Walk in Warsaw: Royal Route
Museum of History, Market Square / Shutterstock
History Museum
The museum, founded in 1936, first took up 3 townhouses on the Old Town Square - Baryczkowska, Kleinpolowska and Pod Murzynkiem. It now takes up 11 buildings - the whole northern side of the square. In recent years it has been transformed from being rather old-fashioned into quite a modern museum with much to offer both younger and older guests. The museum takes part in large cultural events - science picnics, museum nights or the Science Festival, organises University of the 3rd age lectures and museum lectures which have no relation to boring history lessons. The collection is split into 13 departments, presenting archaeological findings, medals and coins and works of art. There is a separate department involved in documenting and presenting the history of Warsaw in the war and the history of Solidarity. Among the exhibits are mostly objects related to Warsaw in the broadest sense. Apart from paintings and photographs showing the fortunes of the capitaląs buildings, streets and squares, we can also find titbits, like branded boxes from 19th century Warsaw shops, bits and bobs from people's homes, pre-war ladies' bags, dresses and fans, old banknotes, stamps and all sorts of other interesting stuff. A cinema was installed in May 2011, where you can watch documentaries about the history of the capital as well as 19th century advertisements or the history of Warsaw postcards.
The Warsaw History Museum has many branches and the most famous is the Warsaw Uprising Museum. A little less popular among tourists are the following; The Warsaw Museum of Printing, The Antonina Leśniewska Pharmacological Museum, the Wola Museum, the Palmira National memorial museum, the museum of the Military Ordinariate and the Korczakianum Centre for Documentation and Research. At present the Museum of Warsaw Praga is under construction.