Museum of Torun Gingerbread – what’s the deal with gingerbread?

Walking around the Old Town in Torun, every now and then we come across stores specializing in Torun gingerbread. The displays are filled with sweets in various sizes, shapes and colors. You can simply walk into such a store, buy a packet of gingerbread and cycle, the topic of gingerbread in Torun ticked off. But how about taking a moment more to gingerbread?

To learn about the history of baking these sweets, to see how machines and tools have changed, it is worth looking at one of two museums in Torun: The Live Gingerbread Museum or the Museum of Torun Gingerbread. In this post, we will focus on the latter facility, but we will also point out the differences between the two museums, as they are aimed at different audiences.

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread is located in a brick building at 4 Strumykowa Street. The building itself is noteworthy because the Gustav Weese gingerbread factory was previously located here – could there be a better place to tell the history of these baked goods? The old, post-factory interiors have been modernized and the Museum of Torun Gingerbread has been officially operating here since 2015.

Two floors of the building are dedicated to exhibitions, while the first floor has been prepared as a space where workshops are held and there is room for a store where you can stock up on gingerbread (and how!).

Tour of the Museum of Torun Gingerbread

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread is located on two levels: -1 i 1. Upon entering the museum, visitors are directed to the stairs and elevator, next to which there are hangers where outerwear can be left.

On level -1 we discover the history of gingerbread. Here we will learn what the workshop of a woodcarver, or wood-carving craftsman, looked like, what tools he used, and finally we will see display cases with wooden molds on which dough was imprinted to give shape and pattern to gingerbread (some molds are even from the 17th century). Moving on, one looks at ovens, tools, tables and ever newer equipment for producing Toronto delicacies.

On Level 1 we will discover what a 19th century apartment looked like with a kitchen where gingerbread was prepared, we will take a look at a store of the time – note the colorful metal tins in which gingerbread was sold (so packaged they were more likely to be bought). Next to it is the “Catherine” store from the 20th century, and in front of it stands a vintage yellow beetle – such used to distribute gingerbread. The next room is an atmospheric clubhouse.

On this floor there is also a separate section on the owners of the gingerbread factory: an office and an interactive section where you can “try on” old costumes. There is also a children’s room, which we write about a bit below.

It is worth spending an hour, maybe a little more, to visit the museum. Contrary to what you might think, the exhibition sections are quite small, and being upstairs and walking through the various displays, we were looking for some hidden passage to the next section, as we found it hard to believe that this was all there was.

Museum of Torun Gingerbread for children

We’d like to write that the museum is child-friendly, but that’s not quite the case.

On the second floor there is a separate area with something shaped like gingerbread molds, which we parents didn’t understand, but the children were happy to play in this space for a while, plus there is a special gingerbread room where you can listen to fairy tales, Torun legends and put together puzzles on a screen. Although the puzzles did not work, and the cartoons can only be turned on by an adult, because the button in the wall to turn on the cartoon is inaccessible to children…. but about that in a moment.

And you might have just thought that it was great that there was such a thing at all, but a child-friendly place is a place that is holistically friendly, not just partially. Unfortunately, during the visit we felt the eyes of the museum staff on us all the time. And it’s still nothing like that, cool. After all, it’s a museum and all in all normal.

But paying attention because a child wants to press some button that is used to turn on the sound at the exposure is no longer cool. Because there’s a button for something, right? Why can’t a child push and an adult must? We understand that we are in a museum, that these are exhibits. Our children visit a lot of museums and know how to behave, not to touch the exhibits, etc. But here definitively in our view the museum is not geared towards families with children, which is a shame.

Workshops at the Museum of Torun Gingerbread

In the museum, on the first floor, there is a special section where workshops on gingerbread baking are held.

There is an additional fee to attend the workshop. We at the workshop were at the Living Gingerbread Museum, so here we have already let go, but it can be a good option if you care to have everything in one place.

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread or the Living Gingerbread Museum?

Since the second museum has been called out, a few words on how the two facilities differ, as they are two completely different attractions.

The Living Gingerbread Museum is located at 9 Rabianska Street, and the Museum of Torun Gingerbread is at 4 Strumykowa Street. They are separated by about 550 meters, to walk in less than 10 minutes. And we are writing about this because we know that many people confuse the two places. We ourselves have witnessed visitors approaching the ticket office with tickets to another facility and having to quickly rush to another.

So check exactly where you want to go before you buy your tickets :) In a nutshell: The Living Gingerbread Museum is a workshop combined with a great show by the presenters, and the Museum of Torun’s Gingerbread is a more typical museum with halls to explore (workshops are also held here, but are not a leading part).

Practical information

Who is the Museum of Torun Gingerbread for?

The exhibits in the museum will interest people of almost all ages. With interesting exhibitions and arrangements at their fingertips, even children will leave the museum with a lot of knowledge about the history of gingerbread.

As we wrote above, during our visit we felt that children are not welcome here, but we hope that this is just a one-time accident at work ;) The staff shouldn’t pull children away from one exhibit and only drag them to where the children’s area is, but try to get them interested in what’s available to everyone. We hope you will have more luck if you come with children.

In our opinion, the age to visit this museum is a minimum of 4 or 5 years old (so that the child will already benefit greatly from the place).

Adaptation of the facility

The facility is fully adapted for wheelchair users or visitors with baby strollers.

Opening hours

Hours vary from month to month:

• May to September: 10:00-18:00
• October through April: 10:00-16:00

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday (closed on Mondays).

Ticket prices of the Museum of Torun Gingerbread

Tickets to the Museum of Torun Gingerbread can be purchased at the ticket office or online at the museum’s website(here). Entrance to the museum is free on Wednesdays.

A ticket to the Museum of Torun Gingerbread costs:

• Normal ticket – 21 zloty,
• Discounted ticket – 16 zloty,
• Children under the age of 7 enter for free.

Enter the museum and participate in workshops:

• Normal ticket – 35 zloty,
• Discounted ticket – PLN 30,
• Children aged 4-7 – 14 zlotys.

With the National Large Family Card there is a discount and prices are as follows:

• Normal ticket – 16 zlotys,
• Discounted ticket – 14 zloty.

Getting to the Museum of Toruń Gingerbread

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread is located in a large brick building at 4 Strumykowa Street.

You can leave your car in one of the paid parking lots outside the Old Town or park on nearby streets (depending on the parking zone, it is a minimum of PLN 1.5 per hour).

Exact address:
Museum of Torun Gingerbread
Street. Strumykowa 4
87-100 Torun

Accommodation in Torun

There’s a wide range of accommodations in Torun, so whether you’re looking for a hotel with breakfast or an apartment with a kitchen, you’re sure to find something suitable.

We stayed at the Mercure Hotel – it is an older facility, but of a good standard with a tasty breakfast. Its biggest advantage is its location – it is close to the Old Town (about 10 minutes on foot).

Here are some suggestions for accommodations with address, prices and link:

• Hotel Mercure Torun Centre
  Address: ul. Kraszewskiego 1/3, 87-100 Toruń
  Prices: from 200 PLN for a double room
  Link:
  http://r4b.link/mercureheliostorun
  
• B&B Hotel Torun
  Address: Szumana 8, Old Town, 87-100 Toruń
  Prices: from 164 PLN for a double room
  Link:
  http://r4b.link/b-b-torun
  
• Bread and Wine Apartments Torun
  Address: Rynek Staromiejski 22, Old Town, 87-100 Toruń
  Prices: from 460 PLN for a double room
  Link:
  http://r4b.link/apartamenty-torun
  

Our opinion about Museum of Torun Gingerbread

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread is an interesting alternative to the Live Gingerbread Museum. Both sites take a closer look at the history of Toruń’s gingerbread, but one more in an entertaining form and the other in a traditional one.

The Museum of Torun Gingerbread has many interesting exhibits, we will see whole stores, apartment, clubhouses, which will allow you to travel back in time. It is attractively arranged, you can see that it is a new facility that relies on modern forms of communication.

However, it is worth knowing that this is a rather modest museum, where an hour, an hour and a half will calmly suffice.