The 10 Best History Museums in Central Poland, Poland

The Royal Castle in Warsaw (Polish: Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a castle residency that formerly served throughout the centuries as the official residence of the Polish monarchs. Initially the complex served as the residence of the Dukes of Masovia, and since the sixteenth century, the seat of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: the King and Parliament. In its long history the Royal Castle was repeatedly plundered and devastated by the invading Swedish, Brandenburgian, Prussian and Tsarist armies. Burned and looted by the Nazi Germans following the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and almost completely destroyed in 1944 after the failed Warsaw Uprising, the Castle was completely rebuilt and reconstructed. Reconstruction of the castle carried out in 1971–1984 was led by the Civic Committee, responsible for the reconstruction of Warsaw. In 1980, the Royal Castle, together with the Old Town was registered as a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is the first and only museum dedicated to restoring the memory of the civilization created by Polish Jews in the course of a millennium.Museum's building faces the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in Warsaw. The Museum completes the memorial complex. At the monument, we honor those who perished by remembering how they died. At the museum, we honor them, and those who came before and after, by remembering how they lived. As a museum of life, POLIN Museum engages with the present and opens out to the future. As an educational and cultural institution, the museum is dedicated to stimulating dialogue in the spirit of mutual understanding and respect. Museum's core exhibition is a journey through the 1000-year history of Polish Jews. Enter this theater of history where the story unfolds in acts and scenes as you walk. Immerse yourself in the story. Encounter those who lived in each period - their words are quoted throughout the exhibition. Enter the scene - a salon, tavern, home, church, synagogue, or schoolroom. There are surprises in drawers you can open, screens and objects you can touch, and much that you can see - artifacts, photographs, documents, and films. Each visit to the museum will be different. There will always be something new to inspire you!

This museum is a memorial to the thousands of Polish reserve officers killed by the Soviets and buried in the Russian forest of Katyn.

The Warsaw Rising Museum was opened on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of fighting in Warsaw. The Museum is a tribute of Warsaw’s residents to those who fought and died for independent Poland and its free capital. The exhibition depicts fighting and everyday life during the Rising, keeping occupation terror in the background. Complexity of the international situation at the time of the Rising is portrayed, including the post-war years of the Communist regime and the fate of Insurgents in the People’s Republic of Poland (PRL). With the total area of more than 3000 m2, 800 exhibition items, approximately 1500 photographs, films and sound recordings, history of the days preceding the Rising is told. Visitors are guided through the subsequent stages of the Rising until the time when the Insurgents left Warsaw. Their further fate is also portrayed.