Fryderyk Chopin's Childhood House In Zelazowa Wola
Dom Urodzenia Fryderyka Chopina w Żelazowej Woli
Żelazowa Wola
96-503 Sochaczew
dr Anna Łęgowska-Radosz
tel. (+48 46) 863 33 00
fax (+48 46) 863 40 76
www.nifc. pl

Opening hours: Closed Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 November, Christmas and Boxing Days; open all other days, October-April: 10am-4pm, May-September: 9:30am-5:30 pm.

The Museum is housed in a late nineteenth century manor, the birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin, Poland's greatest composer and pianist who lived in the years 1810-49. It was here that Chopin spent his early childhood together with his French father, Nicolas Chopin, the private teacher and trainer of Countess's Skarbek children, and his mother, Tekla Justyna Krzyzanowska, a poor relative of the Countess.

The idea to create a Chopin museum in Zelazowa Wola first occurred to one of the subsequent owners of the property, Adam Towianski, Andrzej Towianski's son, who wanted to commemorate the composer's birthplace in the left outhouse. Several years and owners later, the idea was revived by a Petersburg-based composer, Milo Balakyryev, a great fan of Chopin's music. However, action was taken only after Poland had regained its independence in 1918 and the Society of Friends of Chopin's House and the Sochaczew Chopin Committee had been established. These two organizations worked together to buy out the manor's outhouse and a few acres of land to create a place where Chopin could be deservedly venerated. The modest outhouse was replaced with a classical Polish manor house with a raised shingle roof and a porch supported on two columns. The park was planted with trees and bushes from all over Poland and the interiors were furnished with a collection of 19th century furniture, paintings and objects to ensure that the life of Poland's greatest composer was appropriately celebrated. This is how "the Chopin's manor", or a projection of the aspirations and dreams of the composer's admirers, came into being. Opened in 1939, the manor and the park survived World War II, though the furnishings and objects related to the composer fell prey to German looting. After World War II it was decided that the manor should be restored to its 1930s appearance. It was accordingly reopened in 1949, on the centenary of Chopin's death, and in 1951 it was handed over to the National Museum. Since 1953 the Museum and the park have been managed by the Fryderk Chopin's Society in Warsaw.

Permanent exhibition: Interiors of a modest 19th century manor - a re-creation of the atmosphere of Chopin's family house - and Chopin's biographical exhibition.

One-hour long concerts of Chopin music can be heard at 11 am and 3pm from the first Sunday in May to the last Sunday in September. Visitors are also invited to open-air concerts by students of music schools, held every Saturday in July and August at 11am, irrespective of the weather conditions.

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