Vistula River Museum, Tczew, 15.11.2025 – 30.08.2026
Is today’s landscape of Żuławy still a work of nature, or rather the result of bold engineering visions? How has the river been tamed over the centuries in the vast areas of its estuary, and has nature nevertheless found a way to follow its own course? From 15 November 2025 to 30 August 2026, the Vistula River Museum in Tczew invites you to a temporary exhibition on the great transformation of the Vistula delta. The exhibition is a journey into the past of Żuławy, to the times of both dramatic floods and impressive technological achievements. It is also an opportunity to engage in dialogue with the present and ask questions about the future of the Vistula and other Polish rivers. The exhibition is the third in the series ‘Man and the River’.
Why was it decided to regulate the Vistula delta? The answer lies not only in the need to subordinate the river to the economic development of Żuławy, but also in tragic events – major floods that devastated these areas, flooding thousands of hectares of fertile land. The exhibition presents, among other things, graphics and photographs showing the effects of these disasters, as well as a unique artefact – the oldest flood marking stone found so far in Poland. Together with the original equipment of a flood watchtower, a model of an icebreaker and tools for icebreaking, the exhibition gives an insight into the everyday life of people living in the shadow of the force of nature.
The history of changes in the Vistula mouth is primarily a time of groundbreaking projects that have forever changed the landscape of the delta. Following the trail of transformations recorded on historical maps, we learn about the work of engineers who were the first to develop a comprehensive reconstruction of the Vistula delta. Their visions included straightening the riverbed, building groynes, dams and locks, as well as closing some of the river’s branches. These activities culminated in the creation of the Przekop Wisły (the Vistula Cross-Cut) – an artificial canal which, since 1895, has been carrying the river’s waters to the Baltic Sea by the shortest route. It was the largest and most radical human intervention in the Vistula mouth.
The exhibition tells a story of struggles with nature, but also of human cooperation with nature. It shows how determination, knowledge and technology made it possible to tame a river that had been a source of danger for centuries; how hydrotechnical engineering finally allowed the residents of Żuławy to rest easy… But is it forever? An integral part of the exhibition is the contemporary view of river regulation – until the end of the last century, it was seen as a sign of progress and modernity, but today it is the subject of numerous controversies and discussions. The museum invites visitors to delve into the history and present of the Vistula and to reflect together on its future.
The exhibition features exhibits, documents, photographs and audiovisual works from the collections of: the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, the Żuławy Museum in Nowy Dwór Gdański, Municipal Public Library in Tczew, the TU Berlin Museum of Architecture, Museum of Archaeology and History in Elbląg, the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Documentary and Feature Film Studios..
The exhibition was created thanks to the involvement of the following people:
- Ewa Sidor, Gabriela Chrzanowiecka, Jadwiga Klim – curators
- dr Marcin Westphal – content supervision
- Hanna Borkowska – exhibition design, coordination and implementation
- Barbara Wojczuk-Krystek – graphic design
- Patryk Herdzik – co-coordination, film production and editing, technical implementation
- Karol Treder – drone footage
- Piotr Dziewanowski – mural
- Jacek Sadowski – organisational and technical support
- Bartłomiej Garba – organisational support, technical implementation
- Monika Golenko – organisational support
- Brygida Sonnack, Natalia Tomasik – loan of historical artefacts
- Lucyna Szczypior, Izabela Łangowska – conservation of historical artefacts
- Anna Ciemińska – text editing
- Bernadeta Galus – photographs of maps
- Marek Parczyński, Mirosław Taratuta, Ałła Ostra – preparation of mock-ups and models
- Wiesław Sowiński, Marek Jaroszewski, Jan Kosior, Serhij Sawczuk, Robert Pęda, Arkadiusz Szklar, Tadeusz Cilka, Stanisław Mróz – technical implementation
- Zofia Jędraszewska, Joanna Lewandowska, Katarzyna Romanek, Monika Di – Giusto, Ewa Olstowska, Edyta Romanek – preparation of the exhibition hall