Villa Atma

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The Villa Atma

The Villa Atma (in Polish Willa Atma) in Zakopane, Poland, is a chalet housing the Karol Szymanowski Museum, a department of the National Museum in Cracow.

The Villa Atma was built about 1890 in the 'Zakopane style' for Józef Kasprusie-Stoch to designs by the architect Stanisław Witkiewicz. The name 'Atma' is derived form the Sanskrit word for 'soul'.

The composer Szymanowski visited Zakopane in his childhood and the Villa Atma became his permanent residence in 1930. He described the villa in a letter to his mother as "a small, humble mountaineer's cottage". Amongst the fellow artists who visited Szymanowski in Villa Atma were Artur Rubinstein, Serge Lifar and Emil Młynarski.

After Szymanowski's death in 1937, his friends suggested making the Villa a museum in his honour, but this aim was not achieved until 1967. The exhibits include a close recreation of the composer's study, in which he wrote some of his most notable works including the Symphony no 4, (a sinfonia concertante for piano and orchestra dedicated to Rubinstein), and his second Violin Concerto.

The museum is located at ul. Kasprusie 19, Zakopane and is open from Wednesday to Sunday. Apart from the ground floor permanent collection, there is a library and archive relating to Szymanowski on the first floor. Concerts and recitals are occasionally held in the Villa.