Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie
Warsaw’s largest art museum, with a collection from antiquity to the 19th century, including the Galeria Faras (Faras Gallery) and paintings by Matejko.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum was founded in 1862 as the Museum of Fine Arts, operating alongside the Main School and the School of Fine Arts. In 1916 the city took over the collections, and the institution adopted the name National Museum in Warsaw. The director who rebuilt and enlarged the collection after the Second World War was Stanisław Lorentz.
The main building on Aleje Jerozolimskie was designed by Tadeusz Tołwiński and Antoni Dygat. Construction began in 1927, and the grand opening took place in June 1938. During the Second World War the building was damaged, and the Germans removed or destroyed a large part of the collection. After 1945 museum staff recovered artworks and expanded the collection. The building was extended in 1964–1972.
The collections include works of art from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, medieval sculpture and painting, Oriental art, foreign and Polish paintings, and rich collections of prints, drawings, coins and applied arts. A special place is held by the Galeria Faras, with the largest set of Nubian wall paintings in Europe, opened in 1972. Among the best-known Polish paintings are works by Jan Matejko, Jacek Malczewski and Józef Chełmoński.
The museum also includes the branches: the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture in Królikarnia, the Muzeum Wnętrz in Otwock Wielki (Museum of Interiors), the Muzeum Plakatu in Wilanów (Poster Museum), and the museums in Nieborów and Arkadia.
Highlights
- Galeria Faras (Faras Gallery) – Nubian wall paintings
- Galeria Sztuki Starożytnej (Gallery of Ancient Art)
- Galeria Sztuki XIX Wieku (Gallery of 19th-Century Art) with paintings by Matejko and Malczewski
- Medieval art, including the Piękna Madonna z Wrocławia (Beautiful Madonna of Wrocław)
- Collection of Oriental art
Permanent exhibitions
- Galeria Faras – The largest collection of Nubian wall paintings in Europe, from the cathedral in Faras, with so-called tactile paths.
- Galeria Sztuki Starożytnej – Objects from Egypt, Greece, Rome and the Middle East, including the portrait of a boy from Fayum.
- Galeria Sztuki XIX Wieku – Polish painting of the 19th century, including works by Jan Matejko, Jacek Malczewski and Józef Chełmoński.
- Founded
- 1862
- Director
- Jerzy Miziołek
- Visitors per year
- approx. 337,629
Admission & discounts
| Adults | 30 zł |
|---|---|
| Reduced | 15 złpupils, students, doctoral students, teachers and educators, group supervisors, people with disabilities and their carers, pensioners and people receiving disability pensions, people over 65, veterans and certain holders of state decorations |
| Children & teens | 1 złfree up to age 6 · PLN 1 ticket for children, young people and young adults aged 8 to 26 (at the ticket office only); children under 7 enter free. |
| Seniors | 15 złReduced ticket for people over 65. |
| Visitors with disabilities | 15 złReduced ticket for a person with a disability and their carer. |
| Students & apprentices | 15 złReduced ticket for pupils, students and doctoral students. |
| Groups (10+ people) | 15 zł per personGroup ticket for the permanent exhibitions: PLN 15 per person; for temporary exhibitions: PLN 25 per person. |
| Families | –Family ticket (2 adults and children under 18, up to 6 people in total), offered for temporary exhibitions, e.g. PLN 55 for the Adolph Menzel exhibition. |
| Combined ticket (Main Building, Królikarnia, Muzeum Wnętrz in Otwock Wielki), valid 30 days – standard | 60 złReduced PLN 40. |
| Annual ticket (365 days) – standard | 300 złReduced PLN 200. |
| Temporary exhibition Adolph Menzel (1815–1905) – standard | 35 złReduced PLN 25; second-choice ticket PLN 5. |
| Guided tour in Polish | 280 złIn a foreign language PLN 380. |
Free admission: Tuesday – free admission to the permanent exhibitions (not temporary exhibitions).
On Fridays from 17:00 to 20:00 all tickets (except the PLN 1 ticket) are half price. Large Family Card (Karta Dużej Rodziny): adults get 50% off, and children and young people under 18 pay PLN 1 for the permanent galleries. The Karta Warszawiaka (Warszawiak Card) gives 10% off. Free admission for holders of the Warsaw Pass, members of ICOM and ICOMOS, staff of museums in the State Register of Museums (Państwowy Rejestr Muzeów), veterans and holders of the Karta Polaka (Polish Card). The Galeria Sztuki XX i XXI Wieku (Gallery of 20th and 21st-Century Art) is temporarily closed for rearrangement.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description
Wheelchair access is possible by a vertical lift or a platform (the platform requires help from an assistant). The building has lifts and accessible toilets. Wheelchairs can be borrowed from the cloakroom on request. Two disabled parking spaces are in front of the Main Gate. Induction loops are at the ticket offices, the Information desk, the cloakrooms, the Kino MUZ, the education room and the library reading room. Polish Sign Language meetings take place once a month. Tours for blind visitors take place once a month, and audio descriptions are included in the audio guides. Electronic magnifiers and portable tactile plans can be borrowed at the Information desk; tactile paths are in the Faras Gallery.
Kids & families
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 6 |
|---|
- Family tours & workshops
- Baby changing facilities
Changing tables are on levels -1 and +2. Children under 7 enter free, and young people up to 26 buy a PLN 1 ticket. The museum runs a rich educational programme for children, young people and families.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Muzeum Narodowe
On Aleje Jerozolimskie there are two stops called “Muzeum Narodowe”, where buses 111, 117, 158, 507 and 521 and trams 7, 9, 22, 24 and 25 stop. Suburban trains can be taken to Warszawa Powiśle station.
By car
There are two disabled parking spaces in front of the Main Gate.
- Accessible parking
From Warszawa Powiśle station it is about 500 metres to Rondo de Gaulle’a, then along Aleje Jerozolimskie to the museum.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Restaurant
- Museum shop
- Coat check
The museum’s website lists a restaurant, a bookshop and a museum shop.
Events & venue rental
- Spaces for rent
Venue hire: contact marketing@mnw.art.pl, tel. +48 22 621 10 31 ext. 333.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | An audio headset costs PLN 10 (currently only in the Gallery of 19th-Century Art; collect it at the Information desk after paying at the ticket office). Audio guides for the galleries and exhibitions are available free of charge on your own phone and headphones in the Muzeum Online section. Guided tours must be booked in advance. |
