Kraków. Sounds, Melodies, Words

The exhibition explores the transformations that have taken place in the city’s soundscape over the past century, while also highlighting the remarkable continuity of certain sonic phenomena. It is designed to be listened to as much as it is to be viewed.

A specially commissioned sound installation was created for the occasion, bringing past and present recordings into dialogue. Its author is Marcin Dymiter, a sound artist working in the fields of electronic music, field recording, and improvised music. In each gallery space, visitors encounter unique compositions built from archival audio materials and contemporary field recordings made in Kraków.

The narrative unfolds across four thematic sections, each revealing a different aspect of the city’s audiosphere. The first focuses on the sounds of streets and squares. Visitors can hear the screeching of trams in the Old Town, the rumble of horse-drawn carriages, the bustle of marketplaces, vendors’ calls, and the melodies of barrel organs. The soundscape includes archival recordings of Kraków’s streets and market scenes from the Main Market Square dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.

The second theme explores bells—their symbolic and social functions, as well as the craft of bell-founding. At the centre of this section is the royal Sigismund Bell, one of the last great bells in Europe still set in motion by human hands. Visitors can see the bell’s historic clapper, specially loaned for the exhibition by Wawel Cathedral. The sonic environment is shaped by a multi-channel, dynamic composition featuring the resonant tones of Kraków’s bells.

The third section is devoted to music—both that heard in bourgeois homes and that performed in the streets. Visitors encounter a representative collection of sound-producing devices: from music boxes and the phonograph to the gramophone, tape recorder, and contemporary mobile technologies. Street music is presented through instruments, portraits of musicians, and a curated playlist available for listening.

The exhibition concludes with the Kraków bugle call (Hejnał Mariacki), the city’s most recognisable sonic emblem. Particular attention is given to its radio broadcast, transmitted continuously since 1927, and to the broader phenomenon of sounds carried through the airwaves. An intimate attic space invites visitors to sit and listen to the sounds drifting above Kraków’s rooftops. This experience is accompanied by a sound collage composed of archival materials—including fragments of the oldest preserved Radio Kraków broadcasts—as well as recordings made from elevated vantage points across the city, including the television tower in Krzemionki.

The exhibits and recordings are complemented by an educational pathway presenting the themes in an interactive and accessible way. The accompanying programme includes workshops, sound walks, and lectures, as well as museum lessons and the art-therapy initiative “Sound-Sensitive Kraków”.

A book entitled “Kraków. Sounds, Melodies, Words” has also been published, offering an accessible extension of the exhibition’s themes.

The exhibition features archival sound recordings from the collections of the National Digital Archives. The sound effects were provided by Radio Kraków and originate from the Radio Kraków archives.