A Palace, Plenty of Magenta & Some Pierogi: Culture.pl’s History in a Nutshell

The-Amazing-Land-of-Quarks-33.jpg, default, View from the exhibition "The Amazing Land of Quarks, Elephants and Pierogi," December 10, 2021, at the Polish Pavilion at EXPO 2020 in Dubai; photo:

lifestyle & opinion

heritage

‘Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words’ has become something of a cult book among readers curious about Polish culture. To mark Culture.pl’s 25th anniversary, we borrowed its method: 10 Polish words that tell the story of the website behind it.

Video embed

Exhibition "The Amazing Land of Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi"

Apsik (atchoo!): or a day at the editorial office

Stuk, stuk, klik (click, clack, tip, tap) – our writers tap rhythmically at their keyboards, capturing every thought that occurs to them.

Ech… (sigh) – our editors sigh, when they don’t entirely agree.

Och, ach! (oh, wow!) – we get excited by a new sculpture, a beautiful painting, an experimental choreography, an intriguing building, or pstryk (snap), snap a picture of an important moment.

Tik-tak (tick-tock) – we hear a deadline looming. But before it comes, we manage to – świst! (swoosh!) – send out a few more e-mails.

Klap! Klap! (clap, clap!) – a round of applause when we break another record with one of our articles.

Hmm… – we keep thinking about how to keep you coming back.

Uff, jak gorąco! (‘Phew – it’s so hot!’) – we quote the beloved Polish poet Julian Tuwim because the atmosphere in the office is always heated, even in winter! We brush off the difference in temperature with a loud ‘apsik’ (atchoo)!

Czas: time flies

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

llustration 'Czas' from the book 'Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words'; text: Mikołaj Gliński, Matthew Davies, Adam Żuławski; illustration and book design: Magdalena Burdzyńska; published by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, 2018; photo: Magdalena Burdzyńska/culture.pl

Picture image

czas-burdztnska-QEP.jpg

It was a rainy July in 2001, when the Adam Mickiewicz Institute opened a window – or should we say a browser window – into the world of Polish culture: visual arts, performance, dance, film, literature, music, architecture and design, all at the click of a button. Poland’s creative and talented artists and their work finally found their space – a place where we could examine them more closely – a knowledge base that has since come to be known as the Index of Artists and Works.

Preparations for the launch of what is now the largest online source of information on Polish culture took just three months. Andrzej Lubomirski was the founder and first editor-in-chief of Culture.pl, while the concept and structure of the website were developed in collaboration with Monika Rencławowicz. Today in 2026, we get to celebrate our 25th anniversary as an entire editorial office.

Czerwony: colour me inspired

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Still from the film 'Three Colours: Red', dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski

Picture image

trzy-kolory-czerwony-nz-Samuel-Lebihan-Irene-Jacob-rez-kieslowski-1994-fot-ng-collection-forum-0423467301.jpg

In the early years, we built trust using navy blue with an optimistic yellow accent. Later, we opted for the strength and credibility of brown. On our journey towards crisp white, we took a detour through vibrant magenta. The page itself went through many iterations and many colours (you can read more about that here), but we landed on a shade of red – a colour symbolising courage, passion, creativity and energy – in other words, everything we strive to inspire in our readers.

If you were ever wondering why our breakout book Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words delights with a beautiful bright pink cover, the answer is really quite simple: there is no colour more Polish than the combination of white and red, our national hues.

Dom: from house to home, to home office

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

The View From Home, illustration: Piotr Chuchla

Picture image

wokol_domu_strona_zamknieta_pl.png

The word dom in Polish means both a house, as in a building, as well as a home, as in family, warmth and togetherness. During the COVID pandemic, for us, it took on a new meaning. Our homes also became our offices, the venues for our weekly virtual editorial meetings. We logged in from various locations across Poland and around the world, and the customary ‘Good morning!’ or ‘Hi!’ was replaced by the question: ‘Can you hear me?’ Our discussions were interrupted by unstable internet connections, though these didn’t stop us from singing ‘Sto lat!’ in (sort of) unison to those celebrating their birthdays. And on our webcams – provided they weren’t broken – our pets made dramatic appearances alongside the team. Most often these were cats, who showed a greater desire for the limelight than other species – dogs waited patiently for the end of lockdown so they could once again sniff around the editorial office.

If you’d like to look back at the reality of the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of Polish photographers, check out our series ‘The View from Home’.

Język: a multilingual bunch

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Illustration by Magdalena Burdzyńska for the exhibition 'The Amazing World of Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi', first presented at Expo 2020 Dubai, photo: Culture.pl

Picture image

jezory_mburdzynska_dubaj.jpg

Culture.pl speaks a few languages. At first, a long time ago, when straight-up HTML still roamed the Earth, we mainly spoke Polish. In 2004, we became bilingual, writing in fluent British English as well. During the coming years, we opened up to Asian readers, which led to the regular publication of content in Korean, Japanese and Chinese (both traditional and simplified). In 2015, we launched a Russian-language version of the website, which was later closed down at the beginning of 2022. The Ukrainian Section was launched in April 2022 and has been going strong ever since. From its inception, Culture.pl has also featured articles covering cultural events organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, including those in Spain, Turkiye and France in their respective native languages.

Mapa: where is Culture.pl?

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Where is Poland?, photo: Culture.pl

Picture image

dunczyk.jpg

Culture.pl is taking the world by storm, and not only because we have loyal readers from all over the globe (you’re even reading us in Fiji, Greenland and Madagascar!). If you were to stick pins in a map marking the places from where our current and former colleagues come from or live, it would be covered in pins! From the United States, through the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Armenia and Japan, to New Zealand. Don’t worry, we’ve got plans to conquer space too – we just need to balance the budget first.

While we’re at it: do you know where Poland is? This multimedia guide will take you to a place that isn’t on any map!

Muzyka: music to our ears

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Stories from the Eastern West: A Culture.pl Podcast, photo: Culture.pl

Picture image

stories_season2_fb_cover_photo_coming_soon_clipped.png

We recorded podcasts before it was something that everybody seems to do. We entered the world of audio in 2017 with our English-language podcast Stories from the Eastern West, sharing little-known histories from Central & Eastern Europe that changed our world – its four seasons are available to listen to anywhere you get your podcasts! Two years later, we told the story of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the miniseries The Final Curtain. The year 2019 also saw Unseen – a series of audio walks that, over successive seasons, explored pre-war Warsaw, the Warsaw Uprising, and Jewish Warsaw.

We then took a breather, only to return to you in 2025 with the Polish-language FLIS, a podcast about music and listening. We began with Moniuszko and Chopin, but the podcast has since featured more contemporary artists as well, such as Jimek and Dagadana. And we’re continuing to record new episodes.

No worries, in our 25th year, we’re not slowing down! If you think that concrete or public toilets aren’t particularly appealing topics, you clearly haven’t heard our architecture podcast Teren zabudowany (Built-up Area). And that’s not all – keep an ear out for more upcoming shows!

Podróż: travels big & small

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Poles Far & Wide, photo: Culture.pl

Picture image

sladami_polakow_fb_3.png

Do you enjoy travelling? So do we, which is why we have a few travel tips for you:

For the determined: Poles Far & Wide is a journey on the Trans-Antarctic Railway through the glaciers of Antarctica, meeting 219 species of animals, lasting – with a Patek watch in hand – 207 years.

For the brave: a march across three continents with Polish culture and art at heart, alongside Artists in Arms.

For the inquisitive: in search of a lost manuscript, a dream city or a film that never was – in other words, Poland 1939: Interrupted Stories.

For photography enthusiasts: a hundred photographs and many more stories about people, change and memory in Metaphors of Independence.

For foodies: a Podlasie meadery, a Warsaw milk bar and a chocolate factory – watch our video series Slice of Poland.

Słowo: we give you our word

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

'Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words', photo: Culture.pl

Picture image

quarks-elephants-pierogi-okladka_flesz.jpg

High on the list of our favourite sayings are: the enthusiastic ‘We’ve got this!’, the cautionary ‘Just a reminder about the newsletter…’, and the irritating ‘It’s working for me’ (especially when it’s definitely not working for others’ computers). Sometimes we make typos and sometimes we slip-up which, over time, go from being embarrassing to legendary, such as the time groźba (threat) appeared instead of prośba (request) in an email…

There is, however, a word, which automatically makes us think about Culture.pl and that word is pierogi. Pierogi is what we affectionately call our book Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words, which is something of a love letter to the Polish language. This English-language publication, created by members of our editorial team, was released at the end of 2018. It is a spin-off from our first online series Poland: Word by Word, and was created to mark the centenary of Poland regaining its independence. Although the book was primarily aimed at an international audience (and has been available in Japanese since 2022), even Polish readers will find plenty of surprising information within its pages. It’s a rare find these days, but perhaps you’ll be lucky enough to get your hands on a copy?

Zamek: a castle or rather a palace

Picture display

standardowy (864px desktop)

Confectioners Palace in Warsaw, photo: Bartek Syta / IAM

Picture image

syt_5191_palacyk_cukrownikow_w_warszawie_.jpg

It’s really a tiny palace, but not just any palace, but the Confectioners Palace. It is in the confines of its beautiful courtyard that the Culture.pl editorial office was born. In the past 25 years, we have moved from floor to floor, into the annex, and even moved a few buildings (33/35 Mokotowska St.) or streets (41 Ujazdowskie St.) away. We’ve weathered the chaos of the renovations, even being attacked by an angry ceiling once. But we always come back to the Adam Mickiewicz Institute’s headquarters at the Confectioners Palace.

From this small palace, the editorial team still follows Polish culture in real time: awards, exhibitions, concerts, competitions, premieres and the occasional event that is impossible to classify until someone has written about it.

And if, whilst visiting our website, you happen to see an error message reading ‘and his name is 400 and 4’, don’t worry – it’s just Mickiewicz’s ghost messing around.

Originally written in Polish, Aug 2026, translated by NR, Sept 2026

Language English

Culture.pl at 25