Żyjnia (Lifery), BWA Wroclaw

What to expect

Żyjnia BWA Wroclaw (Lifery) is a gallery you come to not only to look but also to rest: an urban sanatorium on ul. Świdnicka, open to everyone and inspired by the old spas and pump rooms of Lower Silesia. It is run by BWA Wroclaw, a municipal cultural institution with four contemporary art galleries, and admission is free.

After two years of rebuilding, the gallery reopened as Żyjnia on 23 January 2026, and today it takes up its whole space rather than a single chamber as before. It shows an exhibition-situation laid out over twelve months: works are added with each season, some have been here since the start of the year, and some will stay for good.

This is a place to use, not just to look at. According to tuwroclaw.com in June 2026, you can touch almost all the exhibits, bring your own food and heat it on a hob or in a microwave, and pour yourself water in a zone called “Pojnia” (the Drinkery). The gallery adds that you can have water or something hot to drink here, and that you are welcome with a dog.

In 2020 Wallpaper*, writing about the first Żyjnia, described “one part nonprofit art gallery and two parts social hangout with a hint of a spa”, an odd hybrid that works. Visitors give it 4.8 out of 5 on Google Maps from 176 reviews (read on 4 November 2026).

Who it suits: anyone in the city centre who needs a break from the city, families who want their child to be able to touch the works, and dog owners. Also wheelchair users: the gallery has a platform lift to the first floor and two accessible toilets.

Who should skip it: if you want to see a classic collection of painting and sculpture, you will do better at the National Museum in Wroclaw . Żyjnia is a single exhibition in which experiencing art with the senses, and resting, matter more than a list of works.

How long: about 45 minutes is enough for the visit itself; that is how long the visits lasted that the gallery took bookings for on its opening weekend. If you come to rest, sit over a cup of tea or eat, stay longer.

Tips

• After work on a weekday. From Wednesday to Friday the gallery is open into the evening (on Wednesdays 12:00-20:00, the same on Thursdays and Fridays), so it suits a break after work; closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Not at the last minute. Last entry is shortly before closing; details are in the practical box.
• Holidays. The holidays on which Żyjnia is closed are in the practical box.
• Two entrances. You can enter from ul. Świdnicka (the door is not automatic, there is a video intercom on the left, and a member of staff is always nearby) or from ul. Szewska (video intercom on the right). You can get in only during opening hours, except for special events such as openings and lectures.
• Bring something to eat. You can heat up your own meal on site and pour yourself water in the “Pojnia”; a good reason to plan a lunch break here.
• Photos allowed. Photography and filming are allowed for non-commercial purposes.
• Accessibility. The gallery is accessible to people with reduced mobility: it has a platform lift to the first floor and two accessible toilets. There is a desk induction loop at the reception and a Totupoint beacon above the door on Świdnicka.
• With a larger group. Before coming with a larger group, the gallery asks you to check the education tab on its website and get in touch.

Getting there

• Address: ul. Świdnicka 2-4, 50-067 Wrocław; a second entrance from ul. Szewska.
• Tram: according to the timetable in the open data of Wroclaw City Hall (Urząd Miejski Wrocławia), the nearest stop is “Oławska”, about 58 m from the gallery (tram 7). About 136 m away is “Świdnicka” (trams 3, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 18), and within about 260 m there are also “Świdnicka (Dom Europy)” (trams 7 and 18) and “Zamkowa” (trams 3, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 18).
• Bus: the express line K runs from the “Świdnicka” stop (about 136 m).
• By car: behind the building, at ul. Szewska 6, there are three parking spaces for people with disabilities; there are paid car parks nearby at ul. Szewska 3a and ul. Łaciarska 1.

Background

The interior where you rest today draws on the spas and pump rooms of Lower Silesia, and the idea behind it is older than the present gallery. The first Żyjnia, designed by the Wroclaw firm BUCK.Studio, opened in 2019 as a separate chamber in the Dizajn BWA Wrocław gallery; Bryła.pl gave the opening date as 4 May 2019. The curator is Katarzyna Roj.

The chamber operated until 2023; after two years of rebuilding, Żyjnia took over the whole gallery in January 2026. In an interview with culture.pl in May 2025, Katarzyna Roj announced a next incarnation of Żyjnia in BWA’s new headquarters on ul. Kolejowa, in a post-industrial hall under renovation; that was an announcement, and the gallery’s current pages show Żyjnia on ul. Świdnicka.

BWA Wroclaw, which runs Żyjnia, was established on 1 January 1952 as the Wroclaw branch of the Central Bureau of Art Exhibitions (Centralne Biuro Wystaw Artystycznych) in Warsaw.