Museum of Warsaw

A museum dedicated to its history is probably found in every European capital. But how many of them devote eleven of their (unique) buildings and three unique courtyards to such an institution?

Monument Interpretation Centre

When modernizing the former boiler house for the needs of the branch of the Historical Museum of the Capital City Warsaw, the architects made sure that the refurbished interiors visibly displayed elements of the old architecture.

Capital Cultural Education Centre

Jezuicka Street, initially called St. John street of is one of the oldest and most important routes of the Old Town. Its history dates back to the fourteenth century.

Old Gunpowder House

The Old Gunpowder House, since 2002 the second headquarters of the Capital Cultural Education Centre, is a place with a rich history.

Old Town Culture House

Construction of the Bornbach Townhouse currently comprising Old Town Culture House was launched in the mid-fifteenth century.

The Cultural Trail of Old Town Cellars is a space to serve all aficionados of the broadly understood culture. And not only those permanently living in Warsaw. These five restored cellars, sometimes dating back to the late medieval times are to revive the cultural life of the Old Town and to show that the history and culture make a very attractive combination. And strictly speaking, they are already doing that, because in the institutions managing these spaces the culture has been at its highest for years. It is worth getting acquainted with the details of their activities and checking their rich cultural offer. It is worth visiting the trail and its various basements more often. Because is there any space more unique in Warsaw? More attractive to tourists and its residents? Well, there are those who will list without hesitation: Royal Baths, the Palace in Wilanów, or observation deck on the thirtieth floor of the Palace of Culture and Science. And perhaps they will be right.

But it is one thing to show someone what they know very well from postcards or folders, and another to surprise them with a visit to the unexpected and sometimes completely unknown place… Who knows whether they won’t be happier. The trail undoubtedly satisfies a lot of expectations. The cellars have been related to the history of Warsaw for centuries, as we will see just by getting to know all the transformations of the Old Gunpowder House. They are a wealth of riches of old architecture created as early as the fourteenth or fifteenth century, which we will experience in the basement of the Warsaw Museum. They have been teeming with music, theatre, paintings, poetry and literature for many, many decades. To learn about this, it is enough to just look closely at the extraordinary history of the Old Town Culture House or SCEK. And only here, in one of them, in the Monument Interpretation Centre, you can take a closer look at the twentieth-century, sometimes dramatic, though extremely interesting history of the Old Town. Is there a similar trail in Warsaw? See for yourself.

© Warsaw Tourist Office