Welfare Office, who concurrently served on a voluntary basis as the curator of the collections, with the collaboration of archaeologist Helmut Agde from the L\u0119bork Teacher Training College. By the late 1930s, the collection catalogue numbered approximately 1,600 items and comprised, alongside prehistoric materials, Gothic sculpture, weaponry, and a display dedicated to Pomeranian folk rituals.<\/p>\n\n

Szczecin: The Center of the Museum Revolution<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Szczecin occupied a unique place on the museum map of Pomerania. While regional museums focused on local heritage were established in smaller towns, an institution with significantly greater ambitions and a metropolitan character was created in the provincial capital. Ideas for establishing a municipal museum had already appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century, but they took real shape only at the beginning of the following century. A key role was played by Lord Mayor Hermann Haken, merchant circles, and Heinrich Dohrn\u2014a naturalist, collector, and one of the main organizers of the museum’s collection. It was precisely thanks to the commitment of the Szczecin elites that it was possible to create one of the most modern museum institutions in Pomerania at that time.<\/p>\n\n

The new museum became part of a grand urban redevelopment project on the site of the former Fort Leopold. Designed by Wilhelm Meyer-Schwartau, the Hakenterrasse (Haken Terraces) belonged to the most representative spaces of Szczecin at that time. The monumental stairs, viewing terraces, and the proximity of administrative buildings were intended to emphasize the city’s status as a modern port metropolis. Solemnly opened on June 25, 1913, the Pommersches Museum made an immense impression from the very beginning with its scale and architectural grandeur. An inscription placed on the building’s facade stated that the edifice had been funded by the citizens of Szczecin, which served as a clear symbol of the local elites’ pride and their dedication to the city.<\/p>\n\n

A special role in building the collection was played by Heinrich Dohrn, an eminent naturalist, humanist, and collector, who was the primary initiator behind the creation of the ancient art collection. His idea was to showcase the roots of European culture within the museum; hence, he assembled an outstanding collection of vases and small-scale sculptures, alongside a series of reconstructions of the most famous ancient sculptures. Dohrn also persuaded many families of Szczecin patricians to become involved in this project, and the museum’s representative hall was designed specifically with this part of the collection in mind.<\/p>\n\n

The institution combined the functions of a natural history museum and an art museum. The southern part of the building was designated for the natural history collections, the northern part for art, while the ground floor was occupied by regional exhibits accumulated over the years by the Society for Pomeranian History and Antiquities. Among them were also archaeological materials documenting the earliest history of Pomerania, including the Early Slavic period. The collections were supplemented primarily through private donations from residents. Walter Riezler, who arrived in Szczecin in 1910 with his wife Paula, a painter and sculptor, became the institution’s first director. From the very beginning, he was committed to developing the modern art collection, particularly nineteenth-century painting and contemporary artistic trends. He was one of the first German museum directors to purchase a painting by Vincent van Gogh, and the collections came to include works by Ernst Barlach, Lovis Corinth, and many others. Under his leadership, the museum quickly became the most important museum institution in the province and one of the symbols of modern Szczecin.<\/p>\n\n

Museums in the Face of Political Transformations After 1933<\/p><\/p>\n\n

Following Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, German museums and cultural institutions were gradually subordinated to the policies of the Third Reich. Art was henceforth to serve state ideology, promote a nationalist vision of society, and strengthen the sense of the German national community. These changes quickly reached Szczecin as well. Even before Riezler’s formal dismissal, a special ministerial commission purged the museum’s collections of the avant-garde works that the director had so meticulously gathered. In 1934, he lost his position and was replaced by Otto Holtze\u2014an associate of Gauleiter Franz Schwede-Coburg and an active member of the NSDAP\u2014who was to oversee the ideological orthodoxy of the institution.<\/p>\n\n

In place of the removed works, art subordinated to the official aesthetics of the Third Reich\u2014monumental, realistic, and appealing to heroism\u2014was promoted. Museums were increasingly becoming a tool of state propaganda. The culmination of the Nazi takeover occurred in 1935 with the solemn installation of a bust of Adolf Hitler in the representative dome hall, symbolically emphasizing the institution’s subordination to the new ideology. At the end of the war, when the defense of the city became hopeless, the painting collection was evacuated deep into Germany on the last train departing from the Turzyn station, by order of Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg. Despite heavy fighting and destruction, the museum building itself survived the hostilities almost without major damage.<\/p>\n\n

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\"Quiz\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In 1945, as a result of the border shift and the transfer of these territories to the Polish state administration, the existing network of Pomeranian museums ceased to function as part of the German system of cultural institutions. Many collections were dispersed, destroyed, or evacuated deep into Germany. This marked the end of a phase in the development of Pomeranian museology that had been ongoing since the nineteenth century, shaped by local associations, collectors, and the region’s bourgeois elites. However, a portion of the infrastructure survived, such as museum buildings, fragments of former collections, and the very idea of the museum as an important institution of social and cultural life. It was these elements that became the foundation for new institutions established after the war by the Polish administration and the settlers arriving in Pomerania. Thus, the year 1945 did not mean the birth of museology in West Pomerania, but rather its profound transformation. It was the end of one institutional system and the beginning of the construction of a new, Polish network of museums operating in entirely different political, social, and cultural realities.<\/p>\n