Muzeum Niepodległości w Warszawie

About the museum

The Museum of Independence was founded on 30 January 1990 as the Museum of the History of Polish Independence and Social Movements. Its main seat was set up in the Przebendowski/Radziwiłł Palace at al. Solidarności, where the Lenin Museum had been housed from 1955 to 1989. From the start the museum’s branches included the Museum of the X Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel and the Pawiak Prison Museum.

The museum adopted its present name in 1991, and in 1992 it gained the status of National Cultural Institution. Since 1 January 1999 it has been a local government cultural institution, whose organiser is the Mazovian Voivodeship Self-Government. From 1990 to 2008 more than 200 exhibitions were held here, seen by nearly two million people. The museum also runs educational activities – museum lessons, meetings, concerts and publications – and since 1994 it has published the magazine “Niepodległość i Pamięć” (Independence and Memory).

The museum’s branches, such as the Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom, the Pawiak Prison Museum, the Museum of the X Pavilion of the Warsaw Citadel and the Museum of the Battle of Warsaw 1920 in Radzymin, have their own addresses. At the main seat visitors can see permanent exhibitions, including “Z Orłem Białym przez wieki” (Through the Ages with the White Eagle), devoted to the history of the Polish coat of arms.

Highlights

• Seat in the Przebendowski/Radziwiłł Palace on al. Solidarności
• Permanent exhibition “Z Orłem Białym przez wieki” with tactile elements
• Free admission on Thursdays
• Branches: Pawiak, Mausoleum of Struggle and Martyrdom, Citadel, Radzymin
• Museum lessons and the Senior Academy

Permanent exhibition

• Z Orłem Białym przez wieki – Permanent exhibition on the history of the Polish coat of arms, with tactile objects.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Samorząd Województwa Mazowieckiego

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Every Thursday – free admission on the basis of a free ticket.

Prices apply to the Przebendowski/Radziwiłł Palace and most branches (not to the Museum of the Battle of Warsaw 1920 in Radzymin). Holders of the Warszawska Karta Mieszkańca (Warsaw Citizen Card) and the Karta Młodego Warszawiaka (Young Warsaw Citizen Card) receive a 30% discount on guided tours. Schools from Masovia may take part in the programme “Kulturalna Szkoła na Mazowszu” (Cultural School in Masovia) with a ticket for PLN 1.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: not available
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The entrance is reached by a pavement-level step and a gentle ramp. Three steps with a total height of 14 cm must be negotiated to reach the bookshop, the ticket office and the lift; museum staff can help with a stair-climbing device or platform. A lift with Braille markings and voice announcements runs between the floors. A toilet for people with disabilities is on the ground floor. The exhibition “Z Orłem Białym przez wieki” has tactile objects. The museum provides neither a video sign language interpreter nor tactile graphics. In front of the entrance there are four paid parking spaces, with no spaces reserved for people with disabilities.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

• Family tours & workshops

The museum runs museum lessons, workshops and performances for children and young people, as well as the Senior Academy.

Getting there & parking

The entrance is from the side of Skwer Robinsonów Warszawskich, opposite the green square between the tram tracks.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

The building houses a bookshop, where publications and admission tickets are sold.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit