Centrum Szyfrów Enigma w Poznaniu

About the museum

The Enigma Cipher Centre (Centrum Szyfrów Enigma) opened on 24 September 2021 in Poznań as a brand of the Poznań Heritage Centre (Poznańskie Centrum Dziedzictwa), a municipal cultural institution. It came into being thanks to a civic initiative to commemorate the contribution of Poznań cryptologists to the Allied victory in the Second World War. A tripartite agreement on the establishment of the institution in the Collegium Martineum was signed in 2018 by the City of Poznań, Adam Mickiewicz University and the Poznań Heritage Centre.

The exhibition is located precisely where, before the war, students of the University of Poznań – Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zygalski and Jerzy Różycki – began their work on breaking ciphers. The building was erected in 1847 as the seat of the Prussian Intendantur, and after 1918 it served the Polish army and the university; in its cellars the Poznań branch of the Cipher Bureau (Biuro Szyfrów) operated. In the communist period it housed the Party House (Dom Partii), the seat of the provincial committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR).

The exhibition combines the story of the Polish cryptologists with the history of encryption from antiquity to computers. Visitors solve puzzles, try their hand at encryption, and view, among other things, original models of the Enigma machine and the machines that helped to break it: the cyclometer, the perforated sheets (płachty) and the bombs.

Highlights

• The story of the breaking of Enigma by Rejewski, Zygalski and Różycki
• Original models of the Enigma machine
• A quick course in ciphers as taught to Polish cryptologists in 1929
• Puzzles and stations for independent encryption
• Audio guide in five languages and accessible routes

Permanent exhibition

• Ekspozycja stała Centrum Szyfrów Enigma – A multimedia story of the breaking of the Enigma cipher by Polish mathematicians and of the development of encryption, from antiquity to modern computing.

Founded

2021

Operated by

Poznańskie Centrum Dziedzictwa

Director

Piotr Bojarski

Admission & discounts

Holders of the Joint Local Government Ticket (Wspólny Bilet Samorządowy) receive a 15% discount. Discounts also apply under the OK Poznań programme. Gift vouchers are available (individual PLN 38, family PLN 78).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

The exhibition is adapted to the needs of people with disabilities and offers unhindered access to all the rooms open to the public. It offers visiting routes in Polish Sign Language, with audio description and in Easy-to-Read text; a PJM interpreter can be contacted on site. A tactile graphic stands in front of the exhibition, and there are navigation markers for blind people at the entrances. Noise-cancelling headphones, a quiet room and an accessibility map are available; visitors with assistance dogs are welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

The exhibition is family-friendly; there is a quiet room in the exhibition where a child can be changed and fed. Noise-cancelling headphones in children’s sizes and a family ticket are available.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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