Tony Halik Travelers’ Museum in Torun

Medals available at the ticket office!

The Tony Halik Travelers’ Museum, a branch of the District Museum in Toruń, was opened to visitors in 2003 in a townhouse at 9/11 Franciszkańska Street. Its creation was inspired by a donation of over 800 non-European cultural artifacts, gifted to the people of Toruń in 1999 by Elżbieta Dzikowska, a well-known traveler and journalist. The donated collection was the result of many journeys around the world taken by Elżbieta Dzikowska and her husband, Tony Halik. After Tony Halik’s death, the travel memorabilia were brought to Toruń, his hometown.

Every year, Elżbieta Dzikowska continues to support the Museum with valuable gifts of ethnographic artifacts brought from various remote parts of the world. For this reason, the limited space of the existing museum exhibition quickly became insufficient. Acquiring the neighboring townhouse at 9 Franciszkańska Street made it possible to create an expanded, modern exhibition space. In the newly acquired historic tenement house, dating back to the early 20th century, comprehensive modernization and adaptation works were carried out to accommodate the growing collection of travel memorabilia as well as temporary exhibitions.

As part of the modernization—funded by the Regional Operational Program of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship—a thorough renovation of the building was conducted. This included the façade, interiors, roof truss and covering, and construction woodwork. Another goal was the addition of a modern pavilion for temporary exhibitions at the rear of the townhouse.

Elżbieta Dzikowska and Tony Halik continue to be enduring symbols of Polish travel in the 20th century. Their lives, achievements, and the ethnographic collections gathered during their expeditions have become the key through which the exhibition presents the genuine passion of a human being for discovering the world.