The earliest period is illustrated by the exhibition “Stone Age Hunters and Farmers in the Middle Odra Region”. Through reconstructions, this exhibition depicts human life from the late Palaeolithic to the end of the Neolithic (11,000–1,800 BC)

The exhibition “Wicina – a metallurgists’ settlement from 2,500 years ago” showcases the most interesting artefacts unearthed during many years of excavations at the Lusatian culture settlement – bronze, gold, glass and iron ornaments, items of armour, tools and pottery. The fortified settlement at Wicina is a special place. Built around 700 BC on the inaccessible marshes of the Lubsza floodplain, it was completely destroyed by the Scythians in the mid-6th or at the turn of the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The raid, which was a complete disaster for the local community, proved to be a blessing for archaeologists. Beneath a layer of burnt debris, the settlement’s ruins have survived virtually intact for almost 2,500 years.

The period from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD is illustrated by the exhibition ‘The Middle Nadodrze at the End of Antiquity’. According to the periodisations used in archaeology, this is the La Tène period, during which certain Celtic influences can be observed in Poland, as well as the so-called period of Roman influence. The most interesting exhibits in this exhibition are objects created under the influence of Celtic culture, mainly glass beads depicting human faces.

The defence of Poland’s western border during the Piast dynasty

The second-floor galleries feature “The Economy in the Middle Ages in the Middle Odra Region” – objects related to everyday life in the early and late Middle Ages – and “The Defence of Poland’s Western Border during the Piast Dynasty”, which mainly comprises armaments and equestrian accessories. The exhibition is complemented by tapestries depicting artistic visions of medieval battles.