Esterka House

What to expect

Esterka House is the second building of Krakow’s Ethnographic Museum , a Gothic-rooted townhouse from the 14th century standing at the corner of Krakowska and Trynitarska streets in Kazimierz, a few steps from Wolnica square. The name comes from one of Krakow’s most persistent legends: Esterka, the Jewish woman said to have been loved by King Casimir the Great, the monarch who founded Kazimierz as a separate town. The building’s later history adds a Renaissance twist - in the 16th century it was owned by Bartolomeo Berrecci, the royal architect behind the Sigismund Chapel at Wawel. After a thorough renovation in 1978-1985 the house was handed to the Ethnographic Museum in 1987.

Before you plan a visit, know what this is and what it is not. There is no permanent collection on display here: the house holds the museum’s temporary exhibitions, along with its secretariat, part of its collections and a specialist ethnographic library. That makes it a venue you visit for whatever show is currently on - anything from folk art and craft to contemporary takes on traditional culture - rather than a stop with a guaranteed programme. Check the museum’s website for the current exhibition before you go; if nothing on the bill appeals to you, the main building on Wolnica square is the safer first choice. The museum also runs educational workshops here.

Visiting in practice

The museum keeps one schedule: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30, closed on Mondays. A ticket to the temporary exhibition at Esterka House costs 20 PLN standard, 15 PLN reduced. Tuesday is worth knowing about: the museum’s free-admission day covers the permanent exhibition in the main building only, but at Esterka House it brings discounted prices - 15 PLN standard, 10 PLN reduced - so a Tuesday visit is the cheapest way to see both buildings. Better still, a combined ticket for the permanent and temporary exhibitions costs 35 PLN standard, 23 PLN reduced, and is the sensible option if you are doing the full Ethnographic Museum circuit. Children under 7, group carers, assistants of visitors with disabilities and museum employees enter free. Every Wednesday from 15:00 to 18:00 the museum runs quiet hours with reduced sensory stimuli, designed for visitors on the autism spectrum and anyone who prefers a calmer visit. A temporary exhibition here is compact - plan it as an add-on to the main building rather than a standalone outing.

Getting there

Esterka House stands at Krakowska 46, on the corner of Trynitarska street, right by Wolnica square in the western part of Kazimierz. Trams run along Krakowska street, and the walk from the Main Market Square via Grodzka and Stradomska streets takes a good fifteen minutes. From Wawel Castle it is about ten minutes on foot, which makes it easy to fold into a Kazimierz afternoon.

Nearby

The obvious pairing is the Ethnographic Museum ’s permanent exhibition in the former Kazimierz town hall on Wolnica square, literally around the corner - the combined ticket covers both buildings. Five minutes away, a former tram depot houses the Museum of Engineering and Technology , a good switch of register if you are visiting with children. On the other side of Kazimierz, on Szeroka street, the Old Synagogue tells the story of Krakow’s Jewish community - a natural complement to the legend that gave this house its name.