Muzeum Karykatury im. Eryka Lipińskiego

What to Expect

On the narrow Kozia Street, a hundred meters from Castle Square, stands a small 18th-century orangery that once belonged to the Primate’s Palace. Easy to walk past. Inside is one of approximately 50 caricature museums in the world — and the only one in Poland. Over 25,000 works, from Hogarth and Daumier to Poland’s leading contemporary satirists. Three centuries of satire on paper.

The museum has no permanent exhibition — the building is too small. Instead: 5-9 temporary exhibitions per year, drawn in rotation from the collection. This means every visit is different. Monographic shows (single-artist retrospectives), thematic exhibitions (political satire, social commentary), competition showcases. Labels in Polish and English.

The collection spans from 18th-century engravings to today’s editorial cartoons. You’ll find works by William Hogarth (the father of sequential visual narrative), Honoré Daumier (the French master of satire), Roland Topor, and among Polish artists — Maja Berezowska, Zbigniew Lengren (creator of the iconic Filutek comic character), Sławomir Mrożek, Jerzy Flisak, Andrzej Mleczko. And, of course, Eryk Lipiński himself, the museum’s founder.

The interior is intimate — you stand nose-to-nose with the drawings, not in a vast gallery. Quiet, unhurried, a handful of visitors. The antithesis of a blockbuster museum. In this format, caricatures work best — each piece demands a moment of attention for the joke or the message to land.

Since 2022, there’s also Lengrenówka at Brzozowa 6/8a — the former studio and apartment of Zbigniew Lengren. Workshops, educational programs, small exhibitions. Entry 2 PLN. A separate visit, but worth the detour if you’re interested in the creative process.

Tips

• Free admission every Tuesday. But guided tours are not available on Tuesdays.
• Thursday is late night. Open until 20:00 (starts at 12:00) — good for an evening visit.
• Check what’s currently showing. There is no permanent exhibition — your experience depends entirely on the current temporary show. Check the website or Facebook before visiting.
• Combine with Old Town. The museum is steps from Castle Square, the Royal Castle, and the Old Town Market Square. A natural stop on an Old Town walking tour.
• Group guided tours are excellent value. 150 PLN per group in Polish, 200 PLN in English (not per person — per group, plus individual tickets). At 5+ people, this is a bargain for deeper context.
• Family ticket 35 PLN (2 adults + up to 3 children). Large Family Card: 7 PLN per person. Preschoolers: 1 PLN.
• Lengrenówka is a separate visit. Ul. Brzozowa 6/8a, 2 PLN. Lengren’s studio, workshops, small exhibitions. Combined ticket: 16 PLN.
• The building has accessibility limitations. Two steps at the entrance, no elevator, lower hall accessible only by stairs. Wheelchair users can view the ground floor with staff assistance.
• Small space, quick visit. 45-60 minutes is enough for a thorough look. Don’t plan a half-day.
• Cultural context helps. Knowledge of Polish history and politics enriches the experience — much of the satire references Polish realities. But the visual humor of caricature is universal, and the best pieces transcend language entirely.

Getting There

Metro: Ratusz-Arsenał (M1 line) — about 600 meters, 8-10 minutes on foot heading south via Senatorska or Miodowa streets.

Tram: Stare Miasto stop (Trasa W-Z / Solidarności) — lines 4, 13, 20, 23, 26. From there, 5-7 minutes south.

Bus: Plac Zamkowy stop — lines 116, 128, 175, 178, 180, 222, 503, 518. From there, 3-5 minutes.

Walking: From Castle Square — 3-4 minutes northwest via Świętojańska or Piwna. From Krakowskie Przedmieście — 10 minutes. The museum is 250 meters from the Royal Castle.

Nearby Museums

Background

The Museum of Caricature is the work of one man — Eryk Lipiński (1908-1991). Caricaturist, satirist, graphic designer, journalist, poster artist, scenographer, cabaret writer. In 1935, at 27, he co-founded the satirical weekly Szpilki — Poland’s most important satirical publication of the 20th century, which ran until 1995. During the war, he participated in the resistance, producing forged documents. He was imprisoned at Pawiak and Mokotów prisons. He survived Auschwitz. In 1991, Yad Vashem recognized him as Righteous Among the Nations for saving Jewish lives during the Holocaust.

From the early 1960s, Lipiński collected satirical drawings — purchasing with his own money, persuading artists and their families to donate. His vision: a museum dedicated to caricature. First attempt: at the National Museum. Failed. Second: at the Warsaw Historical Museum. Also failed. It was only in 1978, with the support of Janusz Odrowąż-Pieniążek, director of the Museum of Literature, that the Caricature Museum was established as a department of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature. Date: September 15, 1978.

For five years, the museum had no home of its own. Exhibitions were held at the Museum of Literature and in the gallery of Szpilki magazine. The inaugural exhibition — “Warsaw in Caricature — from Wars and Sawa to the Łazienkowska Route” — opened in January 1980. In 1983, Lipiński found an abandoned 18th-century orangery of the Primate’s Palace on Kozia 11, fought through the bureaucracy, and after renovation opened it as the museum’s permanent home. October 27, 1983 — first exhibition in the new space. By the end of that year, the collection numbered approximately 2,500 objects.

Lipiński died in 1991. The museum continued his mission — today the collection exceeds 25,000 works. In 2002, the museum was officially named after him. In 2015, The Guardian placed it on its list of “10 Best Museums in Europe You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.” In 2022, Lengrenówka opened — an educational-artistic space in the former studio of Zbigniew Lengren, creator of the beloved Filutek comic character, at Brzozowa 6/8a.

One of the few museums in Warsaw created from the passion of a single individual, and one that still lives by his vision — satire as a tool of resistance, truth, and laughter, all at once.