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 The
idea of establishing a museum in Konin was put forward in the local press
in 1936 by Ryszard Michalski, a famous social activist and local patriot.
However, only in 1956 his idea could be implemented. A social regional
museum was created under the auspices of PTTK (Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno
Krajoznawcze - Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society). The founding fathers
were: Ryszard Michalski, Antoni Studziński, and Zbigniew Pęcherski.
In 1966 the board of directors of the County National Council passed an
act establishing Muzuem Zagłębia Konińskiego (the Museum of the Konin
Coalfield), the first state museum in the Konin region. The founding father
and the first manager of the institution was Dr. Andrzej Nowak. The first
permanent exhibition was organized in a former mining school building
in Konin-Marantów (on the area of 200m2). The "Konin" Brown
Coal Mine allowed the use of several rooms free of charge. Due to the
mine authorities' support, the institution managed to go through the initial
and most difficult period of its activity. Muzeum Zagłębia Konińskiego
took over six collections (about 600 exhibits) from the no-longer-existing
PTTK Museum.
In 1975, as a result of a new administrative division of the country,
the institution was granted the status of a district museum. Since then
the institution has been developing dynamically. Large-scale archeological
and ethnographical research has been carried out and main collections
have been significantly enlarged. A number of young employees began working
in the museum during that period. The core of that staff still works for
the institution.
In July 1982 the Museum moved its seat to the village of Gosławice. It
took over two former court buildings, which are part of a castle, to serve
as a workshop and offices. The castle became operational in 1986. The
arrangement of exhibitions was prepared according to the design by and
managed by the visual artist Krzysztof Burnatowicz. The exhibitions were
first shown to the public on November 30, 1986.
In 1987, in recognition of an overall effort involved in the launching
of the institution, the Museum won the first prize of the Minister of
Art and Culture in the Contest for the Museum Event of the Year. The Museum
received next prizes for the following exhibitions: "Mit i Symbolika"
(Myth and Symbolism), "Urodzony w Turku - Henryk Henoch Glicenstein"
(Born in Turek - Henryk Henoch Glicenstein), "Bogiem Sławiena Maryja"
(Blessed Mary). In January 1990 the first guests visited the exhibition
entitled "Dwór Polski" (Polish Manor House) in a reconstructed
country manor.
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