The history of the library collection of the Princes Czartoryski reaches back to the 1870s. It was founded by Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, husband to Princess Izabela. Their descendants continued to pursue the prince’s original design, supplementing and entriching the collection and, in so doing, creating a national library. By 1830, thanks to acquisitions, gifts and exchanges, the library collection in the Czartoryski Palace in Puława numbered 70,000 printed volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. In the aftermath of the November Uprising, the collections were relocated and hidden and it was not until 1876 that Prince Władysław Czartoryski brought them to Krakow, housing them in the former Arsenal, granted by the city authorities for the purpose.
In 1961, the National Museum in Krakow erected the building which stands at No. 17 Marka Street specifically to house the Princes Czartoryski Library, which consists of the library collection, archival materials and the manuscript collection.
The Czartoryski Archives and Manuscript Collection contain documents relating to the history of Poland, Europe and the United States of America. Amongst them, there are treaties and documents of state, legislative acts passed by parliament and local government, the inventory of the Crown Treasury, part of the cabinet archives of King and Grand Duke Stanisław II August Poniatowski, the archives from the Hôtel Lambert, the Czartoryski family’s Paris residence, the autographs of famous political and cultural figures from both Poland and Europe, the private archives of the Czartoryski family and related families, and records documenting the history of the museum and library from the 18th to the 20th century. The collection of manuscripts amounts to almost 14,000 inventoried items.
In 1961, the National Museum in Krakow erected the building which stands at No. 17 Marka Street specifically to house the Princes Czartoryski Library, which consists of the library collection, archival materials and the manuscript collection.
The Czartoryski Archives and Manuscript Collection contain documents relating to the history of Poland, Europe and the United States of America. Amongst them, there are treaties and documents of state, legislative acts passed by parliament and local government, the inventory of the Crown Treasury, part of the cabinet archives of King and Grand Duke Stanisław II August Poniatowski, the archives from the Hôtel Lambert, the Czartoryski family’s Paris residence, the autographs of famous political and cultural figures from both Poland and Europe, the private archives of the Czartoryski family and related families, and records documenting the history of the museum and library from the 18th to the 20th century. The collection of manuscripts amounts to almost 14,000 inventoried items.