Wrocław: construction is underway on the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum, designed by WXCA

A new home for the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum is being built on Szewska Street in Wrocław. The Warsaw-based architectural practice WXCA is responsible for the design, whilst Dekpol Budownictwo has been appointed as the main contractor. Earthworks are already underway at the building site, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2029. Meanwhile, critical comments regarding the building’s design continue to be voiced.

The Lubomirski Princes’ Museum: a history spanning over 200 years

The history of the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum began in 1823, when Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński entered into an agreement with Prince Henryk Lubomirski to establish a museum at the Ossoliński National Institute in Lviv. Following the establishment of the Przeworsk Entail in 1868, the museum was opened to the public. The collections included works of art, prints, drawings, coins, military artefacts and historical memorabilia. Before the Second World War, they were among the most important Polish collections. They included works by, amongst others, Rembrandt, Albrecht Dürer and Pieter Bruegel. The war led to the closure of the institution and the dispersal of the collections. Part of the collection was moved to Wrocław after 1945, together with the Ossolineum, but the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum ceased to operate as a separate institution.

WXCA has designed a contemporary urban palace

After decades, the museum is being reborn 560 km from Lviv, in the heart of Wrocław. The new building is being constructed at 37 Szewska Street, opposite the main entrance to the Ossolineum. Before 1945, tenement houses stood on this site, which were destroyed during the ‘Festung Breslau’ campaign. The design by the Warsaw-based WXCA studio won an international architectural competition in 2018. The architects describe the building as a “contemporary urban palace”. Their concept draws on the form of an urban residence but interprets it through a contemporary architectural language. The structure will comprise five above-ground storeys and two underground levels, with a total floor area of almost 10,000 square metres. Inside, there will be exhibition galleries, conservation workshops, research and educational facilities, reading rooms and specialist storage areas capable of holding over 300,000 museum artefacts. Another interesting feature of the design is the roof garden.

At the construction site of the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum

Construction of the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum began on 20 March 2026, when a ground-breaking ceremony took place on the site on Szewska Street. Earthworks are currently underway on site to prepare the excavation for the foundations and the storeys hidden below ground level. The main contractor is Dekpol Budownictwo, which signed a contract with the Ossoliński National Institute in February this year. The entire project is expected to cost around 184.5 million zlotys, with over 164 million zlotys coming from the state budget. Construction is scheduled for completion and the building’s occupancy permit is expected to be granted in the first quarter of 2029.

A new building for the scattered collections

The entire project is of particular significance, as the Lubomirski Princes’ Museum did not receive its own building in Wrocław after the Second World War. The new premises are intended to provide the collection with suitable conditions for storage, conservation, research and display. The collections include, amongst other things, paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, coins, medals and seals. The collection of Polish coins alone comprises over 16,500 items.

The design by the WXCA studio, whilst having provoked very polarised reactions from the outset, is also significant for the architecture of the capital of Lower Silesia. According to the developer, it will be the first building in Wrocław since the Second World War to be constructed from scratch specifically as a museum. Once construction is complete, the next stage will involve preparing the exhibitions and interiors. The first visitors are expected to arrive at the new Lubomirski Princes’ Museum in 2029.

Source: muzeumksiazatlubomirskich.ossolineum.pl, WXCA

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