Mlawa: Museum, History and City Park

For a culture-focused stay, Mława offers several distinct ways to explore its history. The Muzeum Ziemi Zawkrzeńskiej brings together art, local and regional history, and archaeology; the town hall, church, market square and city park add architectural and urban history to these themes. When planning your visit, you can decide whether you are more interested in collections, historical periods or the development of individual buildings.

Art, History and Archaeology at the Museum

At the Muzeum Ziemi Zawkrzeńskiej, an art gallery featuring works by Wojciech Piechowski and his contemporaries forms the core of the art department. The collection also includes objects from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Painting and objects from this transitional period are thus jointly at the centre of the art section. This gives you a clearly defined focus that differs from the broader time spans covered by the history and archaeology departments.

The history department includes a permanent exhibition on the history of Mława and the region from the 16th century to the end of the German occupation after the Second World War. Key topics include national uprisings, particularly the Kościuszko Uprising and the January Uprising, as well as the Battle of Mława. This broad time span is linked to specific historical topics. If you would like to place the city’s history in a wider context, the exhibition offers both a regional perspective and these explicitly highlighted events.

The permanent archaeology exhibition spans finds from the Stone Age to the Late Middle Ages. One focus is on burial grounds dating back around 2,000 years, associated with the Przeworsk and Wielbark cultures. They were discovered in Modła near Mława, Stupsk, Dąbek and Zgliczyn Pobodzy. The combination of a wide-ranging period and clearly identified cultures gives the archaeology section its own distinct focus within the museum.

The education department offers museum lessons and workshops. Alongside its permanent exhibitions, the museum thus lists two specific forms of educational work; these make up a separate subject area alongside the art, history and archaeology departments.

Historical Traces in the City

A privilege granted by King Zygmunt I Stary on 28 February 1545 allowed the residents of Mława to build a town hall. It was built on the main square during the 16th century; the exact date of construction of the first building is unknown. The town hall’s origins are therefore placed in the 16th century, although the exact year of the first construction cannot be given.

The Church of the Holy Trinity (pw. Świętej Trójcy) was destroyed in the fire of 1692; the town hall also burned down at that time. Reconstruction of the church was completed in 1719, and its gables were given Baroque forms at that time. This example makes it possible to distinguish chronologically between the destruction, reconstruction and subsequent architectural design.

The townhouses on the east side of the market square were built in the first decade of the 20th century. Another landmark in time is the Mławska Hala Targowa: it was designed by architect Stefan Usakiewicz, architect of Powiat mławski, and opened in 1912. It continues to serve its commercial function. Together with the town hall and church, these buildings illustrate architectural and functional history across several centuries—from the 16th-century history of the town hall to the early 20th-century market hall.

The historic city park was established at the end of the 19th century at the initiative of Russian troops stationed in the city at the time. Its former names were “City Garden” and “Mława’s Salon”. The park’s history extends the view beyond buildings, connecting its historical origins with two former names.

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