National Museum in Warsaw

The museum houses a magnificent collection of over 830,000 exhibits from all periods, from antiquity to the present. Masterpieces of Polish and world art are presented in themed galleries.

The first of these is the Gallery of Ancient Art, which contains almost 2,000 exhibits from the period between the 8th millennium BC and the 5th century AD. Exhibits from Egypt include a sarcophagus with a mummy of a woman, and a 10-metre papyrus of the Book of the Dead. A rich collection of vases from ancient Greece is also on display, as well as the ancient civilisations of the Middle East and Rome being represented.

In the Faras Gallery you can see the largest collection of Nubian artefacts in Europe from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries, including a unique collection of wall paintings. They come from the flooded Christian cathedral at Faras in Sudan and depict divinities, dignitaries and saints.

Authentic 15th-century altars from various regions of Poland, Gothic sculptures and paintings for private prayer houses can be seen in the Gallery of Medieval Art. If you want to understand the role of art in the past, this is the place for you.

In the Gallery of Old Art, you will be transported to an era when painting and sculpture functioned on a par with crafts. Next to paintings and sculptures, you will see beautifully decorated furniture, fabrics and dishes, and even the coat and coronation insignia of the King Augustus III.

In the Art Gallery of the 19th century you will delight at the most outstanding works of Polish artists shown in the context of European works. One of the highlights is Jan Matejko’s Battle of Grunwald. It is the largest Polish painting, and its canvas covers nearly 40 m2 (4.26 x 9.87m).

The Polish Design Gallery exhibits furniture, textiles and household appliances, including models of TV and radio sets that were once popular.

Do not miss the interesting temporary exhibitions that are organised regularly in the museum.