The Lusatian Museum in Zgorzelec was founded in June 2007 with the mission to document the history of Upper Lusatia, protect the cultural heritage and gather artefacts related to the region.

In the 1250s, a large number of Flemish clothiers settled in Zgorzelec. Soon, the production of precious cloth made the town on the banks of Nysa really famous. In the 1830s and 1840s, exports of local cloth products reached a particularly high level, with customers in the German principalities on the Danube, as well as southern Italy, Greece, Turkey, Persia, India and China. In addition, from the end of the 16th century to the mid-17th century, Zgorzelec was an important center of stoneware production. The largest complex of industrial pottery remains, including kilns and production waste from the 14th to 18th centuries, was discovered on the western bank of the Neisse, in today’s Görlitz.

The Lusatian Museum collection includes archaeological artefacts, folk furniture and household appliances from the 18th and 19th centuries, a cartographic collection including maps, charts and panoramas, as well as historical and iconographic collections illustrating the rich history of the city and its region. The permanent exhibition includes an interior reconstruction of a typical Lusatian half-timbered house, which comprises local craft items, furniture, various types of household appliances and ceramic dishes covered with brown glaze, characteristic for the region. Other rooms are used to present temporary exhibitions.

An important part of the Lusatian Museum activities are educational and promotional projects, aimed mainly at children and youth, which facilitate accessible and attractive transfer knowledge in the fields of history, archeology and ethnography.