Wola Museum

What to expect

The Wola Museum occupies the Sikorski Palace - a neo-Renaissance building from 1880, constructed by sculptor Aleksander Sikorski. A two-storey villa with a four-column portico, it looks like a miniature from another era, surrounded by office towers and skyscrapers of the business district. That contrast is the best metaphor for what the museum itself is about: a story of relentless transformation.

The permanent exhibition “Gabinet Wolski” (The Wola Study, free admission) is not a chronological survey but 15 thematic threads, each illuminating a different face of the district. From royal elections on the fields of Wola, through windmills and gardens of 19th-century Wola, the Jewish community (the district’s largest minority), the legendary Kercelak market, worker tenements - to the darkest chapter: the Wola Massacre of August 1944, when German forces murdered approximately 50,000 civilians in the first days of the Warsaw Uprising.

The collection numbers over 5,000 objects. Among them: Home Army artifacts from the “Chrobry II” battalion (documents, medals, helmets, sketches), pre-war photographs of Wola’s streets and factories, silver tableware from the Wysiadecki bequest, and film and propaganda posters. A separate thread devoted to the Women of Wola restores the memory of figures erased from textbooks.

Temporary exhibitions rotate regularly - this is the museum’s primary activity. Past shows have included Mary McCartney’s photography (the 2019 reopening), exhibitions on the 1905 revolution, and Alina Scholtz’s urban design projects (awarded the Mayor of Warsaw’s First Architectural Prize). Next opening: “Bez trzymanki: How the Bicycle Changes Warsaw” (from 29 May 2026). The museum has a cafe and souvenir shop.

Tips

• New exhibition “Bez trzymanki: How the Bicycle Changes Warsaw” - opening 29 May 2026. The museum reopens after a technical break.
• Standard hours: Tuesday-Friday 10:00-17:00, Thursday 11:00-19:00, Saturday-Sunday 11:00-18:00. Closed Mondays. Last entry 30 minutes before closing.
• Regular ticket 15 PLN, concession 10 PLN, family 30 PLN. Thursdays: 1 PLN. The Wola Study (permanent exhibition) is always free.
• Visitors with disabilities + carer - free entry.
• Guided tours: 80 PLN (Polish), 120 PLN (English). Museum lessons 100 PLN.
• Museum Night (May) - the museum participates regularly.
• Exhibition texts in Polish and English. No audioguide.
• Closed: Dec 24-26, Dec 31, Jan 1, Easter, Nov 1, Nov 11.

Getting there

Tram: Lines 7, 9, 22, 24, 25 - Srebrna or Rondo Daszyńskiego stop, 3-5 minutes walk.

Metro: Rondo Daszyńskiego (M2) - 5 minutes walk south along ul. Towarowa/Srebrna.

Bus: Lines 102, 105, 159, 171 - Srebrna stop.

By car: Limited street parking in the area. Nearest car park at the shopping centre on Towarowa.

In the neighbourhood

The Wola Museum sits in a rapidly changing district, at the junction of old fabric and new business. Within Wola: Warsaw Uprising Museum (79 Grzybowska Street, 1.2 km - the main Uprising museum), Norblin Museum (51/53 Żelazna Street, 1 km - in the former silver factory). A little further: Father Popiełuszko Museum (2 Hozjusza Street, 2 km north) and the Korczakianum Documentation Centre (6 Jaktorowska Street, 1 km north) in the historic Orphans’ Home building.