Inside John Paul II's Family Home
A walk through the museum: from the Pilgrim's Garden to the flat where Karol grew up and the exhibition on his life and pontificate.
Route map
Route stops
- 1Pilgrim's Garden
The Pilgrim's Garden is the outdoor area of the museum complex, where you'll find the ticket office at Kościelna 2 in Wadowice. It remains open to the public for an additional hour after the museum exhibition closes, making it worth a visit if you're exploring the site. Opening hours extend slightly beyond the main museum, allowing visitors extra time to enjoy the grounds.
- 2Apartamento familiar reconstruido (primer piso)
The reconstructed family apartment on the first floor is the centrepiece of the museum, faithfully recreating the domestic space where the Wojtyła family lived between 1919 and 1938. It consists of two bedrooms and a kitchen, meticulously arranged to reflect daily life during that period. The museum is transparent about its reconstructed nature, carefully distinguishing these elements from any original fixtures that remain. What to see here provides genuine insight into the family's home life during these formative years.
- 3Permanent Multimedia Exhibition
This permanent multimedia exhibition spans the entire four-storey building, complete with a small courtyard, and charts the life and work of Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II. Conceived by Barbara and Jarosław Kłaput as a narrative journey, it combines original objects, documents, photographs and modern technology to tell his story. A comprehensive visit to what to see in Wadowice for those interested in the Pope's early life and legacy.
- 4Hall of the 1981 Assassination Attempt
Museum hall displaying Ali Ağca's Browning pistol and the bloodstained suit of bodyguard Francesco Pasanisi (13 May 1981).