Torture Museum

The Torture Museum at Floriańska 10 in Kraków is an exhibition devoted to the instruments of punishment and interrogation used in European criminal law of the Middle Ages and the early modern period.

What is on display

According to the museum's website, the exhibition holds 40 reconstructions of instruments of torture. Each has a description, and some exhibits are supplemented by films.

The exhibition is divided into three groups: methods of execution, techniques of interrogation and extracting testimony, and methods of punishment. The organisers stress that all the methods shown were used in past trials in accordance with the law in force at the time.

What a visit is like

A visit takes the form of a walk through the exhibition with descriptions. The programme includes a meeting with a medieval executioner named Zbych, who leads part of the visit, and the chance to touch selected instruments. The museum's website does not give a minimum age for visitors, so parents of small children should ask about this before their visit, by telephone or email.

Next to the museum

Floriańska Street leads from St Florian's Gate to the Main Market Square. By the Square stands St Mary's Basilica, less than a hundred metres away.

Practical information

• Address: Floriańska 10, 31-019 Kraków.
• Hours according to the museum's website: daily 10:00-21:00. Check them on muzeumtortur.pl before your visit.
• Contact: telephone 798 688 532 (during opening hours), email info@muzeumtortur.pl.
• Ticket prices and reservations are on the museum's website.