Muzeum Narodowe w Poznaniu

Established in 1919, the Military Museum of Wielkopolska, destroyed during WWII, has rebuilt its holdings ever since the resumption of its activity in 1957.

Lovers or martial artefacts will certainly be intrigued by the 16th-century rapier-sword whose hilt was forged in Milan (framed in a Swiss workshop), one of the most valuable objects of the collection. Another pride of place in the collection is held by a bechter (a kind of armour) made in 1580 in Poznan, decorated on the back with the city’s coat of arms. Equally interesting is cornered cap (1807 pattern) of a cavalryman of Napoleon’s Polish Guard and Commander’s Cross of the War Order Virtuti Militari, the highest Polish distinction of wartime valour, restored in 1919 (not awarded, removed in September 1939 along with the documentation of the Order’s Chapter, it survived the war abroad).

Personal artefacts are an important part of the collection, among them e.g. a 1932 officer’s patent of T. Szyda, infantry sub-lieutenant, murdered by the Soviets in Katyn. Another valuable item is a gold cigarette box donated by Italy’s King Victor Emanuel III, a prize for the second palce in an Equestrian Contest (Rome, 1923) for Colonel S. Zahorski of the 16th Regiment of Wielkopolska Lancers.