Krzysztofory nasze, kartki z dziejów zmagań o własny dom

OUR KRZYSZTOFORY. EPISODES FROM THE HISTORY OF A STRUGGLE FOR A HOME OF OUR OWN From its establishment in 1899 as a branch of the Archives of Kraków, the Museum had problems finding itself a proper seat. Once that branch had been converted into an autonomous institution in accordance with a resolution of the National Council of Kraków of 18 December 1945, endeavours to have it located in a facility of its own went underway. It is highly possible that the initiative to suggest Krzysztofory Palace for the seat of the Museum came from the first director of the Museum, Jerzy Dobrzycki. Basing themselves on the report delivered by the director during the meeting of the Commission for Culture and Art at the National Council of the City of Kraków on 2 June 1958, the Commission passed the motion no. 18 addressed to the executive of the Council and concerning the conversion of part of the mansion no. 35 at the Main Market Square, meaning the historic Krzysztofory Palace, into the main seat of the Museum. As was stipulated in the motion, the Museum was to have at its disposal the sections of the said building that were not occupied by other establishments thereat, namely the Europejska café and Cricot Theatre. From that moment, further efforts undertaken by the Museum with the view to improving or drastically changing its situation in terms of the allocation of official premises were intertwined with the struggle to be allotted space in the mansion. On 27 April 1960 the National Council of the City of Kraków passed a resolution that, according to Article 7 thereof, stipulated the provision of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków with proper conditions to carry on with its activity. Also, the document contained a declaration that the executive of the National Council, which was responsible for putting the resolution into practice, would turn to the central government with a motion to safeguard funds in the central budget that would suffice to reimburse for the renovation of Krzysztofory Palace. In February 1964 Stanisław Czerpak was appointed director of the Museum. He continued in the line of work of his predecessor with genuine energy and a great deal of personal involvement. A turning point in the history of Krzysztofory Palace came about in consequence of the decisions made during the joint meeting of the executives of the National Council of Kraków Province and the National Council of the City of Kraków held on 8 November 1965. As was resolved during that meeting, the mansion was to be put at the disposal of the municipality with the proviso that it would be intended for the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków. Also, it was decided that all the rooms that would fall vacant in Krzysztofory Palace would be made over to the Historical Museum. The first contract stipulating the establishment of the Museum in the mansion was concluded on 1 May 1966. According to that contract, the Museum was allotted four rooms on the second floor in the part of the building overlooking 2 Szczepańska Street. Additional rooms on the third floor were obtained on 1 June 1966. Until October 1966, the Museum had at its disposal the total floor space of 833 square metres in the mansion, which permitted the removal of its main departments to Krzysztofory Palace.