The Diocesan Museum in Pelplin () holds one of the finest collections of

medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...

in Poland. It is located in the town of

Pelplin Pelplin () is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009). Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art ...

Tczew County __NOTOC__ Tczew County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. I ...

(

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

) and is managed by the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pelplin The Diocese of Pelplin (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese located in the city of Pelplin, Poland. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of metropolitan Archdiocese of Gdańsk. The biggest city of dioc ...

. It bears the name of Bishop Stanisław Wojciech Okoniewski (1870–1944), the founder of the museum ''( pl)'', who died in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

during World War II. Founded in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

in 1928 during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the collections have been housed in a modern-style building complex since 1988. Among the museum's most precious objects is Poland's only copy of the

Gutenberg Bible The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. It marked the start of the "Printing Revolution, Gutenberg Revolution" an ...

Museum collections

The largest part of the collections are

Gothic sculpture Gothic sculpture was a sculpture style that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages, from about mid-12th century to the 16th century,The chronology of the period varies significantly according to the source consulted evolving from Romanesque ar ...

s from the churches of the former Diocese of Kulm renamed in 1925 as the Bishopric of Pelplin, and also from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toruń. Late Gothic paintings of "Crucifixion" from Lignowy (gilded with gold leaf), "Flagellation" (1380), and "

Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross (, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after his crucifixion (John 19, ). I ...

" (1495) from the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

, are supplemented with original art by Hermann Hahn (1570–1628) and Andreas Stech (1635–1697).Muzeum Diecezjalne (2017)
Sztuka Średniowiecza. Sztuka Nowożytna.
Pelplin. The museum received generous financial support from the

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage () is a ministry within Polish government led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage responsible for national heritage preservation and Polish culture promotion. Ministry oversees state o ...

for the preventive conservation of paintings from 1420 to 1695. The

(''pictured below'') held by the museum, originally from the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in Lubawa, is one of only 48 copies which survived to modern times. Of those, only 20 are complete, and are worth up to $100 million each. It is one of only nine copies surviving in its original 15th century binding,^{. 157/sup> which was added by Henricus Coster of Lübeck. It is printed on both sides of 641 sheets of paper (folio

The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...
s), in two columns measuring 285 mm × 85 mm each, with 40–42 verses, for the total of 1,282 pages of text. Leaves are inserted between some gatherings. See also:

During its printing, a loose typesetting sort fell upon a page of this copy and made a mark. This unique feature of the Pelplin Bible enabled scholars to deduce the shape of Gutenberg's type. The binding consists of two beveled oak boards covered in red goat leather, with five brass buttons, corner fittings and buckles fastened to leather straps. The Bible from Pelplin was rescued during World War II

World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
by the Polish government, and came to Canada through Paris and London. Kept in a vault at the Bank of Montreal in Ottawa, it was not returned to Poland until 1959. �
Google translate.
/ref>

The museum collections of early prints include the priceless manuscript of St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
from 425 titled " ''De civitate Dei''". '' lso in:' The collections of the venerated objects of piety contain monstrance

A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharisti ...
s and reliquaries

A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', ''chasse'', or ''phylactery'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary, or the room in which one is stored, may also be called a ''feretory''.

Relics may be the purported or actual physic ...
from the workshops of Gdańsk, Toruń, and Nuremberg. The collections also include liturgical garments, such as vestment

Vestments are Liturgy, liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity, Christian religion, especially by Eastern Christianity, Eastern Churches, Catholic Church, Catholics (of all rites), Lutherans, and Anglicans. ...
s and dalmatic

The dalmatic is a long, wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, United Methodist, and some other churches. When used, it is the proper vestment of a deacon at Mass, Holy Communion or other ...
s.

Gallery

File:Kopia Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 088.jpg, St. Barbara's Reliquary, 1514
File:Kopia Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 069.jpg
File:Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 026.jpg, Gutenberg Bible

The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42, was the earliest major book printed in Europe using mass-produced metal movable type. It marked the start of the "Printing Revolution, Gutenberg Revolution" an ...
, 15th c.
File:Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 003.jpg
Kopia Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 064.jpg
File:Muzeum Pelplin 1.jpg, Monstrance from 17th c.
File:Pelplin Muzeum Diecezjalne 039.jpg
File:20100701 Pelpin, muzeum, altair.jpg, Toruń

Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...
Polyptych

A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...
, 14th c.
File:20100701 Pelpin, muzeum, painting, 2.jpg, ''Descent from the Cross'', late Gothic
File:20100701 Pelpin, muzeum, sculpture, 2.jpg

Notes

References

* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Historia.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Sztuka Średniowiecza.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Sztuka Nowożytna.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Tkaniny.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Skarbiec.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Biblia Gutenberga.
Pelplin.
* Muzeum Diecezjalne
Pracownia Konserwatorska.
Pelplin.
* Culture.pl
Muzeum Diecezjalne w Pelplinie.
*

Further reading

* Roman Ciecholewski: ''Skarby Pelplina'', Wydaw. Diecezjalne, Pelplin 1997, .
* Roman Ciecholewski: ''Quis ut Deus. Treasures from the Diocesan Museum Pelplin''. Art at the time of the Teutonic Order: Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, Lüneburg, 2000; .
* Bogna Derkowska-Kostkowska, Szczepan Warmijak: ''Gotycka rzeźba pomorska i starodruki z XV wieku ze zbiorów Muzeum Diecezjalnego i Biblioteki Diecezjalnej w Pelplinie'' (Gothic Pomeranian Sculpture and Early Prints), Muzeum Okręgowe in the. Leona Wyczółkowskiego w Bydgoszczy, Bydgoszcz

Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...
, MO, 1992.

External links

*

{{authority control

1928 establishments in Poland
Art museums and galleries in Poland
Art museums and galleries established in 1928
Catholic Church in Poland}