Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

WARSAW 181

National Museum r

Muzeum Narodowe

al. Jerozolimskie 3. Map D4. Tel

(022) 629 3093. @ E-5, 111, 117,

158, 517, 521. v 7, 8, 9, 21, 22,

24, 25. # 10am–4pm Tue, Wed,

10am–5pm Thu, noon–9pm Fri,

noon–6pm Sat, Sun. ¢ Mon, pub

hols. & free Sat. Military Museum

Tel (022) 629 5271. # 10am–5pm

Wed, 10am–4pm Thu–Sun. 8 9

7 ^ - = http://www.mnw.art.pl

Originally established in 1862

as the Fine Arts Museum, the

National Museum was created

in 1916. Despite wartime

losses, today it has a large col-

lection of works of art covering

all periods from antiquity to

modern times. The collections

are arranged over three floors.

On the ground floor are the

Galleries of Ancient Art, with

their displays of Egyptian,

Greek and Roman artifacts,

the Faras Collection and the

Gallery of Medieval Art. The

first floor houses a collec tion

of Polish art which includes

two pain tings – Jan Matejko’s

Battle of Grünwald (1878)

and the Polish Hamlet, a

portrait of the aristocrat and

politician Aleksander

Wielopolski, painted by Jacek

Malczewski in 1903 in the style

of the Polish Symbolist school.

The foreign art collection is

dis played on the first and

second floors and includes

the Virgin and Child (c. 1465)

by Sandro Botticelli and The

Raising of Lazarus (1643) by

Carel Fabritius, a pupil of

Rembrandt. In the build -

ing’s east wing, the Military

Museum, illustrates the history

of Polish firearms and armour.

The 30-storey high Palace of Culture

and Science

Palace of Culture

and Science e
Palac Kultury i Nauki

pl. Defilad 1. Map C4. Tel (022) 656

7600. @ several routes. v 2, 7, 8,
      9, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 35, 36. Q
      Centrum. Viewing Terrace #
      9am–6pm daily. & http://www.pkin.pl

This monolithic building –
a gift for the people of
Warsaw from the nations of

Pawiak Prison w
Więzienie Pawaik

ul. Dzielna 24/26. Map C2. Tel (022)
831 9289. @ 170, 500, 510. v 16,
17, 19, 33. # 9am–4pm Tue, Sat,
9am–5pm Wed, 10am–5pm Fri;
10am–4pm Sun. ¢ Mon, Thu.
8 7 =

Built between 1829 and 1835
by Polish architect Henryk
Marconi, this prison was ini-
tially used as a transfer camp
during the 1863 Uprising for
political prisoners to be depor-
ted to Siberia. Pawiak got its
name from ulica Pawia, the
street where it was located.
The pri son became notorious
during the Nazi occu pation,
when it was used to imprison
Jews and Poles arrested by the
Germans. Many of those who
were at the prison were either
exec uted, tortured or sent to
concen tration camps.
Blown up by the Germans
in 1944, the prison was par-
tially reconstructed to house
this poignant museum. The
opening of the museum in
1965 was a hugely, emotional
event, attracting crowds of for-
mer inmates and their families.

Tree with obituary notices in
front of Pawiak Prison

Tenth-century fresco of St Anne,

National Museum

the USSR – was built between

1952 and 1955 to the designs

of Russian archi tect, Lev

Rudniev. The palace resembles

Moscow’s Socialist Realist

tower blocks, and although

it has only 30 storeys, with its

spire it is 231 m (757 ft) high.

Its vol ume is over 800,000

cubic m (28 million cubic ft)

and it contains 40 mil lion

bricks. It is said to incor po-

rate various archi tectural and

deco rative ele ments requis-

itioned from Poland’s historic

stately homes. At the time, this

monu ment to “the spirit of

invention and social progress”

was the second tallest build-

ing in Europe. Despite the

passage of time, this symbol

of Soviet domi nation still

pro vokes extreme reactions

from peo ple, ranging from

admi ration to demands for

its demolition.

However, since the end

of Soviet rule, the building’s

role has changed. The tower

now provides office space

and the Congress Hall is used

for concerts and festi vals. The

palace remains a cultural

centre in other ways, with

the Theatre of Dramatic Art,

a cinema, puppet theatre,

technology museum and a

sports complex. It also offers

the best view of Warsaw from

its Viewing Terrace.