%0 Journal Article %T From the imprisonment of the fortress to the cultural institution. The university museum in a historic building %A Lewandowska, Lilianna %J Opuscula Musealia %V Volume 25 (2018) %R 10.4467/20843852.OM.17.006.9603 %N Volume 25 %P 69-80 %K university museum, barrack complex in Cracow, Austro-Hungarian prison, semio- phor, the place’s heritage %@ 0239-9989 %D 2018 %U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/opuscula-musealia/article/od-aresztu-w-twierdzy-do-instytucji-kultury-czyli-muzeum-uczelniane-w-historycznym-budynku %X This paper takes up the subject of relationships between a historic building and a museum entity, discussing the activity of the Museum of the Cracow University of Technology located in the 19th century prison building of the Austro-Hungarian military barracks, and talking through the way in which the place’s heritage has been shaping the profile of the Museum’s activity, influencing its image, the subjects of temporary exhibitions, and the type of visitors. The paper also makes an attempt to answer the following questions: What are the consequences of the fact that the museum is located in a historic building? What are the results of the changes to the functions of the building originally designed for an entirely different role than that of a public service facility serving as a space for the exhibition of a museum collection? Additionally, the article presents the historic building as an element of the cultural landscape of military fortification architecture, which is a part of the European cultural heritage.