The Castle Museum in Łańcut is the richest residential museum in Poland. It is housed in a former magnate and aristocratic residence belonging to the Lubomirski and Potocki families. Today, the entire castle and park complex includes and provides access to both historical exhibitions – the palace interiors, stables and coach house – and those created after World War II with the collection of Orthodox art and the municipal collection. The museum is also an important academic centre and venue for numerous cultural events.
The Castle Museum primarily exhibits historic interiors, the greatest value of which is the variety of styles and the high artistic level of the architecture. The Coach House complements the castle interiors. It is a complex of two buildings erected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries exclusively for horses and vehicles. The first is the luxury stables, while the second houses a collection of horse-drawn vehicles unique in Europe. A 30-hectare park with original old trees and historical gardens surrounds the entire complex. It is home to the Orchid House and the multimedia Jan Potocki Tradition Education Centre.
The museum houses a collection of Judaica, a reference to the history and traditions of the local Jewish community that functioned in the town between the 17th and 20th centuries.
The Judaica of Łańcut, comprising almost 200 artefacts, is dominated by objects and artistic handicrafts used in religious ceremonies, both at home and in the synagogue. However, only a few of these represent the legacy of the Łańcut Jewish community. Others were acquired to provide a material setting and add to the rich history of local Jews. The collection, divided into several groups, includes very diverse objects in terms of material, manufacturing technique, style, and degree of decorativeness. They date from the 18th to the 20th century.
