Museum of Military History, Education and the Countryside in Dziedzice

The Museum of Military History, Education and the Countryside operates in Dziedzice, a village in Myślibórz County, about 10 km north-west of Barlinek. It is run by the Association of Friends of Dziedzice in the building of the former Tadeusz Starzec Primary School. The institution is a branch of the Regional Museum in Barlinek.

Why a museum in a school

The association was founded in 2004 and took over the school building, which was erected on the foundations of the manor house demolished in 1945. The museum opened in 2005. In 2010 the building was renovated and re-equipped with funds from the Rural Development Programme for 2007-2013. A youth hostel also operates in the building.

Exhibitions

The historical exhibition is devoted to the prisoners of Oflag II-C Woldenberg in Dobiegniew: there are camp memorabilia, uniforms and militaria. The ethnographic section shows the everyday life of the old village: costumes, utility objects, farm tools and the equipment of craft workshops. The third part is a reconstruction of an old classroom with its furnishings and teaching aids. In 2015 rooms with an old kitchen, a smithy, a woodshed, a bedroom and a farmstead were added. The association also runs the Woldenberg Prisoners' Memorial Room.

Activities and events

For groups of about 30 people the museum has prepared an “Adventure in the Museum” lasting about 1.5 hours: writing with ink and a dip pen in the old classroom, building a bird feeder or nest box in the woodshed, and churning butter and shaping pasta in the village kitchen. Recurring events include Museum Night, historical workshops for young people, folk craft workshops, ceremonies in memory of the prisoners of Oflag II-C Woldenberg and the “Living” Museum Day.

The village

In the village stands a church from the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, surrounded by a medieval stone and brick wall, and next to it a fragment of the manor park with trees of monumental character has survived. On the edge of the village is a cemetery with the grave of Polish officers, prisoners of Oflag II-C Woldenberg, commemorating the events of 31 January 1945. In the area are the Skalisty Jar Libberta nature reserve and Lipiany with its town hall.

Practical information

• Address: Dziedzice 45, 74-322 Mostkowo.
• According to the museum's website it is opened by prior telephone arrangement. Contact details and the offer for groups: www.dziedzice.org.
• Prices and dates of activities are agreed individually with the association.