Museums, Art & Music
Poland has a rich and diverse history of art and culture, which reflects the country’s complex past and its position at the crossroads of Europe.
In terms of visual arts, Poland has a long tradition of painting, sculpture, and architecture that dates back to the Middle Ages. Gothic churches and castles are a common sight in Poland, particularly in the southern region of Malopolska (Lesser Poland), which is home to some of the most well-preserved examples of medieval architecture in Europe. The country also has a long tradition of religious art, including icons, frescoes, and altarpieces.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, Poland also produced a number of notable painters and sculptors, including Stanislaw Wyspianski, Jacek Malczewski, and Olga Boznańska. The post-World War II period has seen a thriving art scene with many young artists having an international exposure.
Poland is also known for its rich folk culture, which includes music, dance, and traditional crafts. Folk music is an important part of the country’s cultural heritage, and it is played using a variety of traditional instruments, including the accordion, violin, and bagpipes. Traditional folk dances such as the krakowiak and the mazur are also popular in Poland.
Poland is also a home for various annual cultural events, such as the Wratislavia Cantans, an international music festival of sacred music, held in Wrocław, the Warsaw International Film Festival, held in the capital, or the Conrad Festival, an annual literature festival in Kraków.
In terms of literature, Poland has a long and rich history of writers, poets and playwrights. Poland’s most famous writer is Nobel prize-winner Czesław Miłosz, while Witold Gombrowicz, Jerzy Kosiński, Wisława Szymborska, Stanisław Lem, Ryszard Kapuściński are considered to be among the most prominent figures of 20th-century Polish literature.
In summary, Poland has a wide range of artistic and cultural heritage, rich in history and diversity, reflecting both its past and its contemporary society.
Numerous art galleries
The best way to understand the art & culture of Poland is to visit one of the many museums or art galleries you can find in the country. The Polish do love their museums and you’ll find an extraordinary number of them to explore. The first museum in Poland was created over 200 years ago and today, there are museums showcasing all kinds of collections with many having modern and interactive facilities.
Poland’s museums focus on a variety of subjects and come in all shapes and sizes. Some are dedicated to large collections and some focus on just one or two aspects of Polish culture & history.
Music is an important aspect of Polish art & culture as you would expect from the birthplace of Chopin. There are many superb venues to enjoy such as The Grand Theatre of Warsaw and The Polish National Opera. Polish classical music is also represented by composers like Karol Szymanowski, Mieczyslaw Karlowicz, Witold Lutoslawski, Wojciech Kilar, Henryk Mikolaj Gorecki, and Krzysztof Penderecki – all of whom rank among the world’s most celebrated composers.
Summer visitors to Lazienki Palace in Warsaw should not miss out on one of the famous Chopin concerts; which take place from May to September every Sunday at 12 noon and 4pm at the Chopin monument.
Poland’s numerous art galleries provide visitors with excellent collections of paintings, sculptures and handmade crafts such as pottery and provide a valued insight into the Art & Culture of Poland.
Traditional decorative arts can be found in gift shops all over the country such as painted eggs, Easter Palms, Zakopane style arts & crafts and ceramics.
Kraków is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Poland. Krakow has some of the best museums in the country and several famous theaters. It became the residence of two Polish Nobel laureates in literature: Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz, while a third Nobel laureate, the Yugoslav writer Ivo Andric also lived and studied there. It is also a home to one of the world’s oldest universities, the Jagiellonian University of Kraków.
Below you will find information about a few of our favourite museums in Poland.
Visit the Museum of Life Under Communism with this entry ticket to explore what Polish life looked like in the bygone era. See a living space from that time, an original telephone booth, and more.
The Museum is a modern institution of culture – it is a historical museum which presents the 1000 years of Jewish life in the Polish lands. It is also a place of meeting and dialogue among those who wish to explore the past and present Jewish culture, those eager to draw conclusions for the future from Polish-Jewish history, and finally those who are ready to face the stereotypes and oppose xenophobia and nationalistic prejudices that threaten today’s societies.
Copernicus Science Centre is a science museum standing on the bank of the Vistula River in Warsaw. It contains over 400 interactive exhibits that enable visitors to carry out experiments and discover the laws of science for themselves. The Centre is the largest institution of its type in Poland and one of the most advanced in Europe. In 2018, since its opening, it had been visited by over 8 million people. Within the museum is a Planetarium.
The National Museum in Kraków, popularly abbreviated as MNK, established in 1879,is the biggest museum in Poland and is the main branch of Poland’s National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections around the country. The Museum consists of 21 departments which are divided by art period; 11 galleries, 2 libraries, and 12 conservation workshops. It holds some 780,000 art objects, spanning from classical archaeology to modern art, with special focus on Polish painting.
The National Museum in Warsaw was originally founded in 1862 as the Museum of Fine Arts and is currently one of the oldest art museums in the country. Today, the National Museum in Warsaw boasts a collection numbering around 830,000 works of art from Poland and abroad, from ancient times to the present including paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, coins, as well as utilitarian objects and design.
The Warsaw Rising Museum was opened on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of fighting in Warsaw. The Museum is a tribute to Warsaw’s residents who fought and died for independent Poland and its free capital. The museum sponsors research into the history of the uprising, and the history and possessions of the Polish Underground State. It collects and maintains hundreds of artifacts ranging from weapons used by the insurgents to love letters to present a full picture of the people involved.
The mission of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum is to cultivate memory of the great composer and to make knowledge about his life and works available to the public. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum is responsible for the world’s largest collection of Chopiniana, an incredibly wide range of memorabilia linked to the composer’s life and work, numbering more than 7500 items. In 1999, part of the Chopin Museum’s collection was inscribed on UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World’ list of objects requiring special protection on account of their unique cultural value.
Forget for a time about your life here and now – enter Krakow as it was more than 70 years ago! Learn more about the war in the country where it started. Walk among the city’s inhabitants on the cobbled streets of wartime Kraków, feel overwhelmed by the omnipresent existence of the enemy. Enter narrow passages and overpopulated apartments in the ghetto, find weapons in a resistance house, feel the horror of being imprisoned and interrogated. Try to imagine your life in hiding and finally feel the bittersweet joy of being liberated by the Soviet army. With this ticket, you can also visit the famous ‘Eagle Pharmacy’, where you find an exhibition that commemorates the Holocaust of Jews from Krakow., as well as the Old Synagogue.
As a kid, you probably wondered what it was like to live a long time ago. Take a moment to find your inner curious child, because now you have the chance to do so! Take just a few steps down under the surface of the Main Market Square and find yourself in Kraków from centuries ago. Going down every step will take you back a century or two until you finally arrive at your destination: the beginnings of the city of Krakow. Go on a journey to a world long gone, where vampires existed alongside merchants, where salt was the best currency, and sacrifices were necessary when building a house. At the unique Main Market Square Underground Museum excavations and modern technology combine to create a spectacle of sensations.
Take a tour of the World War II Auschwitz-Birkenau complex on a 7-hour trip from Krakow. Travel by coach to the UNESCO World Heritage compound and explore the twin concentration camp with a licensed guide. Learn about the Nazi Holocaust and how the camps functioned. Explore the poignant exhibition halls, and see the barracks, gas chambers and other buildings at Auschwitz I. Then, view the watchtowers, crumbled buildings and memorials at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Your guide will explain everything you see with care and sensitivity.
Save time and money in Krakow with one pass for access to 39 museums and attractions. Choose from 2 or 3 days. See Oscar Schindler’s Factory, St. Mary’s Basilica, the Town Hall Tower, Eagle Pharmacy and lots more. Includes free public transport and airport transfers. Once you’ve redeemed your smartphone ticket at the DiscoverCracow Tourist Information Point, you’ll be good to go! Visit Oscar Schindler’s Factory, an interactive museum that covers the German occupation of Krakow in WWII, housed in Oskar Schindler’s former enamel factory. Head to the Underground Main Market Square Museum for an amazing glimpse at Krakow’s original paths and the walls from medieval streets and shops. See St. Mary’s Basilica, the Town Hall Tower, Pharmacy Under the Eagle, and lots more. As a bonus, while your 2 or 3-day pass is valid, you can also ride the city’s public transport for free, and get free transport to and from Krakow airport. If you want to make the most of your time in Krakow, this is your ticket!
Can you believe your eyes, or is it all a trick of the mind? Give your brain cells something fun to puzzle over, and take some amazing photos. This interactive museum is packed with dazzling illusions. Will you find the way out of the mirror maze? Stargaze through a giant telescope, brave a walk in a vortex tunnel full of spinning lights, and explore over 50 exhibits to pique your curiosity and get you pondering about time and space. Cosmos Museum is great fun in Warsaw for adults and kids alike – everything is interactive!
Learn about the Polish Underground State and the armed forces at the Home Army Museum in Krakow. Established in 2000, the museum commemorates one of the significant organizations in Polish history. The Home Army forces were estimated to have around 400.000 participants, which makes it the biggest Polish resistance movement and the third-largest in Europe during WWII. Discover how big impact the Home Army and the Polish Underground State had on Polish history and heritage. Learn about its origin and activity. Explore the Museum’s collection, supported by multimedia and see the soldiers’ artifacts and memorabilia.
Editor’s pick – Museums in Poland
Discover the highlights of the Lower Silesia region on an 8-hour private tour from Wroclaw. Visit the ornate 13th-century Ksiaz Castle and the Church of Peace in Swidnica.