Europ. Countrys. · 4· 2015 · p.

195-214
DOI: 10.1515/euco-2015-0014

European Countryside MENDELU

THE RURAL OPEN AIR MUSEUMS:

VISITORS, COMMUNITY AND PLACE

Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka1, Natalia Łukasik2,

Anna Ostrowska – Tryzno3, Karolina Sawicka4

Received 2 December 2015; Accepted 5 February 2016

Abstract: Contemporary rural museums perform not only the traditional tasks but are also
the places where both the visitors and the local community members have chances
for entertainment and attractive leisure time. Consequently one can find in museums
numerous catering offers such as cafes, bistros, snack bars, restaurants, pubs and
wine bars. The material presented is the result of theoretical and field studies carried
out in the selected open air museums in Poland and focused on newly introduced
commercial activities (as catering). Our research results show that the development
of sustainable cultural tourism as a generator of income in the open air rural muse-
ums is important in the challenging economic time. Museums having catering ser-
vices of different character could easier overcome financial struggle. Moreover there
is no doubt that the introduction of an interesting and ambitious cuisine in the restau-
rants located in the rural open air museum is of great importance also in other terms:
popularization of the food culture, rural tradition of region, healthy diet and lifestyle,
chance to increase the museum attractiveness, important economic support to
the museum and the local community and the improvement of living quality.
Key words: rural culture, open air museum, skansen, traditional food, visitors’ services

Abstrakt: Współczesne muzea pełnią wielorakie zadania, mają znacznie szerszy i bardziej
zróżnicowany program niż to miało miejsce w przeszłości. Niegdyś wyłącznie
postrzegane jako obiekty związane z „kulturą wyższą” są obecnie instytucjami
nastawionymi także na rozrywkę i działalność komercyjną. Przyczyn tego stanu
rzeczy należy szukać zarówno w zmianach ekonomicznych jak i oczekiwaniach
społecznych. Te widoczne na całym świecie zmiany także dosięgły Polski i muzeów
etnograficznych (skansenów). Obecnie w muzeach skansenowskich jest prow-

1 Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka [corresponding author], PhD Eng. Architect, Associate Prof., Józef Piłsudski Universi-
ty of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, 00-968 Warszawa, Poland, 34 Marymoncka
Street; Associate Prof., Warsaw Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, 00-659 Warszawa, Poland, 55 Ko-
szykowa Street; T: 48 22 839 02 78; Email: [email protected].
2Natalia Łukasik, MSc, BSc, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Tourism and
Recreation, 00-968 Warszawa, Poland, 34 Marymoncka Street. Email: [email protected]
3 Anna Ostrowska-Tryzno PhD, Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Tourism and
Recreation, 00-968 Warszawa, Poland, 34 Marymoncka Street; Email: [email protected].
4 Karolina Sawicka, PhD, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation University of Tourism and General Languages Warsaw,

00-999 Warszawa Poland, 38 Prymasa Tysiaclecia Street; Wilanów Palace Museum in Warsaw, 02-958 Warszawa,
Poland, 10/16 Stanisława Kostki Potockiego Street, Email: [email protected]

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 adzona działalność komercyjna, w tym restauracje promujące tradycyjną wiejską
kuchnię. Poza obawami o granice komercjalizacji placówek kulturalnych, za niewąt-
pliwe korzyści należy uznać: wzmocnienie atrakcyjności muzeum, generowanie
dochodu i tworzenie nowych miejsc pracy oraz propagowanie kultury i tradycji wsi
polskiej w atrakcyjnej formie dla odwiedzających.
Słowa kluczowe: kultura wsi, skanseny, tradycje kulinarne regionu, oferta dla odwiedzających

1. Introduction – phenomenon of museums and sustainable regional de-

velopment
Museums and heritage sites in the rural areas are believed to be a key factor in the cul-
tural development of the region (Boniface, 1995, pp. 198; Dallen, 2003, pp. 19-43; Mun-
sters & Freund de Klumbis, 2006, pp. 26-39; Newhouse, 1998, pp. 243-247; Silberberg,
1996, pp. 361-366). A museum (this term comes from Greek word ‘mouseion’ – temple
dedicated to the Muses, the patrons of the arts) is an institution that cares and con-
serves a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural or historical
importance. As it makes them available for public viewing through exhibitions (perma-
nent or temporary), museums are important for science, education and culture.
The scale of museums popularity could be described by statistic data: there are more
than 55 000 museums in 202 countries today, some visited by more than 10 million visi-
tors per year (as Palace Museum in Beijing, which annually draws attention of almost
12 million tourists). There are: Louvre in Paris, France (9,720,260 guests per year), Met-
ropolitan Museum of Art in New York (6,115,881 guests per year), British Museum in
London (5,575,946 guests per year), Tate Modern in London (5,304,710 guests per
year), National Gallery in London (5,163,902 guests per year) and Vatican Museums in
Vatican City Rome (5,064,546 guests per year) listed among the most popular muse-
ums in the world [Table 1]. Although their popularity is growing, among the most fre-
quently visited museums one cannot trace a rural open – air museum. These museums,
also known as ‘skansens’, ‘ethnographic museums’ or ‘folk museums’, form a special
museum category that exhibit collections of historic rural buildings outdoors, usually in
the countryside and non - urban landscape. The popular and known worldwide rural
open - air museums are for example: the Skansen in Stockholm (opened in 1891),
Norsk Folkmuseum near Oslo (opened in 1881) and Edo – Tokyo Open Air Architectural
Museum in Tokyo (Rentzhog, 2007; Magelssen, 2007).
The visitors of museums in the EU countries are mainly well – educated, middle aged
and of the middle – class background. The richer and better educated society has more
enthusiasts of museums and for example in Sweden, as much as 76% of population
declared that had visited museum at least once in 2011 [Table 1]. These statistic data
are welcomed by governments as it is believed that tourism can greatly contribute to
the wealth of a country in promoting its cultural heritage, enhance cultural diversity. For
example the ICOM (International Council of Museums) has always paid attention to
the cultural heritage protection and conservation concerns as tourism keeps developing.
One of the initiatives, the resolution adopted at the Melbourne General Assembly in
1998, was a significant step towards the development of a sustainable cultural tourism
related policy in collaboration with the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization), the UNDP (United Nation Development Program) and
the ICOMOS. The main goal was to ‘implement standards to protect heritage while mak-
ing sure that communities involved can benefit from a long – term advantage’ (ICO-
MOS, 2000) and resulted in developing and publishing ‘A Sustainable Cultural Tourism
Charter’. In the year 2009 the annual International Museum Day – celebrated each year
worldwide on 18th of May – had a theme ‘Tourism and Museums’.
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 Rank Museum Country Number of visitors
per annum
1 Palace Museum in Beijing China 12, 000, 000
2 Louvre Museum in Paris France 9, 720, 260
3 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City US 6, 115, 881
4 British Museum in London UK 5, 575, 946
5 Tate Modern in London UK 5, 304, 710
6 National Gallery in London UK 5, 163, 902
7 Vatican Museum UK 5, 064, 546
8 National Palace Hotel in Taipei Taiwan 4, 360, 815
9 National Gallery of Art in Washington DC US 4, 200 000
10 Centre Pompidou in Paris France 3, 800, 000
Tab 1. The most popular museums in the world by number of visitors in 2011. Source: The Special Report. Museums
2013

In Poland, tourism is an important part of economy and the role of cultural tourism as
a generator of income is clearly visible. Museums and art galleries, seen as a key driv-
ers of cultural tourism, are visited annually by more than 22 000 000 visitors, which
means that 24% of Poles declared visiting museum at least once in 2011 (GUS, 2013),
[Table 1]. Under the terms of the Act of 29 June 2007 amending the Act on Museums
(Journal of Laws of 2007, 2007, p. 956), the museum is a non - profit institution, which
main purpose is to collect and protect natural assets and cultural heritage of humanity,
of material and immaterial character, provide information about the values and contents
of the collections, promote the fundamental values of history, science and culture of Po-
land as well as the global development of civilization. A museum is an institution, which
makes a collection of artefacts available for public (Article 1 of the Act). Modern muse-
ums perform not only the traditional tasks associated with the works of art collection,
researches undertaken on artefacts and educational program developed through organ-
ization of permanent or temporary exhibitions. In Poland, as in the other EU countries,
museums are also giving tourists and the local community chances for entertainment,
attractive leisure time, offering a rich program of education, taking into account the in-
terests and needs of visitors being at different age and of different social group’s genre
(Kowalczyk, 2010, p. 25; Pawlikowska-Piechotka, 2013, pp. 106-111).

80% Sweden
70% Netherlands
60% Britain
Germany
50%
France
40%
Italy
30%
Spain
20% Poland
10% Portugal
0% Greece
Fig 1. Population ratio of the museum visitors (in 2011) in the selected EU countries. Source: The Special Report.
Museums, 2013

Culture has been the responsibility of the state in the Eastern Europe countries after
the Second World War. However these days, due to the economy struggle, the muse-
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ums position is becoming more difficult and beyond the state support and some private
donations they are expected to raise money themselves. These changes significantly
influence on the new directions and ideas of the contemporary museum management.
Today museum is not only a space for permanent and temporary exhibitions, museum
lessons, workshops and scientific research - it is also the place used for conferences,
major events of national importance, as well as for social events and private celebra-
tions, even of very private character as family weddings. In the economical challenging
time sustainable cultural tourism might have a significant economic meaning for muse-
ums and heritage sites. This phenomenon was described by Ted Silberberg in “Cultural
tourism and business opportunities for museums and heritage sites” (Silberberg, 1996,
pp. 361-365), by Victoria Newhouse in “Towards a New Museum” (Chapter 6: “The Mu-
seum as Entertainment”; Newhouse, 1998), by Bruce R. Prideaux et al. in “Tourism and
Heritage are not the Strangers”; Prideaux 1999 pp. 299 - 303) and by the “Special Re-
port. Museums” published by “The Economist” in the 21st December 2013 issue. Con-
sequently, contemporary museums are also places to dine and one can find there
cafes, snack bars, bistros, restaurants, pubs or wine bars. These additional commercial
offers are provided to meet the needs of modern society, as well as to help the limited
budget and support museum financially. Together with the increase of average incomes
and changes in the leisure activities preferences, more and more Poles dine occasional-
ly outside home. One can observe the growing interest of catering offers, even in
the places previously not associated with this type of service. As a result, there is a va-
riety of dining options: seasonal gardens restaurants and indoor snack-bars, bistros, tea
shops, pubs and wine bars in museums as in other places frequently visited by tourists
and local community members. This applies both to museums located in the large cities
and to museums located in rural areas (as open air museums).

2. The open – air rural museums in Poland

Today there are about 800 museums in Poland recognized by the Ministry of Culture (480 offi-
cially registered museums and about 300 para museum institutions of various types), covering
different categories of collections: fine arts, craft, archaeology, biography, history, science and
technology, natural history and agriculture. About 15% of total amounts (59 out of 800) are
the open air museums. The first open air museums established in Poland were (in brackets
there are the dates of museums foundation): The Kurpie Region Farmstead in Kadzidlo (1901),
the next The Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek (1909), The Open Air Museum of Kurpie Region in
Nowogrod (1919), The Orava Ethnographic park in Zubrzyca Gorna (1937) and The Biskupin
Archeological Museum in Biskupin (1938). The recently established open air museums were:
The Museum of Homeland in Studziwody (2007), The Albrecht’s Croft Museum in Swolowo
(2008), The Centre of Folk Architecture in Szymbark (2008) and The Open Air Museum of Łódz
(2009).
The contemporary open – air rural museums in Poland, also known under the name ‘skansen’,
‘ethnographic museum’ or ‘folk architecture museum’, are located rather in non-urban areas,
(however there are some exceptions as the Museum of Blacksmithing in Warsaw), and exhibit
mainly collections of historical rural buildings. The most popular are (the dates of museums
foundation are in brackets): the Father Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec
(1962), the Open Air Museum in Janowiec (1998), the Museum of the Slovinian Village in Kluki
(1958), the Ethnographic Park in Klobka (1993), the Open Air Museum of Łowicz Region in
Maurzyce (1980), the Peasant and Fisherman Museum in Puck (1980), the Ethnographic Park
in Olsztynek (1909), the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok (1971), the Ethnographic Park in
Sieradz (1960), the Museum of Mazovia Countryside in Sierpc (1971), the Radom Village Mu-
seum in Szydlowiec (1976), the Ethnographic Park in Tokarnia (1976), and the Orava Ethno-
graphic park in Zubrzyca Gorna (1937).
These open air museums are either state or privately founded (as for example the Museum of
Wooden Architecture in Sucha), but mostly live on a mix of public, corporate and individual sup-
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port (NIMIOZ, 2012). Due to harsher economy climate all open air museums have had to raise
some share of their annual operating budget in ticket sales, sponsorship and other sources of
incomes as catering and sale of regional food and folk art. All open - air museums in Poland
have up - to date websites, providing information about their profile and opening hours, admis-
sion policy, temporary and permanent exhibitions, museum lessons, cultural events, job oppor-
tunities, also about renting halls and photo shoots price lists and other services - as eating and
drinking offers in the museum.
In Poland in many cases the rural open – air museums are connected with an idea of living farm
museums, where costumed employee portray an everyday life of countryside in the past.
The interpreters mostly deal with folk culture and heritage, covering rural history of given region.
There are not only examples of rural traditional architecture displayed in most of the rural open
– air museums but also historical objects such as furniture, clothes or tools that were used in
the past. The interpreters are farming, cooking, weaving or perform as traditional craftsmen at
work: blacksmith, cooper, potter or miller (for example in the rural open – air museum in Ciech-
anowiec, Olsztynek and Sierpc).

3. Research methodology
The research findings presented in the paper are the result of theoretical and field studies con-
ducted in the years 2012 – 2014, in the rural open air museums located in four regions in Po-
land: Mazovia Province, Podlaskie Province, Kujawsko – Pomorskie Province and Warmińsko –
Mazurskie Province. The research study included both theoretical studies aimed to provide
some secondary data already published (as statistical data, history of skansen museums in Po-
land), as well as field studies, aimed to provide primary data (non- published information).
The authors believed that both quantitative data (as the amount of restaurants in the open air
museums) and qualitative data (as visitors opinion on the museum services and catering offer,
needs, demands, comments on traditional rural food) were equally important to withdraw gen-
eral conclusions. It required the usage of qualitative techniques as semi-structured interviews,
with the use of questionnaires. The survey was conducted face to face in situ, in the selected
open air museums in Poland.
Theoretical studies were focused primarily on understanding the legal conditions (including
maintenance, sanitation, construction, heritage conservatory recommendations) associated with
the catering services offered in museum. The authors were also interested in the history of
the open air museums in Poland, their specific, individual character, events organized and edu-
cational program focused on traditional food. Through the critical study of literature, law regula-
tions and documents secondary (formally published) data was obtained, both of qualitative and
quantitative character.
The research material encompassed the selected museums located in the North – East Region
of Poland and the case studies were conducted in summer months: June 2014 - September
2014, when most of skansens were opened to public. The analyzed material was collected on
the base of survey in the 12 rural open air museums in the surveyed provinces, located within
the distance of maximum 200 km (120 miles) from Warsaw. It should be noted that not all open
to the public open air museums have been already registered in the database of the National
Institute of Museums and Conservation in Poland (NIMIOZ, 2012). Nevertheless, as the materi-
al of the research, all open air museums that were located in the provinces around Warsaw and
included in the official statistics database of the Central Statistic Office (GUS, 2013) were con-
sidered.
Authors’ intention was to focus on the nature of museum; cultural events organized there, visi-
tors’ opinions and experience, accessibility for wheelchair users [Table 2] – to be able to com-
pare the open air museums services. Researchers were undertaken in the following museums
(in brackets there is the date of museum foundation):
 The Father Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec (1962)
 The Radom Village Museum in Szydlowiec (1976)
 The Open Air Museum in Granica – Kampinos (1986)
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  The Open Air Museum in Janowiec (1998)
 The Kurpie Region Farmstead in Kadzidlo (1901)
 The Ethnographic Park in Klobka (1993)
 The Museum of Wooden Architecture in Sucha (1993)
 The Open Air Museum of Łowicz Region in Maurzyce (1980)
 The Open Air Museum of Kurpie Region in Nowogrod (1919)
 The Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek (1909)
 The Museum of Mazovia Countryside in Sierpc (1971)
 The Ethnographic Park in Tokarnia (1976)
The field works in the selected museums encompassed the site visits, participant observations,
photo documentations, notes and semi-structured and unstructured interviews with the museum
guests, undertaken face to face, in situ. The sample group of 20 adult visitors was interviewed
with the use of the questionnaire in each of the open air museums, but in the rather informal
way, to make interviewers feel easy and confident to express his or her opinion. There was no
selection of surveyed group, besides the individual oral agreement to be interviewed. The ques-
tions were focused on the purpose of the visit, interests in the cultural events organised by
the museum and opinions on rural food, museum catering offer, knowledge of traditional food,
and sources of information. The researchers must admit, that due to the limited possibilities, it
might be that interviewed sample of museum visitors was not truly representative, although they
managed to complete 240 questionnaires. That was the way they decided to consider also an-
other set of semi-structured and unstructured interviews, conducted face to face, in situ with
the museum managers or manager representatives, in the 12 selected open air museums (June
2014 – September in 2014).
The data analysis was made on the base of 240 questionnaire answers of visitors and
12 interviews with museum managers. The deeper insight studies were carried out in the form
of participant observations (structured, semi-structured and very informal, unstructured). How-
ever, despite it was considerably time – consuming part of the case studies (lasting about
120 hours, around 10 hours in each of the selected museum), the researchers believed that
these participant observations were very important, as enabling to understand better the char-
acter of the surveyed site. Authors tried to solve the problem of representativeness by develop-
ing a certain style of study and covering one museum in depth over a period of time to make
these research findings reliable. As one of the data – collecting techniques, it covered both
semi-structured observations with records and notes made in situ and unstructured observa-
tions, rather informal in character, with some semi – structured interviews (informal talks) with
the museum visitors, but without recording it. It was important to get valuable data through fa-
miliarisation of surveyed area and understanding its visitors (listening, observing, questioning
and trying to understand).
On the base of collected research material a number of subjective and objective factors were
identified, which could determine the interest and knowledge of traditional rural cuisine acquired
during the visit to the museum. That included the catering offer, museum events focused on
traditional farm food, visitors’ opinion on rural cuisine. This way the primary (not published) data
was obtained, both of qualitative and quantitative character.
It should be underlined that to achieve the desired final results and effects and to avoid critics of
the case study results – the authors tried to design the research work to be consistent with
the recommendations of the renowned literature on scientific research concerning open air mu-
seums and rural tradition, cultural tourism (Cohen, 2007; Finn, 2000; King, 2009; Nowacki 2005,
2009, 2010; Phillimore, 2009; Smith, 2006; Sigala 2006).

4. Research results
As the cultural attractions for visitors need to be embedded in a whole range of services
the open air museums usually offer not only the exhibition space, information, but also catering
services, sale of traditional food and folk artefacts, sometimes even accommodation possibilities
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(museums in Sierpc and Janowiec). The idea of the contemporary skansen (open air ‘live’ mu-
seum) is to create a very special atmosphere for visitors to enable them ‘feeling the real world of
past’, to present history and tradition in such a way that visitors get the impression as if cottage
tenants has just left their houses. The Holy Masses are being celebrated in the wooden muse-
um churches (museum in Olsztynek) and bread is being baked in the traditional stoves accord-
ingly to the old recipes (museum in Sierpc) [Table 2]. As it seems, an integral part of visitors
experience in the open air museum should be also learning about traditional food and dishes
being served in the historic cottages or inns. With the increase of wealth and changes of life-
style, more and more Poles enjoy dining outside home, and the increased demand resulted in
the development of these services also in the rural open air museums [Fig. 2, 3].

Skansen museums (in Catering Facilities Cultural events intended to

brackets - a year of estab- promote the traditional food
lishment)
Radom Village Museum in Vending machine with sweets and drinks by Feast of Bread (the first Sunday
Szydlowiec (1976) the main entrance to the museum (accessi- of September), Annual Potato
ble for wheelchair users) Festival (autumn)
Museum of Wooden Architec- No catering offer unless ordered in advance Cultural events, also focused on
ture in Sucha (1993) culinary tradition, organized
together with Ministry of Culture
and Ministry of Education
Museum in Kuligow on the No catering offer unless ordered in advance Cookery in the Past, Fried Fish
Bug (2000) Tradition, Country Bread Baking

The Open Air Museum of Restaurant in the historic wooden inn (closed No information about events
Kurpiowski Region in Novgo- in 2011 – 2012), (accessible for wheelchair focused on traditional food
rod (1919) users)
The Ethnographical Park in Restaurants located by the main entrance in Regional Herbs holiday, The
Olsztynek (1909) the wooden house and in the traditional Flavors of Potato, Regional and
wooden inn (accessible for wheelchair users) Eco fair of Local Farmers
The Open Air Museum of Restaurant located in the new building by the Cooking in the Past, Honey
Rural Mazovia Countryside in main entrance (part of the hotel and confer- Harvest, Annual Potato Harvest
Sierpiec (1971) ence centre), pub located in the historic in the Sierpc Open Air Museum
wooden inn and restaurant in the wooden
tavern (located by the side entrance to the
museum), (accessible for wheelchair users)
Kujawsko - Dobrzyński Café in the multifunctional building located Sale of regional products (as
Etnographic Park in Kłóbka by the main entrance to the museum (café, honey food products, pastry,
(1993) shop, tourist information), (accessible for bread)
wheelchair users)
The Open Air Museum in Restaurant in the historic building (seasonal- No information about cultural
Maurzyce near Łowicz (1980) ly opened: spring - summer), (accessible for events focused on traditional
wheelchair users) food
Open Air Museum in Granica Restaurant in new buildings located by the No information about cultural
– Kampinos (1986 ) parking site (main entrance to the museum), events focused on traditional
(accessible for wheelchair users) food
The Ethnographic Park in Restaurant in the historical wooden inn in- Saint Adalbert Fair, Annual
Tokarnia (1971) side the museum, (accessible for wheelchair Potato Harvest
users with some aid)
The Open Air Museum in Restaurant located in the historical manor No information about cultural
Janowiec (1998) house (together with accommodation offer events focused on traditional
possibilities), (accessible for wheelchair food
users with some aid)
Museum of Agriculture in Vending machine with sweets and drinks Herbs in Rural Culture and
Ciechanowiec (1962) located next to ticket office, restaurant locat- Traditional Polish Rural Cuisine
ed in the new building next to the parking site
(accessible for wheelchair users)
Tab 2. The catering offer and promotion of traditional food in the selected rural open air museums (in brackets acces-
sibility for disabled, wheelchair users). Source: Authors’ research on the ground of ds-144 AWF University
Warsaw grant (June – September 2014)

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These trends introduced to open air museums management are consistent with the process of
changes in the traditional function and form of the museum which could be witnessed now, with
the principles concerning a new role of museums (described in ICOMOS document ‘A Sustain-
able Cultural Tourism Charter’) and with the proposals of law changes in Poland, expecting all
museums to initiate commercial activities (NIMIOZ, 2012). Consequently open air museums
must meet many expectations today, link the extremely complex and varied tasks: they are
places of scientific researches, conservation works, educational activities, but also at the same
time they have to provide a recreation and family entertainment to their visitors. Without
a doubt, given the complicated role and challenging financial position of the contemporary mu-
seum, commercial activity such as catering has many advantages: it increases the attractive-
ness of the museum, contributes to income growth, and allows rejuvenating its visitors after
several hours of walking around the extensive grounds. In many open air museums restaurant
building has other functions, such as for example shop (The Museum of Mazovia Countryside in
Sierpiec, The Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek) or display of folk craft (museums in Sierpc and
Maurzyce). Naturally not all open-air museums provide catering services on the high quality
level. There were opened only cafes with a very limited menu offer in the Ethnographic Park in
Klobka and in the Open Air Museum of Kurpie Region in Nowogrod in the summer season of
2014. Moreover, some open air museums have catering provision limited to small kiosk or vend-
ing machine, offering only soft drinks and fast foods (for example the Open Air Museum in
Granica - Kampinos) or even were temporary closed (museums in Sucha and Kuligów).

20

15 MUSEUM RESTAURANT
CUSTOMERS
10 SATISFIED

5 DISSATISFIED

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fig 2. The catering offer in the surveyed rural open air museums (in 8 out of the 12 sites). Visitors opinions on the
base of sample group of 20 adults interviewed in each museum: 1- Radom Village Museum in Szydlowiec (museum
restaurant temporary closed), 2- Museum of Wooden Architecture in Sucha (museum restaurant temporary closed),
3- Museum in Kuligow on the Bug (museum restaurant temporary closed), 4- Open Air Museum of Kurpiowski Region
in Novgorod (museum restaurant temporary closed), 5- The Ethnographical Park in Olsztynek, 6- Kujawsko - Do-
brzyński Ethnographic Park in Kłóbka, Open Air Museum of Rural Mazovia Countryside in Sierpiec, 7- The Open Air
Museum in Maurzyce near Łowicz, 8- Open Air Museum in Granica – Kampinos, 9- Open Air Museum in Granica –
Kampinos, 10- The Ethnographic Park in Tokarnia, 11- The Open Air Museum in Janowiec, 12- Museum of Agricul-
ture in Ciechanowiec. Source: Authors’ research on the ground of ds-144 AWF University Warsaw grant (June –
September 2014)

Today catering services offered by rural open air museums are on very different level, as some
museums are not interested in promoting traditional rural food, while other are not only provid-
ing meal to weary tourists, but sometimes offer a quite refine cuisine level. Some of these res-
taurants are already recognized as very special places by food connoisseurs, have famous
chefs and are managed by experienced restaurateurs (Olsztynek, Sierpc) [Fig. 10, 11]. Possibil-
ity of running a restaurant located in museum – seems to be rather tempting and attractive for
many potential investors. It is because a café, bistro or restaurant operating in the popular mu-
seum is a guarantee of high sought after – level depending on the prestige and attractiveness of
museum, the good location and good access by public transport. Moreover an important asset
is a solid protection due to the nature of the museum collections - the restaurant staff and
guests could feel more secure there. As for restaurant guests there are not only the quality of
food, but also the dining room design very important - restaurant or café located in the museum

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have this additional asset - a romantic character (Bessiere 1998, pp. 20-34). Most of the inter-
viewed customers underlined it and were satisfied with the offer [Fig. 2]. First and foremost, as
they said, the great value is the unique atmosphere of interiors, of historic inns or taverns and
their very special design. The visitors mostly appreciate rural food (80%) and made some shop-
ping, buying traditional food to take home (as for example farm honey or home baked ‘peasant’
bread). Most of the restaurants located in the surveyed open air museums (as in Sierpc, Ol-
sztynek) [Fig 10, 11] offer the traditional Polish rural food, believing that guests expect this kind
of menu. Usually one has a choice of popular soups (barszcz, żur, chłodnik, and kapusniak),
main courses (bigos, kaszanka, kopytka, pierogi, placki, pyzy, and zrazy), desserts (makowiec,
piernik, and sernik) and bevereges (beer, kompot, miód, vodka). In some open air museums
also less popular, only regionally recognized dishes are offered: kutia, kugel, sękacz (desserts
of Mazovia Province and Podlaskie Province), bryndza, bundz, golka, oscypek, żentyca (dairy
dishes of mountain provinces), and main dishes bliny, kartacz (Mazuria Province and Podlaskie
Province).
The “inn culture” (associated with the presence of: karczma, zajazd or gospoda) has played
an important role in the Polish rural tradition as not only as place to host the travellers but also
as a center of social life of a village, informal meetings place of local community. They were
built by the busy roads (karczma, zajazd) or in the centre of villages (gospoda). Preserved to
the present days in open air museums historic inns or taverns are valuable examples of the 19th
century wooden folk architecture: a tavern located in the Museum of Wooden Architecture of
Siedlce Region, a tavern in the Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek, a tavern in the Ethnographic
Park in Klobka (Czerwinski, 2006, pp. 200-207). It is a pity that due to the multiple determinants
only few of these historic buildings are used accordingly to their primary function and could
serve to guests visiting the museum as a place to eat and rest [Table 3]. These determinants
are mainly law regulations, sanitary issues, technical state of historical (mainly wooden) archi-
tecture, conservation program and decisions about land use conditions. Unfortunately in many
cases, even if one deals with the historic buildings of the original functions of an inn or a tavern,
it might not be possible today to reintroduce its primary function there. However it is very fortu-
nate, that many investors were successful and visitors in some open air museums can enjoy
food and drinks in the historic architecture relics (Olsztynek, Sierpc, Łowicz and in the near fu-
ture - Klobka) [Fig. 6, 7]. Probably in the future investors will operate in much more business
friendly environment, mainly due to the high cost of maintenance of historic buildings located in
the open air museums, and the hope that various commercial services introduced there might
help. Without a doubt, all new services (as catering, accommodation, food fairs) will be enthusi-
astically welcomed by tourists. Especially that the growing interest of society in rural tradition,
folk culture, is getting visibly wider. Museum visitors are interested not only in tangible heritage,
but also in relation to the rural culture fascinating customs, traditions and fascinating, especially
for today's youth - folklore. Example of interests in the folk culture is the growing number of visi-
tors to open-air museums and crowds taking part in the cultural events dedicated to the regional
culinary arts ("Feast of Bread" in the Radom Village Museum, "The Culinary Tradition of Past" in
the Open Air Museum in Kuligow, the numerous cultural activities of the Museum of Bakery and
Confectionery in Ślężany). It should be emphasized that these cultural events are often a result
of the initiatives of the private folk art enthusiasts, developed without a state or institutional sup-
port (museums in Kuligow, Sucha and Ślężany). Museum visitors can explore the facilities and
enjoy arrangements of traditional rural kitchen in the Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek, The Mu-
seum of Mazovia Countryside in Sierpiec, the Open Air Museum of the Kurpie Region in
Nowogrod, the Open Air Museum in Maurzyce near Łowicz and in the Ethnographic Park in
Tokarnia. These are undoubtedly examples of initiatives that build and help to stimulate com-
munity interest in traditional culture. Hopefully in the future also in other open-air museums ei-
ther on the basis of historic rural buildings (taverns or cottages) or on the basis of newly built
facilities – one could enjoy traditional rural food. It has to be underlined that often at the early
stage of planning an open air museum the provision of catering services in the historic inn or
tavern have already been taken into account (Granica, Klobka), but due to different reasons
(shortages of financing resources, legal or technical constrains) these projects might have never
been developed. According to the development visions, several open air museums plan to pro-
vide catering services in the future, possibly located in historic taverns (as museum in Klobka or

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Granica - Kampinos) [Fig. 6, 7], in aim to make a good investment and also to promote the culi-
nary traditions of the Polish countryside as a part of holistic rural tradition (in addition to folk
sculpture, painting, pottery, music, dance and singing).

20

15 MUSEUM EVENTS
PARTICIPATION
10 TRADITIONAL FOOD
KNOWLEGE
5 UNINTEREST IN RURAL
CUISINE

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Fig 3. The cultural events focused on traditional rural food in the surveyed rural open air museums (in 9 out of
the 12 sites). Visitors traditional rural cuisine interest and knowledge (on the base of sample group of 20 adults inter-
viewed in each museum): 1- Radom Village Museum in Szydlowiec, 2- Museum of Wooden Architecture in Sucha, 3-
Museum in Kuligow on the Bug, 4- Open Air Museum of Kurpiowski Region in Novgorod (no museum cultural events
focused on traditional rural food), 5- The Ethnographical Park in Olsztynek, 6- Kujawsko - Dobrzyński Ethnographic
Park in Kłóbka, 7- Open Air Museum of Rural Mazovia Countryside in Sierpiec, 8- The Open Air Museum in
Maurzyce near Łowicz (no museum cultural events focused on traditional rural food), 9- Open Air Museum in Granica
– Kampinos (no museum cultural events focused on traditional rural food), 10- The Ethnographic Park in Tokarnia,
11- The Open Air Museum in Janowiec (no museum cultural events focused on traditional food), 12- Museum of
Agriculture in Ciechanowiec. Source: Authors’ research on the ground of ds-144 AWF University Warsaw grant (June
– September 2014)

5. Technical conditions and legal issues concerning services in the rural

museums
The legal regulation, location, infrastructure and media as well as technical state of the building
– all these factors have serious impact on the real estate potential development. Taking into
account the number of potential visitors, their expectations and financial resources - investor
could decide what direction of property development is optimal under the circumstances. In
a situation where catering facilities in the open air museum were not foreseen at the early pro-
ject design stage – the investor must take into consideration a series of several legal restrictions
and technical constrains, when planning such a new function. For example, confusing might be
inappropriate dimension of rooms, poor technical condition of the building or inadequate type
and state of the infrastructure and media (heating, electricity, water - sewage and ventilation).
Another set of questions is related with the problem of accessibility for disabled (for example for
wheelchair users) [Fig. 4, 5].

Space requirements (m2) 8-seats table 6-seats table 4-seats table

One seat (netto) 0.75 0.80 0.90
Main circulation area 0.50 0.50 0.50
Service area 0.50 0.50 0.50
One seat (brutto) 1.75 1.80 1.90
Tab 3. Space requirement as a factor influencing layout arrangements and restaurant planning. Source: Research
study on the ground of ds.-144 AWF University Warsaw grant (2012-2014)

Unfortunately, due to the technical conditions and legal issues, providing catering services in
the old, historic, wooden building is not possible. For example, the smooth work organization of
staff in restaurant (cafe, bar, wine cellar) depends largely on the work coordination, harmonious
cooperation between the kitchen staff and waiters. The best solution is to deploy dining hall,
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the kitchen and its facilities (storage, washing up) on one level. This is not always possible, es-
pecially when having a limited floor area (especially in museums located in old residential build-
ings). Although the legal rules allow, in the case when catering service takes more than one
floor - installing a lift, smooth work organization is still difficult. Another limitation that is difficult
to overcome in locations where catering services are newly implemented is the requirement for
the minimum space size [Table 3, Fig 4, 5]. For example according to the legal regulations,
which must be observed in Poland with regard to public dining establishments, the kitchen ceil-
ing height should be at least 3m 30cm, the other at least 2 m 50 cm (Journal of Building Law of
2002, 2002, No. 91, item. 811). Moreover the commercial kitchens in catering establishments
require specialized equipment. It is worth noting that a small commercial kitchen (serving up to
150 meals a day) can occupy one room with a small amount of equipment and mostly devices
we know from the domestic kitchens (Open Air Museum in Maurzyce), the medium and large
commercial kitchens requirements are different. For example the division of labor is expected
and the use of machinery and equipment specific for the food service industry is recommended
(all devices must be certified by the National Institute of Hygiene). Another requirement con-
cerns the functional – spatial links. For example in the commercial kitchens serving more than
150 meals a day washing must be separated from the kitchen. It should be noted that in
the dining hall and in the kitchen some standards for lighting, heating and ventilation are re-
quired. As in commercial kitchens there is much waste (food scraps, packaging, cans, bottles),
the waste management program (sorting, storage and removing) should be outlined at the de-
sign stage, taking into account local municipal regulations in this regard. Always in the immedi-
ate vicinity of a catering facilities (consumer space) should be public toilets (Journal of Laws of
2001, 2001, No. 63, item. 634 Act on the health conditions of food and nutrition), (Journal of
Laws of 1994, 1994, No. 156, item. 1118 Construction Law). Moreover in museums that are
located in the historic buildings, especially wooden ones, nature and size of the future catering
services are also determined by the program and the recommendations of the conservator of
architectural relics. The legal basis for the protection of cultural property in Poland is the Act on
the Protection and Conservation of Monuments of September 17, 2003 (Journal of Laws of
2003, 2003, No. 162).
All construction works undertaken in the historic buildings (including interior renovations and
adaptations to new functions - such as catering services) in accordance with the Polish law, can
be carried out only with the permission of the competent, regional conservation office. Policies
and procedures for granting permits for any works, the conditions for their conduct and qualifica-
tions of the persons who are authorized to carry out this activity are determined by the appropri-
ate regulation of the Minister of Culture, stating in detail the mode of authorization to carry out
conservation work on monuments and conditions of their conduct (the need for specific imple-
menting technology, construction materials and finishing materials), also qualifications and re-
sponsibility of the persons who are authorized to carry out this activity. Unfortunately these pro-
cedures are, in accordance with the applicable rules and practices, tedious and complicated.
Very often the successful start and end of the historic site development depends on acceptable
compromise between "hard" rules of the conservation office and the expectations of the investor
and the investment objective possibilities (Malachowski, 2007, pp. 367-396; Pawlikowska-
Piechotka, 2013, pp. 66-75; Rymaszewski, 2005, pp. 141-143), [Table 3, Figs 4, 5]. It should be
emphasized that the search for compromise solutions is important not only from the point of
view of the future restaurateur, but the well-being of the museum, both in terms of increasing its
potential economic strength and from non - commercial point of view (as a chance to increase
the attractiveness of the museum).

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Fig 4. Dimension requirements at museum restaurant. Access for disabled persons is considered (for wheelchair
users). Source: Research study on the ground of ds.-144 AWF University Warsaw grant (2012-2014), drawn
by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

Fig 5. Dimension requirements at museum restaurant. Access for disabled persons is considered (for wheelchair
users). Source: Research study on the ground of ds.-144 AWF University Warsaw grant (2012-2014), drawn
by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

There is another aspect related to the catering services in the museums which, although is not
considered as letter of the law - seems to be obvious. It is clear that the prestige and unique-
ness of the place which is an open air museum require that a potential catering should corre-
spond to the character of the site. Since the main task of the museum is to promote culture and
education – it is hard to imagine opening in the museum the vulgar catering foul, without any
class and ambition, set deliberately for rather unsophisticated customers. Nevertheless the type
- bistro, café or restaurant, their décor and offer, guests and their behavior - they must corre-
spond with an elegant site of museum, being not a dissonance to the respected scientific institu-
tions. From the point of view of planning solutions, there are two ways to accomplish this:
-To supplement the open air museum with a new multi-purpose building (or group of buildings),
enabling to accommodate not only a restaurant, but also a shop, some seminar rooms, a tourist
information center and administration section;
-To adapt some historical rural buildings already located in the open air museum for catering
services; the best solution is to re-install primary function to the historical inn or tavern;
When considering how to provide catering services in the already existing museum it is neces-
sary to take into account many different factors (which should be estimated individually for
a specific museum) and it is not always easy or even possible to determine which of these two
forms is better. These conditions include a museum character, its size and popularity, the scien-
tific program, educational role, location in the context of the other tourist attractions, nature of
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neighbourhood, recommendations of conservatory office, technical and sanitary requirements -
finally land reserves and the feasibility of the investment. An important question is whether it is
better to look for space to provide catering services in the existing museum building or to con-
sider construction of extension. Without a doubt, the design of the new building in aim to provide
space for cafe or restaurant (if only legally possible) can result in better function and program,
easily meet several technical and sanitary requirements. However, as it should be noted, such
a project requires a creative approach to the design, careful selection of materials, attention
paid to aesthetics, care towards nature and architectural character of the existing museum
building and the appropriate plot of land. As it was previously mentioned - the project of exten-
sion need to comply with the law rules, in particular the requirements of the Sanitary Inspection,
the provisions of the Construction Law of 1994 with amendments and Conservation of Historic
Monuments Office recommendations.
What must be underlined, planning of catering services in the open air museum process should
take into account many different factors and it is not always easy or even possible to determine
which of the above mentioned two solutions is better. For example, it is necessary is to consid-
er:
-The size and popularity of the open air museum, its education and scientific program.
-Location in relation to the nearby city and other tourist attractions, the nature of the immediate
neighbourhood.
-Recommendations of conservation office, technical and sanitary requirements, building law,
land reserves and the feasibility of the investment.
Naturally investment cost should not be the only issue. Constructing a new restaurant in
the open air museum may be cheaper and better meet the needs of the intended function, but
restaurant location in the historic tavern might offer different quality of atmosphere (known in
Łowicz, Olsztynek) [Fig. 8 - 11]. Therefore the design of new building will require a truly creative
approach, the best possible architectural form, careful selection of materials, close attention to
aesthetics matters and conscious reference to traditional forms of regional tradition (known in
Sierpc). The development of the catering services in the open air museum requires the right
decision about restaurant locations within the museum: either inside the museum (Sierpc,
Łowicz) [Fig. 8, 9] or by the main entrance to the museum area (Olsztynek) [Fig. 10, 11]. It might
depend on the conservatory recommendations, technical issues (such as water infrastructure,
waste collection or delivery organization).

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Fig 6. Kujawsko - Dobrzyński Ethnographic Park in Kłóbka, museum shop with displayed examples of traditional food
(varieties of honey). Source: photo by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

Fig 7. Kujawsko - Dobrzyński Ethnographic Park in Kłóbka, new museum education and cultural centre under con-
struction (reconstruction of traditional rural settling). Photo: Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

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Fig 8. The Open Air Museum in Maurzyce near Łowicz, ‘Karczma’ tavern, traditional rural restaurant. Source: photo
by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

Fig 9. The Open Air Museum in Maurzyce near Łowicz, ‘Karczma’ tavern, traditional rural restaurant interior (farm
food for sale is displayed). Source: photo by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

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Fig 10. The Ethnographical Park in Olsztynek, traditional rural restaurant. Source: photo by Anna Pawlikowska-
Piechotka (2014)

Fig 11. The Ethnographical Park in Olsztynek, traditional rural restaurant interior (farm food for sale is displayed).
Source: photo by Anna Pawlikowska-Piechotka (2014)

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6. Countryside connections: visitors, community and place
At present about 50% of rural open air museums in Poland have catering services (12 out of
24 located within 200 km distance from Warsaw). The museum restaurant was temporary
closed (June – September 2014) in 8 out of the 12 sites during the field studies. There are dif-
ferent reasons for this situation: firstly, it is not always technically or legally possible and sec-
ondly, it is not always economically justified. Nevertheless many open air museums, despite
the potential possibilities for much more developed catering services, have merely small stands
with drinks and snacks or a slot machines offering a limited range of fast food products (such as
fuzzy soft drinks, chocolate bars, salty sticks and chips). For example, the Open Air Museum in
Novgorod has no catering services, while having both land reserves and the technical and legal
possibilities, including very well preserved traditional wooden inn. This historic building is pictur-
esquely located by the river bank and seems ready to be opened for public. Managers of some
open air museums would often defend themselves arguing a distant location from the nearby
city or only seasonally operating of museum. That is the reason for opening the restaurant only
for special demand, as wedding reception (Sucha, Kuligów). However, as it seems, the open air
museum location in the distance from the town, without dining options nearby, may be seen
rather as a future business asset - such as catering services provided in the museum may be
important for weary travelers and add some more attraction, helping to boost turnout in an even
less popular museum.
Cultural heritage is widely recognized as one of the most important factor creating the attrac-
tiveness of tourist space. For the purposes of cultural tourism development in rural areas espe-
cially important are well preserved: historical village layouts and rural traditional architecture,
historic military fortifications, places of pilgrimage, cultural events. Among these, all resources
intentionally prepared for visitors, have particular values to sustainable regional development
(such as rural open-air museums). Multiplication of the attractiveness might result in number of
visitors and museum popularity if the skansen offers not only interesting exhibition space, but
also accommodation and catering (as for example in Sierpiec or Janowiec). Since the growth of
wealth and the rise of enthusiastic interest in culinary arts (due to popular TV programs, numer-
ous publications), more Poles seek for outdoor dine possibilities. It seems that many open air
museums are the right sites to develop ambitious gastronomic offer of slow food - based on
the culinary traditions of the region, combined with the educational workshops (bread baking,
workshops about spices and herbs). There is no doubt that the introduction of catering services
having interesting, ambitious and educational values in open-air museums, might have great
significance not only for the popularization of intangible culture, as a reminder of forgotten food
and products - enhancing the attractiveness of the museum, but also for the protection of histor-
ical buildings. Indeed, it would be in the true spirit of the Polish school of cultural heritage pro-
tection developed by prof. Jan Zachwatowicz: ‘the monument should be involved in the society
life and serve the public’ (Zachwatowicz, 1984, p. 182).
Moreover, what should be emphasized, such initiatives would help to improve the economy not
only the museum itself, but also the members of local community. The well-functioning restau-
rant can enhance the attractiveness of the museum and generate job places not only in muse-
um but also will improve the economic condition of the nearby farms. Important non-economic
values will be connected with promotion of the culinary knowledge and traditions of different
regions. In addition, the project can be considered as a way to promote environmentally friendly
food, promotion of healthy life style through proper nutrition and eating habits (based on tradi-
tional cuisine, with dishes rich in vegetables additions).
As it was mentioned, contemporary museums have serious social tasks related to collecting and
research studies of artefacts, to education and popularization of national and global culture.
The development of a new formula of an open air museum is necessary as modern visitors ex-
pect to be entertained and are likely to avoid museums, where they cannot be stimulated both
intellectually and emotionally. There is no doubt that the introduction of an interesting and ambi-
tious cuisine offer in the rural open air museums is of great importance. It could be seen not
only as the popularization of food culture, chance to increase the museum attractiveness, but in
many cases also as important economic support for museum and local community. This would
be consistent with the message to preserve the historic sites as vivid environment serving
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the local community, which expresses the spirit of the recent UNESCO, ICOM, EU documents
and the Polish school of cultural heritage protection. What must be emphasized, it would help to
improve the economic condition of not only the museum itself, but also the local community.
Places to dine might not only foster the museum economy but also contribute to the whole
neighbourhoods generating new job places. There are some other important benefits of non –
commercial nature which could be appreciated by the local community members. In some re-
mote villages, deprived of entertainment and cultural facilities, a multifunctional open air muse-
um, with an interesting program, can help to break the stereotype of the boring atmosphere,
place in which - according to the locals - nothing interesting happens. Such initiatives can cer-
tainly have a positive contribution and help to change attitudes of local community members
towards their living environment, help to shape local identity, help to strengthen the spatial iden-
tification, to raise site prestige and improve quality of living. All these benefits are foreseen in
the vision of modern museum role in the documents: The ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums
(ICOM, 2004) and A Sustainable Cultural Tourism Charter (ICOMOS, 1999). Possibly even
the small and niche open air museums, located in the remote rural areas but having imaginative
and energetic leadership are likely to achieve success. But to keep public coming and to ensure
their own survival the management of these museums need to try much harder to understand
better tourists and local community expectations and to give their visitors what they want: touch
of art and culture, knowledge and information about history and tradition through leisure and
pleasure. However, the important question remains, how to draw a border line of museum
commercial activities, how far it could be developed without ruining its education and cultural
role (MacKie 2013, pp. 13-34; Lang 2010, pp. 379-399; Oliver 2012, pp. 191-211).

7. Conclusion and Discussion

Open-air museums (skansens) in Poland are unique and charming heritage sites with a vast
potential for rural heritage preservation, school education and family leisure. However, the dis-
cussion point remains how to achieve a sustainable balance between the creation of tourist at-
traction and enhancing the guest’s satisfaction and authenticity of place and necessity of its
heritage values protection. Since the founding of the first skansen in Scandinavia, the open-air
museums have been criticised for presenting often a bit too aesthetic and idealised view of
the past. This raises an important question concerning historical accuracy and authenticity,
the commercialization limits and the ways in which the portrayals of heritage in such museums
may influence cultural and national identity.
Potentially there are several opportunities that may be applied in the open air museums to im-
prove their cultural offer and enhance commercial approach: sites for conference and education
centres, accommodation and catering, shops with souvenirs and local crafts, scout camp activi-
ties, folk craft and cuisine workshops, historic reinstallations, theatre performance, opera and
concerts. The best possible solution for the development of various activities in the museum
seems to be the cooperation with the local self-government, community and business.
This study proved that each open air rural museum is unique and requires an individual ap-
proach to shape rational management policy. Therefore the further researches are recommend-
ed to search conscientiously, for each rural museum individually, rational and suitable, smart
and innovative solutions.

Acknowledgments
This study was an integral segment of Ds- 144 project carried out at the Faculty of Tourism and
Recreation, Joseph Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw (AWF University War-
saw), supported by a grant offered by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (scheduled
for 2012 - 2014).

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