Muzeum Karola Szymanowskiego w willi „Atma”

The Atma villa in Zakopane is home to the world's only biographical museum of Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937). This Polish composer, the greatest after Chopin, enjoyed spending time in Zakopane from his early youth, and towards the end of his life settled there permanently, living in a villa on Kasprusie Street.

The initiative to establish a Szymanowski Museum in Atma was put forward as early as 1937 by the composer Michał Kondracki; after the war, efforts in this direction were made by Szymanowski's niece, Krystyna Dąbrowska, but it was only in 1967 that the music critic Zdzisław Sierpiński of Życie Warszawy successfully renewed his appeal. Soon afterwards, the well-known writer and music critic Jerzy Waldorff set up a social committee at the Warsaw Music Society to buy out and renovate the Atma. In 1974, the house was handed over to the National Museum in Krakow, and just two years later, on 6 March 1976, the villa was opened to the public, with an exhibition on the ground floor of the building dedicated to the composer, his relationship with the Tatra Mountains and Zakopane. Most of the exhibits were donated by the artist's niece, Krystyna Dąbrowska.

The museum is located on the ground floor of the villa and presents basic information about the composer's life and work, shows his contacts with Zakopane and the folklore of the Podhale region, collects his personal belongings, and includes a reconstruction of Karol Szymanowski's study. The branch of the National Museum in Krakow underwent general renovation and modernisation of the building in 2011-2013. The modernised interior introduced accessibility for people with impaired mobility, multimedia that meet the requirements of a contemporary audience, presenting the composer's biography, the history of the Atma and introducing the climate of the times in which Karol Szymanowski lived and worked. The Museum has made a significant contribution to the revival of the music movement in Zakopane, initiated the establishment of the Karol Szymanowski Music Society, started a series of monthly chamber concerts and is a partner of the international Karol Szymanowski Music Days festival.