7 Unusual Museums in Warsaw
Going to a museum doesn’t always have to be a highbrow experience. There are some museums that offer their visitors other experiences, ones you wouldn’t necessarily expect of such institutions. Let’s take a look at some unusually-themed Warsaw museums which focus on things like illusions, old-school video games and… vodka!
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An untitled work by Andrzej Czeczot, photo: Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature in Warsaw
First up, we have one of Warsaw’s most intriguing museums, the Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature on 11 Kozia Street in the city’s Old Town. This splendid institution, founded in 1978 by the noted caricaturist, illustrator and poster artist Eryk Lipiński, has a very impressive collection of caricature art, composed of over 25,000 items. These include tongue-in-cheek works from various fields such as drawing, painting, sculpture and more.
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Due to its character and concept the collection of the Museum of Caricature is a unique assemblage focusing on a specific area of artistic creativity, which often evades precise definitions and categorisations. This collection is commonly associated with contemporary artists but an important part of it is made up of historical works documenting the roots of caricature and satirical drawing as well as the satirical inclinations of artists representing official movements in art.
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From the 2016 article ‘Collection of the Eryk Lipiński Museum of Caricature In Warsaw’ by Piotr Kułak, trans. MK
The Museum of Caricature owns works by such noted Polish creators as Maja Berezowska, Andrzej Czeczot and the beloved Janusz Stanny, Henryk Sawka, or Marek Raczkowski, but also possesses pieces by important foreign artists like William Hogarth or Roland Topor. However, due to a lack of exhibition space it doesn’t have a permanent exhibit and only holds temporary ones. It’s the only museum dedicated to caricature in Poland and, in 2015, was included in a ranking of Europe’s top unusual museums published by The Guardian. It’s definitely the place to visit if you’d like to get in touch with some outstanding humorous art.
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Museum World of Illusion, photo: Facebook / Museum World of Illusion
About ten minutes away on foot from the Museum of Caricature, in Warsaw’s Old Town Market Square, you can find the Museum World of Illusion. Located at number 21 of this historical square, this museum lets you experience amazing visual sensations linked to the sphere of optical illusion. There’s dozens of attractions, plenty of which are interactive. Among them you can find things like the Ames Room, where a person can seem either very small or very large depending on where they’re standing, or a graphic design that makes you look as if you were taking a piano lesson from Chopin himself!
Apart from providing entertainment, the museum also seeks to educate about the nature of its optical illusions:
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You can learn about the phenomena responsible for the unusual sensations perceived by your senses from special boards, which explain them in a very simple and accessible way!
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From dzieckowpodrozy.pl, trans. MK
The exhibition at the Museum World of Illusion is suitable for kids that are six years of age or older, and is an interesting idea for those looking for some family-friendly fun.
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The Polish Vodka Museum, photo: Adam Stępień / Agencja Wyborcza
Whereas our last museum is very family friendly, the next one focuses on a drink that’s meant only for adults – vodka. Those under the age of 18 are allowed into this institution only if they’re accompanied by grownups.
The Polish Vodka Museum is located at 1 Koneser Square in a 19th century building that used to house a vodka distillery. Here’s the museum’s mission:
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Polish vodka is a highly significant element of Polish culture, one that has accompanied Poles for centuries during celebrations of important moments. (…) The Polish Vodka Museum was created to present Polish vodka’s history, tradition and place in today’s world.
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From muzeumpolskiejwodki.pl, trans. MK
The museum’s exhibition lets you learn about such things as the process of distilling vodka, where the first Polish vodka distilleries were founded, and how Polish noblemen consumed this alcohol in the olden days. Among the museum’s attractions are historical distilling devices and a collection of old-school vodka bottles. Guided tours in English are available, and yes: at the end of the tour you can take part in a Polish vodka tasting!
Museum of Life under Communism
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The Museum of Life under Communism, photo: Jacek Marczewski / Agencja Wyborcza
The Museum of Life under Communism lets you learn about Poland’s history from a much different perspective. The communist regime was imposed on Poland by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and lasted until the year 1989. In this oppressive political system, known as the Polish People’s Republic, Poles had to somehow live their lives and this is what the museum is about:
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The average inhabitant of the Polish People’s Republic suffered the consequences and limitations resulting from the inefficiency of nationalised industry. (…) What is at your fingertips today, was inaccessible to an ordinary citizen of the PPR. The goal of the exhibition is to show everyday life in the Polish People's Republic. The interiors and objects presented in the exhibition tell the story of how the policy of ‘people's rule’ influenced the daily lives of citizens.
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From the museum’s website mzprl.pl
At the museum you’ll find a great number of everyday objects manufactured under the communist regime. These include pieces of furniture, radios, or even packs of cigarettes. Also, the museum features spaces furnished like an average PPR bedroom or kitchen. All of this lets you get a feel of life in an era when Poland was largely isolated from the world – and Western goods.
Additionally, the exhibition includes display cases with information about the opposition against the communist regime and boards explaining key parts of the PPR’s history. All of the museum’s Polish descriptions include English translations; English audio-guides are available as well. The Museum of Life under Communism is located right off of Konstytucja Square at 28/34 Piękna Street, just above… a KFC.
Museum of Defil Guitars (currently closed)
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A group of children with a Defil guitar, 1970, photo: Zbigniew Wdowiński / PAP
Next up, we have a museum linked to a Polish manufacturer founded during the communist era – the Defil musical instruments company. Defil was created in 1947 in the town of Lubin and produced various instruments such as xylophones, violins and guitars. The company went defunct in 2001.
Under the communist regime, when foreign instruments were very hard to get, Defil guitars were often the only guitars available to aspiring Polish musicians. Therefore, even though their quality wasn’t outstanding, the electric, acoustic and bass guitars made by Defil became quite popular. Many Polish guitarists started out with a trusty Defil. Nowadays, these old-school instruments hold a special, sentimental value:
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Years later they’ve become monuments, they’re the genetic code of Polish guitarists who began to play in the Polish People’s Republic…
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From ‘Muzeum Gitar Defil. Ocalić od Zapomnienia…’, an article at magazyn.elubin.pl, trans. MK
At the Museum of Defil Guitars you can take a look at almost 60 instruments produced by the Lubin company. These include some rare specimens like the Kosmos electric guitar reminiscent of Gibson’s famous Flying V, or the electro-acoustic Rytm bass guitar. The bulk of the exhibition consists of various vintage guitars but you can also find a banjo and mandolin among them.
It’s worth adding that the Museum of Defil Guitars is a rather modest affair – it consists of a single room located in a music shop at 7/11 Wiktorska Street. Unfortunately, there are no guides or information in English here. But music is universal – and this museum should prove interesting to every true guitar enthusiast!
Warsaw Museum of Computers & Games
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The Museum of Computers & Games, photo: Maciek Jaźwiecki / Agencja Wyborcza
Whereas our prior museum focuses on old-school guitars, this next institution concentrates on old-school computers and games. At the Warsaw Museum of Computers & Games you can find over twenty classic computers dating from the 1970s to the early 2000s. These include such machines as the famed Commodore 64 or Amiga 500. Nearly all the computers at the museum are functional and visitors are allowed to play vintage video games on them! The museum has hundreds of classic games including such celebrated titles as Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Country or Pac-Man. To provide an authentic gaming experience the museum’s computers are connected to classic joysticks and cathode ray tube monitors.
Here’s how Przemysław Wrona, the director of the Warsaw Museum of Computers & Games, describes its appeal:
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Older folks can go on a sentimental journey and play the games they played in their childhood, see the devices they wanted to have but couldn’t afford. You can come here and play on them. Younger visitors can see what an incredibly long way games have come in the past decades, how they’ve developed, and also find inspiration for creating retro games.
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From ‘Warszawskie Muzeum Komputerów i Gier Wraca po Przerwie’, an article at warszawa.naszemiasto.pl, trans. MK
The Warsaw Museum of Computers & Games is located in an underground passage in 208A Niepodległości Avenue, in pavilion number 1.
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The Museum of Diving, photo: Bartosz Bobkowski / Agencja Wyborcza
The final place on our list is the Museum of Diving at 88 Grzybowska Street. This intriguing institution possesses over 1000 exhibits linked to the history and technology of diving. Among the objects exhibited at the museum you can find such curious things like an 1895 diving helmet, a Soviet diving suit used for exploring arctic waters, or an underwater hunting crossbow that belonged to Leonid Teliga. In the 1960s, Teliga became the first Pole to single-handedly sail around the world and he had this crossbow with him on his record-breaking journey.
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The magic of these items works on both grownups and kids. Everybody’s drawn to them by the fact that they’re authentic, bear signs of use and aren’t just exhibits [made for the museum].
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From ‘Podwodni Bohaterowie’, an article at niepodlegla.gov.pl, trans. MK
It can be a bit hard to visit the museum, as it is only open on Tuesdays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm (plan ahead!). Entry to the museum is free of charge and guided tours in English can be arranged after contacting the museum’s staff. If you’re a diving aficionado, or just curious about underwater exploration the Museum of Diving is definitely worth a visit.
Just like that we’ve reached the end of our list. If you’d like to dive into the world of unusual Warsaw museums you know where to go!
Written by Marek Kępa, Sep 21