Muzeum Sportu i Turystyki w Warszawie

About the museum

The Muzeum Sportu i Turystyki w Warszawie (Sports and Tourism Museum in Warsaw) was founded in the early 1950s. Its first seat was in a building on ul. Rozbrat, and in 1966 the institution moved to the Skra Warszawa stadium on ul. Wawelska. Since 2005 the museum has been located in the John Paul II Olympic Centre (Centrum Olimpijskie im. Jana Pawła II) in Żoliborz, a seven-storey building designed by Bogdan Kulczyński, which refers to Olympic symbolism with an elliptical plan, a lift shaft in the form of a torch and Olympic rings on the façade.

The collections number almost 60 thousand objects. They include Olympic medals and torches, the kayak used by Karol Wojtyła, the smallest Olympic book, and rare memorabilia from the clandestine Olympic Games of prisoners of war in Stalag XIII-A Langwasser in 1940. The museum also holds philatelic and numismatic collections, about 56 thousand photographs and about 37 thousand books and periodicals.

The museum has organised more than 200 temporary exhibitions in Poland and abroad, runs educational activities for children and young people, and holds recurring events such as the Festiwal Filmowy im. Wandy Rutkiewicz (Wanda Rutkiewicz Film Festival) and the Sportowa Noc Muzeów (Sports Night of Museums). The International Olympic Committee admitted it to the Olympic Museums Network, in which there are only 22 institutions worldwide. The institution is financed by the Mazovian Voivodeship Self-Government.

Highlights

• Exhibition “Dzieje sportu polskiego i olimpizmu” (History of Polish Sport and Olympism) on about 1,000 m²
• Original Olympic medals
• Kayak of Karol Wojtyła from the Masurian lakes
• Memorabilia from the Olympic Games of prisoners of war in Stalag XIII-A
• Museum in the Olympic Museums Network of the IOC

Permanent exhibition

• Dzieje sportu polskiego i olimpizmu – The exhibition on about 1,000 m² presents more than 3,000 exhibits and almost 600 photographs: from the sport of ancient Greece and the modern Games to the disciplines practised in Poland, including athletics, cycling, skiing and sailing, as well as tourism and mountaineering.

Founded

1952

Operated by

Samorząd Województwa Mazowieckiego

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Saturdays – free admission.

Admission is free for, among others, Olympians, members of ICOM and ICOMOS, staff of museums on the state register, veterans and combatants, and holders of selected decorations. A document confirming the entitlement is needed for free and reduced tickets.

Accessibility

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

The main entrance is reached by a terrace with six steps; on the left there is a ramp for wheelchairs. Corridors and doors are wide and have no thresholds, and all floors can be reached by lift or by a spiral ramp. The lift buttons have Braille descriptions, but the lift has no voice announcements. The toilet for people with disabilities is on the ground floor to the left of the reception, and there is one parking space for people with disabilities in front of the building. The building has no induction loops, tactile maps or sound navigation. Guide dogs and assistance dogs may enter all rooms.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

The museum does not set a minimum age for visitors. For the youngest there are activities for kindergarten children, museum lessons and the “Muzeum za złotówkę” programme; a family ticket applies.

Getting there & parking

A cycle path runs along the Olympic Centre, and bicycle racks stand in front of the building; the nearest Veturilo station is about 800 m to the south, at the southern entrance to KS Spójnia.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant

In the Olympic Centre, on the 6th floor, is the Moonsfera restaurant; on the ground floor there is a PKO BP cash machine, and in the main hall a first-aid kit.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

The museum makes the permanent exhibition space, including the Northern Gallery, available for conferences, presentations and shows; capacity is not stated.

Plan your visit