The National Museum in Poznan and its branches is 165 years old. It is one of the oldest, largest, and most important museums in Poland. The Museum of Greater Poland, established in 1919 after the regained independence, incorporated the Polish collections (Museum of Slavic Antiquities together with the collection donated by Seweryn Mielżyński to the Poznan Society of Friends of Science) and Prussian collections (Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum along with the Berlin collection of Atanazy Raczyński taken over). The Museum, which in 1950 finally gained the name of the National Museum in Poznan, preserves and makes available the heritage of centuries and generations, knowledge, effort and passion of people who gathered these collections, in which are objects worthy of any world gallery. Created in different times, they are now waiting for every visitor to the museum to provide them with a personal, irreplaceable experience.

Currently, the National Museum building consists of two parts: the old one (from 1904) and the new one (from 2001). The entrance for visitors and the cash desk are located in the lobby of the new building. The tour of the permanent exhibition starts in the new building (lobby, straight ahead of the main entrance) where the collections of Polish art are exhibited on three floors. The continuation of the permanent exhibition is located in the old building (can only be accessed through the third floor of the new building) where collections of European art (floor), Polish Middle Ages and Baroque (ground floor) and antiquities (basement) are gathered.

At the Poznan National Museum, there are also collections that are not displayed in the permanent exhibition: the Poster and Design Gallery, the Print Cabinet, and the Numismatic Cabinet. The collections of these galleries are only shown on occasion (at temporary exhibitions). The area of the temporary exhibition is available to the public from the new building – the entrance is located in the new hall on the right.

The National Museum in Poznan is a rich and multi-disciplinary institution, which includes the following departments: Museum of Applied Arts in the Royal Castle in Poznan, the Town Hall – Museum of Poznan, the Great Poland Military Museum, the Musical Instruments Museum, the Ethnographic Museum, and the residences located outside Poznan: the Palace Museum in Rogalin, the Adam Mickiewicz Museum in Śmiełów and the Castle Museum in Goluchow.