Beginnings of archaeological collections

The beginnings of archaeological collecting in our city are linked to the establishment of the Bydgoszcz Historical Society in 1880. It was then that private, casual collecting was given institutionalized norms. The archaeological cimelia collected until 1919 were exported to Germany. Only some of them were recovered. After the establishment of the City Museum in 1923, the collection of archaeological artefacts was resumed. However, it was only since the employment of an archaeologist at the museum and the subsequent establishment of the Archaeological Department in 1953 that there has been a large increase in prehistoric and medieval artefacts. Today, the Leon Wyczółkowski District Museum stores, exhibits, processes and makes available for scientific research thousands of archaeological artefacts.