About the exhibition
In 2006, as an ice rink was being installed in the Old Market Square, a van damaged the pavement. A cave-in formed, uncovering remains of the basement of the first Częstochowa City Hall, erected in the 16th century. The building was in use until it burned down in 1809, after which it was never rebuilt.
Several seasons of archeological studies have brought fascinating discoveries, providing an insight into the history of Old Częstochowa. Besides the City Hall basement, remains of other interesting objects were also found, including the weigh house, a smithy, market stalls and four wells. Among the discoveries were also traces of the oldest, wooden buildings, as well as a single-chambered late medieval building with a stone foundation, whose purpose has not been precisely determined (likely a cold store).
In the underground part of the pavilion in the Old Market Square, visitors can see the basement of the City Hall, which once housed a jail and an inn serving Wrocław beer. There is also a museum exhibition entitled „History of Częstochowa – a City by the Warta River". The exhibition consists mostly of artifacts found in the Old Market Square, supplemented with findings from surveys conducted in other areas of the Old Town: at the Saint Sigismund Church and Monastery Complex and during the renovation of Nadrzeczna Street, where the foundations of the destroyed Church of St. Barbara were discovered.
The exhibition features ceramic vessels, fragments of oven tiles and glass vessels, two coin treasures, devotional articles and numerous other artifacts that are testament to the rich history of the area.
Behind each fascinating archeological finding is an equally fascinating story of how it was discovered, as well as the context that paints its history. This is reflected by the photographic documentation of the excavations, including the immovable objects within which the artifacts were found. The photographs are accompanied by iconographic and cartographic material that helps us envision the Old Market Square of the past.
Exhibition curators: Maciej Kosiński, Magdalena Wieczorek-Szmal
Exhibition prepared in co-operation with: dr Łukasz Pabich
Exhibition program written by: Iwona Młodkowska-Przepiórowska
Design and concept of the exhibition space by: Anna Krakowian, Tomasz Borowiecki (TiM ARCHITEKCI S.C.)
Exhibition space designed in cooperation with: Maciej Kosiński, Matylda Ślosarska, Magdalena Wieczorek-Szmal
Visual identification and graphic design by: Matylda Ślosarska
Academic consultation: Iwona Młodkowska-Przepiórowska, dr Łukasz Pabich, dr hab. Dariusz Rozmus, Jacek Wojcieszak
Cartography selection – historical consultation: Amadeusz Szklarz-Habrowski, IH PAN
Proofreading: Katarzyna Jezierska
Photos by: Bartosz Cygan, Jarosław Cyganik, Zbigniew Przepiórowski, Jacek Śliwczyński, Krzysztof Wilczyński
The artifacts on exhibition come from the collections of the Częstochowa Museum and the Museum of the Archdiocese of Częstochowa.
Galeria
