The National Museum in Szczecin is entering a "new era." A major renovation is underway.

Renovation work will begin next week at the National Museum building on Wały Chrobrego Street as part of the "Imago Mundi" project. The historic building is to be made more modern and accessible to people with disabilities, and visitors will also gain access to a terrace above the portico. Importantly, the work will not disrupt the institution's normal operations.

"This is the opening of a new era," announced Voivodeship Marshal Olgierd Geblewicz during a Wednesday press conference at the facility on Wały Chrobrego. "We are embarking on an adventure that will last much longer than this single project. This building is the heart of Szczecin, its calling card, a landmark."

The construction site will be handed over to the Konsart company next week. Workers will replace part of the roof. The attics will be insulated. The attic space above the Contemporary Theatre's foyer, currently empty, will house a studio storage room for the ethnography department. It will house multimedia and 3D objects of museum exhibits. Classes will be held there. The stairwells will receive new electrical wiring.

"We'll want to open the terrace above the portico to visitors. Currently, it doesn't meet fire safety standards. My dream is to have a café there, but that's just a dream for now," reveals Agnieszka Bortnowska, the new director of the National Museum in Szczecin. "We'll create a new entrance from Szczerbcowa Street. We'll open the side staircases. These are spaces that haven't been used by visitors for a long time."

The director assessed that one of the main problems of the National Museum is the lack of services for people with special needs. This will change. Barriers for people with disabilities will be removed. Induction loops will be purchased and installed at the ticket offices and in the education and conference rooms; these devices support hearing aids. A mobile kit will also be provided for activities inside and outside the facility.

The museum will also purchase educational aids – tactile graphics, sensory panels, teaching notebooks, and will create 3D models of museum exhibits, foldable models of vessels, and a model of the museum building and its surroundings, so that blind and visually impaired people can also experience art sensually.

"We'll have multimedia, and we'll be implementing a digital transformation. We'll create a multimedia changing room where children can dress up in costumes from the ethnography section, Africa, or whatever they want. This will allow us to create a new, attractive offering," said Agnieszka Bortnowska. ©℗

More on this topic in "Kurier Szczeciński" and eKurier of July 31, 2025.

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