Warsaw Rising Museum
Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego
A museum using immersive exhibits to tell the story of the 63-day Warsaw Uprising of 1944. It is a key stop for understanding why the city had to be 'rebuilt.'
The Warsaw Rising Museum opened in 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the uprising, in a converted former tram power station. On 1 August 1944, the Polish Home Army launched an uprising in Warsaw against Nazi occupation. It lasted 63 days before failing. About 200,000 civilians died, and German forces then systematically destroyed the city. The museum uses a multi-level, labyrinth-like layout to recreate the period, including a simulated sewer passage that insurgents used to move around, an underground printing press and a field hospital. Weapons, armbands, diaries and many photographs are on display. The most striking element is the 3D film City of Ruins, which recreates the destroyed city from aerial footage taken in 1945. The museum has a replica of a B-24 Liberator bomber that carried airdrop supplies. In the courtyard, the Wall of Remembrance bears the names of thousands of fallen insurgents, and the tower can be climbed.
Admission costs about 35 złoty. Entry is free on Mondays (check the official website), and the museum is closed on Tuesdays. There is a great deal of information, so allow at least 2 to 3 hours. Chinese-language audio guides are available, and English guides can be rented. Getting there: take a tram to the Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego stop, or take Metro M2 to Rondo Daszyńskiego station and walk about 10 minutes.
Opening hours
Mon, Wed, Fri 08:00–18:00; Thu 08:00–20:00; weekends 10:00–18:00; closed Tuesdays (check website)
Nearby sights
- POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
- Powązki Cemetery
- Umschlagplatz Monument
- Neon Muzeum
- Palace of Culture and Science
- Warsaw Uprising Monument
- Hala Koszyki
- Saxon Garden & Tomb of the Unknown Soldier