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Construction of the Polish History Museum’s building at the Warsaw Citadel
As of the autumn of 2023, the Polish History Museum will operate in its brand-new seat at the Warsaw Citadel. The impressive building of more than 44,000 sq. m will house, among others, a hall for temporary exhibitions (1.400 sq. m) as well as a space for the future permanent one (7,300 sq. m).
The museum’s educational activities will be carried out in spacious rooms for lessons and workshops as well an educational park just outside the building. Cultural events, conferences, festivals, debates and other events will be staged using the space available in the auditorium (capacity: 577 persons) and the cinema-and-theatre hall (135). In the future, the building will also have its own food and drink facilities, museum shop and library.
Exhibition for the opening
'Big and Small Stories. How the Polish History Museum’s Collection Was Built'. Such is the title of a temporary exhibition to welcome the first guests of the Museum. It will be an opportunity to present history from the perspective of museologists and a teaser of the future permanent exhibition. Selected artefacts from our collections will be presented in thematic clusters. We will talk about gifts and donors, purchases of museum artefacts, archaeological finds and objects acquired as a result of cooperation with friendly institutions. We will devote much attention to works that have been recovered for Poland in the restitution process, as well as to conservation copies, artefacts of contemporary history and those connected with the history of the Warsaw Citadel. The PHM’s permanent exhibition is being constructed and will be available at a later date.
Exhibition visualizations
Gallery
Key parameters of the building
surface area: over 44,000 sq. m (including 8,000 sq. m for the storerooms and conservation studios of the Polish Army Museum)
number of storeys: aboveground 4, underground 2
permanent exhibition area: 7,300 sq. m
temporary exhibition area: 1,400 sq. m
auditorium: 577 persons
cinema-and-theatre hall capacity: 135 persons
2 restaurants, 2 cafés
panoramic rooftop terrace
number of storeys: aboveground 4, underground 2
permanent exhibition area: 7,300 sq. m
temporary exhibition area: 1,400 sq. m
auditorium: 577 persons
cinema-and-theatre hall capacity: 135 persons
2 restaurants, 2 cafés
panoramic rooftop terrace
Get a bird’s-eye view
of the PHM building
History enchanted
in stone
The building of the Polish History Museum is not only a place where we tell the history of the state and the nation. It is a work of art in itself, a building full of thoughtful meanings. Its façade refers to the successive layers of our history: from the earliest times to the present day. In doing so, it shows their complexity. The harmonising colours of the stone are a reminder of what is common. In turn, the fact that each slab is unique reminds us of the individual dimension. It reminds us that it is impossible to tell the story of a community without telling the story of the people who make it up.
A thousand years in a single place
The façade of the Polish History Museum building holds a thousand years of Polish history. The reliefs present on each of the four external walls refer to selected symbols of Polish architecture: from the Gniezno Doors, through the ornaments of the Romanesque-Gothic church in Sandomierz, Wawel Castle, works in the Zakopane highland style, to 20th-century modernism. The intricately combined elements are not only a testimony to the cultural wealth of the Polish territories. Details from religious and secular buildings serving public institutions or defensive functions unite all to create a single story, one of the wealth of material and spiritual life of all Polish generations.
Shared discoveries
The idea of openness is embedded in the architecture of the building. This is demonstrated by the glazed elements of the façade, symbolising the process of discovery and the multiple perspectives on history. It is no coincidence that light plays a major role here. Both that natural pouring in from the outside and artificial that makes it possible to discover the inner spaces.
Information about the investment
Investor: The Polish History Museum in Warsaw
Design author projektu: WXCA sp. z. o. o. (atrchitectural design 2016–2017)
Construction, sanitary, electrical and teletechnical installations: WSP
Greenery design: RS Architektura Krajobrazu
General Contractor: Budimex S.A.
Design author projektu: WXCA sp. z. o. o. (atrchitectural design 2016–2017)
Construction, sanitary, electrical and teletechnical installations: WSP
Greenery design: RS Architektura Krajobrazu
General Contractor: Budimex S.A.
An open museum
We want the museum to become a place of multidimensional contact with Polish history and a space for discussion and contact with culture. The museum’s creators intend the Citadel to become an important centre of social and cultural life in Warsaw, open to visitors from all over Poland and the world.
History of the location
A museum without a home
The Polish History Museum was established on 2 May 2006r. For years, a great challenge for the institution had been the lack of a permanent seat in which the museum could present the effects of our activity. Initially, the plan was to situate the PHM seat in the reconstructed Saxon Palace. However, this idea fell through due to the decision of the city authorities not to rebuild it. The next location considered was Wilanów. Finally, in September 2008, the Warsaw authorities gave the nod to the sixth location for the planned building of the museum: over the Łazienkowska Thoroughfare, in the park space above the busy road between the Warsaw Escarpment and Na Rozdrożu Square.
A museum on a footbridge
Thanks to the decision of Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage at the time, and the Warsaw authorities headed by Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the location of the museum was decided upon in early 2009. This allowed for an international architectural competition for a design of the seat of the Polish History Museum to be announced on 6 April 2009. Later that same year – on 6 December – the winning architectural design studio was selected: the Paczowski et Fritsch studio of Luxembourg. In 2010, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage gave the museum the green light for negotiations concerning the conclusion of a contract with the winner of the architectural competition, which was followed by a positive decision as regards the environmental conditions of project implementation approval. However, as early as November 2010 the work on it was halted by the Ministry, as was the investment subsidy.
Waiting for decisions
In the successive years, a preliminary estimate of the cost of the building construction and full geological and engineering documentation were prepared for the museum’s investment project in the location above the Łazienkowska Thoroughfare. In May 2014, an application for a decision on the development conditions for the project was submitted. In September 2014, the then Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Małgorzata Omilanowska stated that the findings to date would need to be reviewed. ‘We are thinking of placing the Polish History Museum in a different location than previously planned,’ she said. In 2015, the idea regarding the construction of the museum’s building at the Warsaw Citadel appeared, as well as the government’s funding of the investment. The latter was formally secured by a resolution of the Council of Ministers on 21 July 2015.
A new opening
‘The Polish History Museum will most likely have its seat at the Citadel,’ stated Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Piotr Gliński in November 2015. His staunch conviction regarding the need for the museum and its permanent seat fundamentally changed the situation of the PHM. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage showed its readiness to accelerate work on the construction of the PHM’s seat and the preparation of the museum’s permanent exhibition as a matter of principle. The building at the Warsaw Citadel was to be erected according to a modified design prepared earlier for the seat of the Polish Army Museum.
From design to cornerstone
From then on, the history of the construction project unfolded at a much faster pace. On 29 January 2016, a contract for the design of the Polish History Museum building in Warsaw was signed. Just a few months later, on 7 November 2016, its design was presented. In October 2017, a tender for the construction of the PHM building was announced. It was resolved on 15 May 2018, with the company Budimex S.A. selected. On 30 May, the contract for the construction of the home of the Museum of Polish History was signed at the Palace of the Commonwealth, and already on 6 July construction work began at the Warsaw Citadel. Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski, PHM Director Robert Kostro, Budimex CEO Dariusz Blocher, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage Jarosław Sellin, and Mazovian Voivode Zdzisław Sipiera attended the groundbreaking event to symbolise the start of the work. Soon afterwards, on 11 October 2018, the cornerstone was laid for the constrction of the PHM’s permanent seat. The event was attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Piotr Gliński.
The Polish History Museum was established on 2 May 2006r. For years, a great challenge for the institution had been the lack of a permanent seat in which the museum could present the effects of our activity. Initially, the plan was to situate the PHM seat in the reconstructed Saxon Palace. However, this idea fell through due to the decision of the city authorities not to rebuild it. The next location considered was Wilanów. Finally, in September 2008, the Warsaw authorities gave the nod to the sixth location for the planned building of the museum: over the Łazienkowska Thoroughfare, in the park space above the busy road between the Warsaw Escarpment and Na Rozdrożu Square.
A museum on a footbridge
Thanks to the decision of Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage at the time, and the Warsaw authorities headed by Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the location of the museum was decided upon in early 2009. This allowed for an international architectural competition for a design of the seat of the Polish History Museum to be announced on 6 April 2009. Later that same year – on 6 December – the winning architectural design studio was selected: the Paczowski et Fritsch studio of Luxembourg. In 2010, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage gave the museum the green light for negotiations concerning the conclusion of a contract with the winner of the architectural competition, which was followed by a positive decision as regards the environmental conditions of project implementation approval. However, as early as November 2010 the work on it was halted by the Ministry, as was the investment subsidy.
Waiting for decisions
In the successive years, a preliminary estimate of the cost of the building construction and full geological and engineering documentation were prepared for the museum’s investment project in the location above the Łazienkowska Thoroughfare. In May 2014, an application for a decision on the development conditions for the project was submitted. In September 2014, the then Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Małgorzata Omilanowska stated that the findings to date would need to be reviewed. ‘We are thinking of placing the Polish History Museum in a different location than previously planned,’ she said. In 2015, the idea regarding the construction of the museum’s building at the Warsaw Citadel appeared, as well as the government’s funding of the investment. The latter was formally secured by a resolution of the Council of Ministers on 21 July 2015.
A new opening
‘The Polish History Museum will most likely have its seat at the Citadel,’ stated Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Piotr Gliński in November 2015. His staunch conviction regarding the need for the museum and its permanent seat fundamentally changed the situation of the PHM. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage showed its readiness to accelerate work on the construction of the PHM’s seat and the preparation of the museum’s permanent exhibition as a matter of principle. The building at the Warsaw Citadel was to be erected according to a modified design prepared earlier for the seat of the Polish Army Museum.
From design to cornerstone
From then on, the history of the construction project unfolded at a much faster pace. On 29 January 2016, a contract for the design of the Polish History Museum building in Warsaw was signed. Just a few months later, on 7 November 2016, its design was presented. In October 2017, a tender for the construction of the PHM building was announced. It was resolved on 15 May 2018, with the company Budimex S.A. selected. On 30 May, the contract for the construction of the home of the Museum of Polish History was signed at the Palace of the Commonwealth, and already on 6 July construction work began at the Warsaw Citadel. Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski, PHM Director Robert Kostro, Budimex CEO Dariusz Blocher, Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage Jarosław Sellin, and Mazovian Voivode Zdzisław Sipiera attended the groundbreaking event to symbolise the start of the work. Soon afterwards, on 11 October 2018, the cornerstone was laid for the constrction of the PHM’s permanent seat. The event was attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Culture and National Heritage Prof. Piotr Gliński.
Gallery
On construction site
In December 2019, the walls of the building had already reached their target height, i.e. the fourth storey above ground. Although there was still a lot of work to do with the roof and installations, the first phase of construction was complete. The following year, however, went down in history as the most difficult in three decades. In 2020, the problems associated with the pandemic affected many areas of social and economic life, including museums. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a number of obstacles to the construction of the Polish History Museum building. Yet we have moved another milestone closer to the opening of our permanent seat. In autumn, the building reached its target height and the installation of the roof girders began.
Under the roof, at long last!
On 9–10 November 2020, the first large-scale exhibits, which will be part of the museum’s future permanent exhibition, were delivered to the PHM’s seat under construction. These included a 19th-century steam locomotive, fragments of demolished monuments from the communist period, a SKOT armoured personnel carrier, and a thousand-year-old oak tree remembering the times of Mieszko I. Due to their size, these were items that required special procedures during assembly. Each was hoisted with the help of cranes and heavy equipment through the roof opening of the building and then located in the space intended for the museum’s future permanent exhibition. Once the exhibits were placed in the building, it was closed with the roof. Soon afterwards, on 26 November 2020, a presentation of the building under constrution was held. The invited guests could for the first time ever see the conference centre, the main hall, one intended for temporary exhibitions and the space for the permanent one.
In December 2019, the walls of the building had already reached their target height, i.e. the fourth storey above ground. Although there was still a lot of work to do with the roof and installations, the first phase of construction was complete. The following year, however, went down in history as the most difficult in three decades. In 2020, the problems associated with the pandemic affected many areas of social and economic life, including museums. The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a number of obstacles to the construction of the Polish History Museum building. Yet we have moved another milestone closer to the opening of our permanent seat. In autumn, the building reached its target height and the installation of the roof girders began.
Under the roof, at long last!
On 9–10 November 2020, the first large-scale exhibits, which will be part of the museum’s future permanent exhibition, were delivered to the PHM’s seat under construction. These included a 19th-century steam locomotive, fragments of demolished monuments from the communist period, a SKOT armoured personnel carrier, and a thousand-year-old oak tree remembering the times of Mieszko I. Due to their size, these were items that required special procedures during assembly. Each was hoisted with the help of cranes and heavy equipment through the roof opening of the building and then located in the space intended for the museum’s future permanent exhibition. Once the exhibits were placed in the building, it was closed with the roof. Soon afterwards, on 26 November 2020, a presentation of the building under constrution was held. The invited guests could for the first time ever see the conference centre, the main hall, one intended for temporary exhibitions and the space for the permanent one.
First exhibits arriving for the Polish History Museum’s permanent exhibition
Recent months
In 2021, the building-shell state was reached. Most of the glass façade was installed, the installation of the internal installations was underway, and the assembly of the steel roof structure was completed. Installation and finishing works were also going on. However, the year 2022 proved to be exceptionally difficult, bringing major setbacks due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Despite this, work continued to progress on the sanitary and electrical installations, and in April the installation of the façade began. Finally, finishing work inside the building also began. The year 2022 was the last in which the Polish History Museum functioned without permanent premises. In autumn 2023, the modern museum building will welcome its first visitors.
Gallery
Auditorium
