The Diocesan Museum in Płock. The history of the Building

Abstract

The history of the Diocesan Museum in Płock presented here shows a long process of forming this institution. The origin of the Diocesan Museum in Płock is closely connected with the restoration of the Holy Virgin Mary Cathedral. After its completion it was decided that the remaining architectonic fragments that cannot be used in the cathedral in a practical way should be secured; it was the same with the objects that were withdrawn from use for cult purposes. In this situation a project was conceived to build a lumber-room. Stefan Szyller, who was also the restorer of the Płock cathedral, was appointed the main architect. The construction was begun in 1903. In its outward appearance the building reminds of the cathedral. It was the first one in the Polish land to be designed as a diocesan museum building from the very beginning.

As soon as 1929-1930 it was enlarged and reconstructed due to the growing collection. The recent improvements took place in 1997 when the cellars were adapted to be used as storerooms and preservation studios.