Permanent Exhibition

The permanent exhibition of the Centrum Interpretacji Zabytku Stare Miasto, titled Destruction and Reconstruction of the Old Town, presents the fate of Warsaw's Old Town before, during and after the Second World War. It focuses on its reconstruction and its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The reconstruction of the Old Town began in 1949, and the solemn opening of the almost entirely rebuilt Old Town took place only five years later. UNESCO recognised this effort and the enthusiasm of the architects by inscribing Warsaw's Old Town on the World Heritage List in September 1980. It is the first item on the list to be a historical reconstruction. This was an expression of great respect and admiration for the Polish architects, conservators, historians and art historians who undertook a task without precedent in history: the reconstruction of a historic city centre that had been almost completely destroyed.

The visit begins with a fragment of the Old Town wall uncovered by archaeologists. Then, after a brief introduction to the history of Warsaw and the historical chronology of the Old Town, visitors can learn about the fate of the Old Town before the Second World War.

The next room presents materials showing wartime destruction. A very interesting element is the only colour photographs of the Warsaw Uprising, taken by Ewa Faryszewska. In the floor there is a model of the Old Town showing the area rebuilt after the war.

The third room contains photographs from successive stages of the reconstruction, supplemented with information about the Capital Reconstruction Bureau. The exhibition also shows photographs of the most important architects and their studios, and visitors can deepen their knowledge of the reconstruction and the people responsible for it using multimedia displays with maps, biographies, audio plays and archival films. In a small room next door there is an architect's studio staged with authentic objects.

The Centrum Interpretacji Zabytku is a unique museum that makes full use of modern technologies, and our exhibition combines traditional, static elements (boards, large-format photographs, plans and drawings) with dynamic elements using multimedia techniques (multimedia presentations, photo viewers, thematic animations).