Museums | Art, History & Culture
Museums
See Jan Matejko’s epic masterpiece ‘The Battle of Grunwald’ at Warsaw National Museum (p.64). Photo © City of Warsaw.
Warsaw boasts some superior museums, ranging from world-class attractions full of multimedia displays, to small institutions covering niche historical events. It’s more than we have space to cover here, but you’ll find them all listed and up-todate on our website. In this guide, some of the city’s most important museums are listed within the district tours of Sightseeing section, while the rest of the best are here. Descriptions focus on each museum’s permanent collection; for current temporary exhibits, see p.58.
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Archdiocese Museum
Katyń Museum
This Old Town Museum showcases over 20,000 items dating from the Middle Ages up to today, and surprises with its wealth of secular art. Split into the Sacred and the Profane - the former includes liturgical objects, paintings and sculptures of scenes from the life of Jesus, Mary and the saints, plus personal items of Stefan Wyszyński - former Primate of Poland. The latter includes lots of furniture, clocks, sculpture and paintings, including works by famous artists such as Malczewski, Hofman and even Beksiński. One highlight is entering the ‘Royal Corridor’ (aka the ‘Piekarski Corridor’) that formerly connected the Royal Castle with the Cathedral, and was built to ensure King Sigismund III Vasa’s safe passage between the two following an assassination attempt in 1620. Visiting time: 1hr.QG‑4, ul. Dziekania 1, MRatusz Arsenał, www.maw.art.pl. Open 12:00-18:00; Sat, Sun 12:0016:00; closed Mon. Admission 25/18zł. U
Found in the Warsaw Citadel - a massive 19th century fortress - this museum documents the shocking events of 1940 when 22,000 Polish officers were executed by their Soviet captors in the middle of a Russian forest. The museum has a host of objects, documents and personal effects that have been recovered from the site near Smoleńsk, Russia. The artefacts from the victims and a scrolling list of their names need no explanation, while the multimedia presentation of the extenuating circumstances, the victims’ stories and the entire event’s historical relevancy are well thought-out and thoroughly moving. Visiting time: 2hrs.QE‑1, ul. Jana Jeziorańskiego 4 (entrance from Nowomiejska gate), MDworzec Gdański, tel. (+48) 261 87 83 42, www. muzeumkatynskie.pl. Open 10:00-16:00; closed Mon, Tue. Admission free. Guided tours (EN, PL) 90-300zł. Audioguides (EN, PL, DE, FR, RU) 15zł. U
