The exhibition ‘Kraków 1900’ tells the story of the city at the turn of the 20th century — the Krakow of the Belle Époque.

The works of art on show make up a picture of the city where two radically different worlds existed side by side: that of Krakow’s conservative bourgeoisie and that of its scandalizing artists who renounced all ideals and conven-tions, which were so alive in the city. On the one hand, Krakow was at that time a parochial city, on the other it aspired to the title of the ‘Polish Athens’ and ‘Poland’s spiritual capital’.

The city became the cradle of the Young Poland movement, which, thanks to the influx of new trends from Vienna, Paris, Brussels and Munich, attracted the greatest and most talented personalities: writers, philosophers and, above all, artists. The exhibition features the most beautiful works of the Young Poland movement associated with Krakow and portraying the city. These are the works by the most important painters of the period; by sculptors such as Ksawery Dunikowski and Konstanty Laszczka, and by graphic and decorative artists. The show is enriched by examples of the fashions of the day and archival photographs of the city and its inhabitants.