Muzeum Politechniki Warszawskiej

What to expect

The Warsaw University of Technology Museum documents over 200 years of the institution’s history – from the Agronomic Institute of 1826, through the Tsar Nicholas II Polytechnic Institute, to the reborn Polish university in 1915 and its present-day campus. The collection numbers 3,000-6,000 objects depending on the source (the higher count includes documents and photographs).

The most compelling exhibits are vintage scientific instruments from the 19th and 20th centuries: Professor Mieczyslaw Wolfke’s electromagnet, goniometers, refractometers, theodolites, galvanometers, and arrays of ammeters and voltmeters. The star piece is the ANOPS-105 analogue-digital computer from 1967-1986, used for biomedical research on the brain and nervous system – only about 150 units were ever produced. A separate collection of slide rules will delight any engineer with nostalgia for the pre-calculator era.

Among archival treasures: the radio station from which Mayor Stefan Starzynski broadcast his appeals to Warsaw during the September 1939 defence, the first student-built microcomputer from the late 1970s, and original documents signed by Stanislaw Staszic and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz.

Note: Since October 2025, the exhibition halls are closed – the museum has relocated to the Building of the Institute of Heat Engineering at Nowowiejska 21/25. The office operates normally, and a 3D virtual tour is available on the museum website. Guided walks around the Main Building (focusing on university history and architecture) run 10:00-14:30 with registration one week in advance – an excellent alternative during the relocation period, especially as the university celebrates its bicentennial in 2025/2026.

The museum was founded in 1978 on the initiative of Rector Prof. Stanislaw Pasynkiewicz. From 2002 to 2020, it was housed in an annex of the historic 1920s Aerodynamics Building.

Tips

• Exhibition halls closed since October 2025 – contact the museum by email (muzeum@pw.edu.pl) or phone (22 234 74 93) before visiting to check current availability.
• Guided walks of the Main Building – 10:00-14:30, registration one week in advance. A worthwhile alternative during the relocation.
• Free entry.
• 3D virtual tour available on the museum website for remote viewing.
• Museum Night (May) – the museum participates with thematic exhibitions. In 2025, “Technology in Everyday Life” was on show.
• Website in Polish and English.

Getting there

Metro: Politechnika (M1) – 5 minutes walk.

Tram: Plac Politechniki or Nowowiejska stops (trams 10, 11, 33).

Bus: Lines 157, 159, 175 and many others stop near the Nowowiejska / Warynskiego junction.

Nearby museums

Geological Museum (4 Rakowiecka Street, entrance from Wisniowa, 15 min walk south) – minerals, fossils and Earth history, free entry. National Museum (3 Jerozolimskie Avenue, 15 min northeast) – Poland’s largest art museum.