The history of the museum dates back to 1960 when the Pomeranian Museum (now the National Museum) set up an independent branch under the name “Maritime Department”. Two years later this department became a separate institution based in the famous Zuraw Crane in Gdansk.

The museum then took over several barns on Olowianka Island. Apart from these and the Wielki Zuraw Crane the other divisions are the Fisheries Museum in Hel, the River Vistula Museum in Tczew and two ships, the “Soldek” and the “Dar Pomorza”. The newest addition is the Centre of Maritime Culture.

The museums’ collections relate to the history of ports, shipbuilding, shipping and trade. Among them are historic examples of the craft of shipbuilding, salvage, ship fittings, navigational equipment, propulsion systems, hand guns and deck cannons, etc. There are also interesting collections of models of Slavic boats, Gdansk’s medieval ships, warships from the 16th and 17th centuries, Polish merchant and passenger ships between 1920 and 1939 and river boats and tugs built after 1945. The collection also includes examples of vessels from Oceania, Indonesia and Africa. The museum houses art collections with a maritime theme.

Central Maritime Museum – Gdansk (woj. Pomorskie)

www.cmm.pl