The Secret Chambers of Poland's Communist Regime

The Secret Chambers of Poland's Communist Regime

October 2, 2026 - January 17, 2027

Every castle holds a secret. For years, little was said about the luxurious apartments at the Royal Castle in Warsaw that were intended for foreign guests of the communist authorities. Although the project was never realized, its history reveals much about the political ambitions of Edward Gierek’s government. It also sheds light on the competing visions for the future of the Castle - a building of immense importance to Poles, which at the time was being rebuilt from the ruins of the war. Today, we tell the story of this little-known episode through an exhibition.

Who Is This Castle For?

The 1970s - the Royal Castle rises once again on its historic foundations. It is to become a museum of Polish history and culture, ready to welcome thousands, even millions, of visitors. Yet some of its interiors are being designed for a very different kind of guest.

State reception rooms, banquet halls, marble bathrooms, dressing rooms, kitchens, cold-storage rooms, elevators, and extensive service facilities are intended for the highest-ranking dignitaries visiting the Polish People’s Republic (PRL).

Clashing Perspectives

This idea conflicts with the vision championed by the circle around Professors Stanisław Lorentz, Jan Zachwatowicz, and Aleksander Gieysztor, who had been campaigning for the Castle’s restoration for years.

For five years, competing visions emerge over how to use a place that is such an important symbol of Polish history and statehood: should it serve everyone, or only a select few?

Outside the Castle walls, however, an economic and political crisis deepens. As a result, the authorities ultimately abandon the idea, and not a single VIP ever crosses the threshold of the exclusive interiors.

What You’ll see

Today, we recreate a fragment of a project abandoned decades ago. Spaces once intended as a luxury enclave for a select few will be arranged according to surviving designs and purchase records.

Furniture, lamps, fabrics, art glass, and decorative objects, scattered for years across the Castle's storerooms and offices, will return to the context for which they were selected.

The exhibition will also feature photographs by Chris Niedenthal, one of Europe's most distinguished photojournalists, who documented life in Poland in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They show the Castle during its reconstruction - still unfinished, filled with people absorbed in their work. Most of these images have never been published before.

Step inside the apartments, meticulously arranged for guests who never arrived.