The Great War

Russian troops entered Nowy Sącz in the autumn of 1914. Their occupation lasted less than a month: on 13 December, cavalry of the Polish Legions entered the town, followed by Józef Piłsudski leading the infantry. Earlier, during the night of 2-3 August, a unit of the 10th Riflemen's Squad had left Nowy Sącz for Kraków.

Despite the fighting, the town suffered no major material damage. Władysław Barbacki, who had held office since 1900, remained mayor. He resigned on 7 November 1918, after eighteen years at the head of local government, as the Habsburg monarchy disintegrated and the Polish state was being re-established.

The exhibition's wartime section connects military events with life in the town and the first days of independence. The account continues into the interwar years before its chronology reaches the next war.