Permanent exhibition
It will cover 7,300 sq. m and feature some 3,600 museum artefacts (including more than 2,100 objects that belong to the PHM), and approximately 400 copies or replicas of historical items. The story will be told through a variety of means: exhibits, multimedia, stage design and artistic installations.
Narrative permanent exhibition
It will present the over-a-thousand-year-long history of the Polish state and nation, using original artefacts as well as stage design and multimedia. Central to this narrative will be the history of freedom, including the centuries-old history of Polish parliamentarism, constitutional and republican traditions, the history of the battle to preserve and regain independence, as well as the struggle against totalitarianisms.
Work on the exhibition script was led by a team of PHM historians assisted by eminent researchers from leading academic centres. The exhibition design was prepared by a consortium of WWAA and Platige Image studios, the winner of an international competition held by the museum. Natalia Paszkowska and Boris Kudlička led this team.
Intense works on the preparation of the visual and spatial design of the exhibition had been ongoing since November 2016. The final script of the exhibition and the scenographic concept of its highlights were developed in 2017.
Work on the exhibition script was led by a team of PHM historians assisted by eminent researchers from leading academic centres. The exhibition design was prepared by a consortium of WWAA and Platige Image studios, the winner of an international competition held by the museum. Natalia Paszkowska and Boris Kudlička led this team.
Intense works on the preparation of the visual and spatial design of the exhibition had been ongoing since November 2016. The final script of the exhibition and the scenographic concept of its highlights were developed in 2017.
A visualisation: the permanent exhibition of the Polish History Museum (The Commonwealth gallery)
Projekt WWAA, PLATIGE IMAGE
Visiting circuit
The exhibition will invite visitors to experience a fast-paced, dramatic and multifaceted story. Its content will be conveyed through artefacts from the museum’s collections and those on loan from other institutions, original stage design, and multimedia installations. All this is designed to create an attractive space for experiencing history.
The circuit followed by visitors will cover six galleries, each narrating the history of successive epochs: Poland of the Piast and Jagiellonian Dynasties (from the beginnings of the country’s statehood until 1573), The Commonwealth (1573–1795), The Partitions (1796–1914), Independent Again (1914–1939), Fighting Poland (1939–1945), and The Poles and Communism (1945–1990).
The narrative of the exhibition will focus on three themes. These are: freedom, identity and civilisational change. We consider each of them to be essential to the understanding of the Polish historical experience.
The circuit followed by visitors will cover six galleries, each narrating the history of successive epochs: Poland of the Piast and Jagiellonian Dynasties (from the beginnings of the country’s statehood until 1573), The Commonwealth (1573–1795), The Partitions (1796–1914), Independent Again (1914–1939), Fighting Poland (1939–1945), and The Poles and Communism (1945–1990).
The narrative of the exhibition will focus on three themes. These are: freedom, identity and civilisational change. We consider each of them to be essential to the understanding of the Polish historical experience.
Freedom understood as independence, as a space for political and civic activity, and as personal freedom, is a particularly important theme in Polish history. The broad treatment of the subject matter will make it possible to present both the uniqueness of the system of the former Commonwealth and the history of the Polish struggle for independence in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The identity strand will illuminate the path of the formation of the Polish state. It will help tell the story of the phenomenon of the multinational and multireligious Commonwealth, show the process of the formation of a modern national identity during the Partitions and the dramatic challenges to identity posed by the German occupation, changes in borders and social structure, and communism.
The story of civilisational change will make visitors aware of what daily life was like in the past. It will facilitate showing how changes in technology affected both the economy and society. The narrative of this section will focus primarily on times of great socioeconomic breakthroughs, when profound transformations were impacting European civilisation – and Polish territories and the Poles along with it.
The three dominant themes will make up a long and multicoloured journey through Polish history. During its course, the curators of the exhibition wish to draw the visitors’ attention firstly to a dozen or so special places (dominants). It is just there that the most important events and phenomena in Polish history will be presented. These will include the Jagiellonian court, the panorama of the electoral field, a city from the period of the Industrial Revolution, the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, an underground site from the Second World War, or the Gdańsk Shipyard from the period of the seminal August 1980 strike.
The identity strand will illuminate the path of the formation of the Polish state. It will help tell the story of the phenomenon of the multinational and multireligious Commonwealth, show the process of the formation of a modern national identity during the Partitions and the dramatic challenges to identity posed by the German occupation, changes in borders and social structure, and communism.
The story of civilisational change will make visitors aware of what daily life was like in the past. It will facilitate showing how changes in technology affected both the economy and society. The narrative of this section will focus primarily on times of great socioeconomic breakthroughs, when profound transformations were impacting European civilisation – and Polish territories and the Poles along with it.
The three dominant themes will make up a long and multicoloured journey through Polish history. During its course, the curators of the exhibition wish to draw the visitors’ attention firstly to a dozen or so special places (dominants). It is just there that the most important events and phenomena in Polish history will be presented. These will include the Jagiellonian court, the panorama of the electoral field, a city from the period of the Industrial Revolution, the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, an underground site from the Second World War, or the Gdańsk Shipyard from the period of the seminal August 1980 strike.
Photo Gallery
History in brief: the beginnings of the PHM’s permanent exhibition
On 11 May 2011, an international competition for the artistic and spatial concept of the permanent exhibition of the Polish History Museum was announced under the patronage of Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage at the time. The competition targeted teams of artist-exhibitors, and was also open to foreign entrants.
The starting point for participants were the programme objectives prepared by a team of experts under the direction of Prof. Igor Kąkolewski. The team included such members as Prof. Zbigniew Dalewski, Prof. Antoni Dudek, Prof. Michał Kopczyński, Prof. Jolanta Sikorska-Kulesza, Prof. Włodzimierz Mędrzecki, and Dr Jacek Młynarczyk.
Studios from Poland, Belgium and Spain entered the competition. For its purposes, the participants were asked to develop selected elements of the PHM’s permanent exhibition, including the functional and spatial layout of the entire presentation, the concept of the ‘Free Election’ space in the Commonwealth gallery, and the concept of the educational space (content-related and artistic solutions) for children aged 4–9. In the end, five leading Polish and European studios were admitted to participate.
The results of the competition were announced on 6 December 2011. Competition panel members included: Prof. Andrzej Rottermund (Chairman, Director of the Royal Castle Museum in Warsaw), Prof. Jolanta Choińska-Mika (historian from the University of Warsaw), Prof. Juliusz Chrościcki (art historian from the University of Warsaw), Maciej Czeredys (architect, reporting judge), Prof. Jack Lohman (Director of the Museum of London), Dr Piotr Majewski (Director of the National Institute of Museums and Collections Protection, representative of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage), Allan Starski (set designer), Prof. Wojciech Tygielski (historian from the University of Warsaw), and Prof. Jerzy Zdrada (historian from the Jagiellonian University).
Three prizes were awarded. The competition and first place winner was the design jointly prepared by the studios WWAA Pracownia Projektowa Marcin Mostafa and Platige Image (Poland). Studio Projektowe Piotr Govenlock and Bulanda, Mucha – Architekci sp. z o.o. (Poland) took second place, and Tempora SA (Belgium) third place.
The competition’s outcome for the artistic and spatial concept of the PHM’s permanent exhibition was the display of the distinguished works held from 7 to 22 December 2011 at the History Meeting House in Warsaw. However, problems with determining the location of the Polish History Museum building inhibited the implementation of the winning project. It was only revisited five years later.
The starting point for participants were the programme objectives prepared by a team of experts under the direction of Prof. Igor Kąkolewski. The team included such members as Prof. Zbigniew Dalewski, Prof. Antoni Dudek, Prof. Michał Kopczyński, Prof. Jolanta Sikorska-Kulesza, Prof. Włodzimierz Mędrzecki, and Dr Jacek Młynarczyk.
Studios from Poland, Belgium and Spain entered the competition. For its purposes, the participants were asked to develop selected elements of the PHM’s permanent exhibition, including the functional and spatial layout of the entire presentation, the concept of the ‘Free Election’ space in the Commonwealth gallery, and the concept of the educational space (content-related and artistic solutions) for children aged 4–9. In the end, five leading Polish and European studios were admitted to participate.
The results of the competition were announced on 6 December 2011. Competition panel members included: Prof. Andrzej Rottermund (Chairman, Director of the Royal Castle Museum in Warsaw), Prof. Jolanta Choińska-Mika (historian from the University of Warsaw), Prof. Juliusz Chrościcki (art historian from the University of Warsaw), Maciej Czeredys (architect, reporting judge), Prof. Jack Lohman (Director of the Museum of London), Dr Piotr Majewski (Director of the National Institute of Museums and Collections Protection, representative of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage), Allan Starski (set designer), Prof. Wojciech Tygielski (historian from the University of Warsaw), and Prof. Jerzy Zdrada (historian from the Jagiellonian University).
Three prizes were awarded. The competition and first place winner was the design jointly prepared by the studios WWAA Pracownia Projektowa Marcin Mostafa and Platige Image (Poland). Studio Projektowe Piotr Govenlock and Bulanda, Mucha – Architekci sp. z o.o. (Poland) took second place, and Tempora SA (Belgium) third place.
The competition’s outcome for the artistic and spatial concept of the PHM’s permanent exhibition was the display of the distinguished works held from 7 to 22 December 2011 at the History Meeting House in Warsaw. However, problems with determining the location of the Polish History Museum building inhibited the implementation of the winning project. It was only revisited five years later.
