On Friday, September 17, 2021, the official opening ceremony of the Sybir Memorial Museum will take place with the participation of the highest state and local authorities. Four years after the institution was established, the first visitors will be able to cross its thresholds. It will be the only museum in the country that tells the history of the Polish presence in Sybir: from the tsarist deportations deep into Russia to the Soviet repressions and crimes, including massive deportations to Sybir and Kazakhstan.
For safety, sanitary and epidemiological reasons, the number of people attending the opening ceremony on September 17 must be limited. Therefore, it will be transmitted by the Internet. After the official part, the guests of the ceremony will listen to a concert during which Natalia Kukulska, Atom String Quartet and Michał Dąbrówka perform.
However, at 8:30 pm., everyone will be able to see the evening illumination entitled “Doświadczenie Sybiru” (“The Sybir Experience”). It will be displayed on the building of the Sybir Memorial Museum.
On Saturday, September 18 (from 10 am to 11 pm), the first visitors will be able to visit the main exhibition of the Museum. For this purpose, you must book a ticket in advance through the Internet: www.sybir.bialystok.pl/zaplanuj-wizyte/bilety or by phone: 85 672 36 00 (booking will be possible from September 1, 2021). Certified guides, who graduated from the Academy organized by the Sybir Memorial Museum will guide the viewers around the exhibition. Visitors will also be able to use audio guides.
On that day, a family historical picnic will be held on the square next to the Museum. During the picnic the best reconstruction groups from all over the country will present uniforms and weapons from various historical periods.
On Sunday morning, September 19 (from 10:30 am to 4 pm) on the square next to the Museum, the Borderland Breakfast will be held, during which local restaurateurs will serve dishes from the Borderlands. Also in the morning (beginning at 10 am), the Memorial Peloton will pass the streets of the Wygoda housing estate, the participants of which will discover the last traces of the pre-war past of the district. The peloton will be led by cyclists on original bicycles from the 1920s and 1930s. The rally will end with a show of vintage bicycles and retro fashion.
Additionally, the museum’s Memorial Park will host an exhibition entitled “Niepodległa — ziemie wschodnie II Rzeczypospolitej” (“Independent — Eastern Territories of the Second Polish Republic”). It will be accompanied by workshops and animations for children and parents.
On Sunday (from 12 pm to 6 pm), the permanent exhibition will also be visited (entry only after prior reservation of tickets).
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The opening ceremony will be preceded by a panel discussion (September 16, 1 pm — 3 pm) devoted to the issue of the Soviet crimes. Historians from Poland and the world will take part in it. Anyone willing will be able to observe its course on the Internet.
The following day, the Seweryn Nowakowski Research Institute (the president of Bialystok, who was arrested by the Soviets and died under unknown circumstances). The Institute, operating within the structure of the Sybir Memorial Museum, will conduct research on the history of the presence of Poles in Sybir.
BOOKING AND PURCHASING TICKETS
Reservation of tickets for a special visit to the permanent exhibition on September 18 and 19, 2021, as well as for subsequent visits, in accordance with the daily work schedule of the facility (which will start on September 21), will be possible from September 1 through the website www.sybir.bialystok.pl/zaplanuj-wizyte/bilety and at the ticket offices of the Sybir Memorial Museum.
SCHEDULE OF THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE SYBIR MEMORIAL MUSEUM
Bialystok, Węglowa Street 1
September 16, 2021, Thursday
12 pm —- Establishment of the Seweryn Nowakowski Research Institute (permanent exhibition space of the Sybir Memorial Museum; with the participation of invited guests and journalists)
1 pm —3 pm — Panel discussion “The Unwanted Truth? What does the world know and talk about the Soviet crimes” (audiovisual room of the Sybir Memorial Museum; with the participation of invited guests and journalists)
September 17, 2021, Friday
12 pm — 1:30 pm — Celebrations with the participation of State and Local Authorities (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; admission only for invited guests and accredited journalists)
7 pm — Concert of Natalia Kukulska, Atom String Quartet, Michał Dąbrówka (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; admission for invited guests and accredited journalists)
8.30 pm — “Doświadczenie Sybiru” (“Sybir Experience”) — illumination of the Sybir Memorial Museum (facade of the building from Poleska Street; free admission)
September 18, 2021, Saturday
10 am — 6 pm — Museum Re-constructions — presentations of uniforms, weapons and military equipment by reconstructive groups from all over Poland (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; free admission)
10 am — 11 pm — Visiting the permanent exhibition of the Museum (admission after prior reservation and purchasing of a ticket)
September 19, 2021, Sunday
10 am —-12 pm — Memorial Peloton. A bicycle rally following in the footsteps of the pre-war past of the Wygoda estate (start: the courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; free admission for participants with their own bicycles, scooters and roller skates)
10.30 am — 4 pm — “Borderland Breakfast” — gastronomic stands with dishes from the borderland cuisine (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; free admission)
10 am — 6 pm — Presentation of the exhibition “Independent – Eastern Territories of the Second Polish Republic” (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; free admission). The exhibition is accompanied by workshops for children (free admission)
12 pm —6 pm — Visiting the permanent exhibition of the Museum (admission after prior reservation and purchase of a ticket)
2 pm — 3 pm — Display of antique bicycles from the interwar period (courtyard of the Sybir Memorial Museum; free admission)
