Zwierzyniec House

In the summer of 1912, the upstairs apartment of this suburban tenement housed the family of Vladimir Ulianov, better known as Lenin. Today the building, a branch of the Museum of Krakow, tells a more local story: the microhistory of Zwierzyniec and Kraków's other former suburbs since they became part of the city.

The house was built by the mason Jan Florczyk around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. It stands at the foot of St. Bronisława's Hill, near the Norbertine convent, the Church of the Holy Saviour and the Kościuszko Mound. Its permanent exhibition recreates a Kraków suburban apartment from the early 20th century. Temporary displays cover suburban history, old customs and urban folklore. Seasonal events draw on pre-city traditions, among them the Emaus Easter fiesta with its contest for the most beautiful emaus tree.

A Lenin apartment exhibit opened here in 1970, and the Lenin Museum ran the building from 1980 until 1990. The house suits visitors interested in neighbourhood history, and it offers educational activities for children.