2nd Conference of the Museums listed in the National Register of Museums – report

The Second Conference of the museums listed in the National Register of Museums in Wrocław was opened by Dr. Paulina Florjanowicz, Director of the National Institute of Museums, who drew attention to the need to create a checklist of crisis protection measures for museums, not only in the event of war or terrorist actions, but also in the case of such events as extreme weather conditions. A lecture on Practical aspects of evacuating people and collections at the Malbork Castle Museum was given by Tomasz Majcher, Head of Security at the Malbork Castle Museum, in place of the Museum Director, Janusz Trupinda, Ph.D. It is well known that Malbork Castle is a building that experienced war.  The Museum which functions there has been preparing in a practical way to secure its collections against warfare. The places where they were hidden and the manner in which they were secured were the starting point for the development of an evacuation plan.  According to the rules the priority is to protect human life, and the Museum is a building situated on an area of 16 hectares, visited daily during the high season by 4,000 to 5,000 people, full of nooks and crannies, winding staircases and narrow passages… Fortunately, the frequency of the exercises made it possible to work out the process of guiding the evacuated people from their assembly point The Malbork Museum is also prepared for the possibility of an evacuation of its holdings.. Two rooms with the equipment necessary for a quick and effective evacuation of the most valuable exhibits have been designated inside.