The creator of the Biskupin Archaeological Festivals, distinguished museum professional Wiesław Zajączkowski, has passed away
For 35 years, he headed the Archaeological Museum in Biskupin. He was the initiator and creator of the concept of the Biskupin Archaeological Festivals, one of the region’s major tourist attractions. He strengthened the museum’s academic standing and made it an important place on the cultural and tourist map of the region, Poland and Europe. Under his leadership, the Biskupin museum received the prestigious Europa Nostra Award, regarded as the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in the field of cultural heritage. We bid farewell to an exceptional man, an outstanding organiser and a visionary.
His association with Biskupin began in the early 1970s, when, shortly after graduating from the University of Warsaw, he became an assistant responsible for the Biskupin excavations and archaeological reserve to Professor Zdzisław Adam Rajewski, Director of the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw, an eminent figure and one of the founders of the Polish school of archaeology. He served as director of the museum for three and a half decades, from 1983 to 2017.
It was Wiesław Zajączkowski who came up with the idea of the archaeological festivals – Biskupin’s flagship event, which every year attracts large numbers of visitors from Poland and abroad – and throughout all those years he continued to develop and refine both their concept and organisation. He strengthened the museum’s academic position, including in the field of experimental archaeology, as well as its standing within the international museum community. During his tenure, a modern visitor service centre, educational facilities and a dendrochronological research centre were established.
“I was very fortunate when it came to people, and fortunate in general. Of course, there was hard work behind it. I never took things easy; I always tried to approach everything thoughtfully, with long-term plans and a vision,” he said in a 2017 interview for the kujawsko-pomorskie.pl website.
He was a recipient of the Marshal of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region Award in the field of culture for 2013. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of museums and education, as well as the promotion of cultural heritage in Poland and around the world, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the President of the Republic of Poland. He was also awarded the “Gloria Artis” Medal for Merit to Culture.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.
Beata Krzemińska
Press Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office
12 August 2026