Warsaw Uprising Veterans Association

What to expect

The Warsaw Uprising Veterans Association at ul. Długa 22 is not a museum in the formal sense, but a veterans’ headquarters with a professional permanent exhibition. “Warsaw Uprising 1944: Yearning for Freedom” - opened in November 2022 and designed by Dom Spotkan z Historia (curator: Agnieszka Mitkowska) - is an intimate, modern display that does exactly what the big museum cannot: it brings you close to individual people.

On the first floor, in a small hall, large-format iconic Uprising photographs and personal veteran memorabilia dominate - including the leather briefcase of General Zbigniew Ścibor-Rylski “Motyl”, the Association’s first president, who lived to 101. But it is the recorded video testimonies (with English subtitles) that make the deepest impression. The insurgents speak in their own words about what they lived through - not military strategy, but fear, hope, hunger and friends who did not survive.

The Association was founded on 30 November 1989 by 21 veterans. Its first president - General Ścibor-Rylski - led it for nearly 30 years, until his death in 2018. At its peak the Association had around 2,800 members; in 2024 approximately 400 veterans were still alive. Current president (since October 2025): Janusz Maksymowicz.

The building stands directly next to the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Plac Krasińskich - one of the most eloquent memorials in Warsaw. That is no coincidence: the Association and the monument form a shared space of remembrance.

Tips

• Seasonal hours. November-April: Tue-Fri 10:00-16:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-16:00. May-October: Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 12:00-18:00. Closed Mondays.
• Free entry - always.
• Exhibition on the 1st floor - lift access available.
• Video testimonies have English subtitles - the exhibition is accessible to international visitors.
• Do not confuse with the Warsaw Uprising Museum (79 Grzybowska Street) - that is a separate, large institution. The Association is the veterans’ own organisation with its own intimate exhibition.
• A visit takes 30-40 minutes.

Getting there

Bus: Lines 180, 503 - Plac Krasińskich stop, right next to the building.

Metro: Ratusz Arsenał (M1) - 500 m south, 5-7 minutes walk along ul. Długa.

Tram: Lines 4, 13, 20, 23, 26 - Arsenał stop, 5 minutes walk north.

By car: Limited parking near the Old Town. Underground car park beneath Plac Krasińskich.

Nearby museums

Ul. Długa and the Old Town surroundings form one of Warsaw’s richest museum clusters. On Długa itself: Archaeological Museum (no. 52 - in the former Arsenal). Within 10 minutes walk: Royal Castle (Castle Square, 600 m), Museum of Warsaw (Old Town Market Square, 500 m), Marie Curie Museum (16 Freta Street, 400 m north), Barbakan (300 m).