Warsaw - Culture - Museums and Art Galleries

Museums and Art Galleries

The levelling of Warsaw during the war has left gaping holes in the city's historic collections. Although a considerable amount of treasures were spirited away to safety in 1939, a great number of collections from palaces and museums in the countryside were brought to Warsaw at that time as the capital was considered a safer place than some remote castle in the borderlands. Thus losses were heavy.

As interesting examples of expositions the most notable are: the world's first Museum of Posters boasting one of the largest collections of art posters in the world, Museum of Hunting and Riding and the Railway Museum. From among Warsaw's 60 museums, the most prestigious ones are National Museum with a collection of works whose origin ranges in time from antiquity till the present epoch as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country including some paintings from Adolf Hitler's private collection, and Museum of the Polish Army whose set portrays the history of arms.

The collections of Łazienki and Wilanów palaces (both buildings came through the war in good shape) focuses on the paintings of the "old masters", as are those of the Royal Castle which displays the Lanckoroński Collection including two paintings by Rembrandt. The Palace in Natolin, a former rural residence of Duke Czartoryski, is another venue with its interiors and park accessible to tourists.

Holding Poland's largest private collection of art, the Carroll Porczyński Collection Museum displays works from such varied artists as Paris Bordone, Cornelis van Haarlem, José de Ribera, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh along with some copies of masterpieces of European painting.

A fine tribute to the fall of Warsaw and history of Poland can be found in the Warsaw Uprising Museum and in the Katyń Museum which preserves the memory of the crime. Museum of Independence host sentimental and patriotic paraphernalia connected with these epochs. Dating back to 1936 Warsaw Historical Museum contains 60 rooms which host a permanent exhibition of the history of Warsaw from its origins until today.

The 17th century Royal Ujazdów Castle currently houses Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The Centre currently realizes about 500 projects a year. Zachęta National Gallery of Art, the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a tradition stretching back to the mid-19th century organises exhibitions of modern art by Polish and international artists and promotes art in many other ways.

The city also possesses some oddities such as the Museum of Caricature and a Motorisation Museum in Otrębusy. The newly established in 2011 Erotic Museum in Warsaw is the only such museum in Poland and one of the few of a kind in Europe. Over 2,000 exhibits collected by the Erotic Museum, reveals the erotic fascinations of artists from all continents. Museum collections include the 14th century German chastity belts, erotic Peruvian pottery, Persian miniatures, Tibetan votive paintings, Indian carvings, Chinese porcelain, African folk art, Japanese Shunga paintings, Thai votive penises and many other exhibits.