Muzeum Rzeźby im. Xawerego Dunikowskiego w Królikarni

What to expect

Królikarnia is a small Palladian palace on a hill above the Vistula escarpment, surrounded by an English landscape park full of sculptures. If Łazienki is the royal park with the crowds, Królikarnia is its quieter, more intimate cousin - less known, less visited, and for precisely that reason worth discovering.

The palace is tiny - just a few exhibition rooms, don’t expect a full-day outing. But those few rooms house Poland’s largest sculpture collection: from the 15th century to the present, across four main collections. The heart of the museum is the Xawery Dunikowski collection - over 500 sculptures, 108 paintings, and hundreds of drawings by Poland’s most important 20th-century sculptor. A man who survived Auschwitz (prisoner number 774) and returned to creating after liberation - his cycle of Auschwitz paintings is among the most harrowing artistic testimonies of the camps.

But the real highlight is the Sculpture Park - an open-air gallery from dawn to dusk, year-round, free of charge. Sculptures sit on low plinths or directly on the grass, many of them touchable - excellent for children and blind visitors. Walking among the works under old trees on the Vistula escarpment is one of the best free cultural experiences in Warsaw.

Tips

• The Sculpture Park is free. Dawn to dusk, every day. Even if you don’t plan on entering the palace, the park alone is worth the visit.
• Friday after 17:00 - 50% off palace tickets, until 20:00. The best time to visit.
• No elevator or ramps. The palace is a historic building - entry requires climbing several steps, and there are stairs between floors inside. Wheelchair users can explore the upper Sculpture Park terrace, but the palace is not accessible.
• Strollers - leave them outside. You can’t take a stroller into the palace. In the park - yes, though the surface is uneven in places.
• Cafe and bookshop inside the palace - the bookshop stocks English-language art books. Coffee with a view of the park is a good way to start or end your visit.
• Study storage tours - the museum offers behind-the-scenes tours of 20th and 21st century sculpture storage. Dates on the website - booking required.
• Best season: spring/summer. In winter, some park sculptures are covered for frost protection and the park loses its charm.

Getting there

Tram: Królikarnia stop - lines 4, 10, 14, 18, 31, 35. About 50 meters from the park entrance. Note on line 18: it has two stops named “Królikarnia” - coming from the center, get off at the first one.

Bus: Lines 210, 218, N37 - Królikarnia stop.

Metro: Wierzbno station (M1) - about 800 meters south along Puławska, 10-minute walk.

Bicycle: Good cycling connections along Puławska. Veturilo (Warsaw city bike) stations nearby.

By car: Street parking along Puławska and Woronicza. Designated disabled parking spaces near the entrance. Limited availability - public transport recommended.

From the tram stop to the palace: 5-10 minute walk through the park (wide asphalt paths, uneven in places). The palace sits on a hilltop.

Background

The name “Królikarnia” comes from the rabbit warren (królikarnia = rabbit house) that King Augustus II the Strong established here in the 18th century. In 1778, the estate was acquired by Charles Thomatis, Count de Valery - a theatre entrepreneur and chamberlain to King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Thomatis had a colorful reputation - historical sources describe the entertainments he organized for the king rather diplomatically.

The palace was built in 1782-1786 to a design by Domenico Merlini, the royal architect (the same man who designed major elements of Łazienki Palace). The model was Andrea Palladio’s Villa Rotonda near Vicenza - hence the compact, symmetrical form with a central rotunda.

Through the 19th century the palace passed through various hands: the Radziwiłł family, the Puslowski family. In 1879, a fire partially destroyed the building - architect Józef Huss rebuilt it, a pioneering achievement in Polish historic preservation. In 1939, the palace was damaged by German bombardment, and in 1944-45 it was completely destroyed.

The decision to rebuild came in 1948 - the palace was to house the sculpture collection of Xawery Dunikowski, who donated 151 sculptures, 20 paintings, and 25 drawings to the Polish state. For several years, Królikarnia served as his studio and residence. After Dunikowski’s death in 1964, the museum opened in 1965 as a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw.