History

The Palace of Culture and Science was erected in the years 1952-1955 on a vast area within the following streets: Marszałkowska, Aleje Jerozolimskie, Emilii Plater, Świętokrzyska, filled before the war with compact tenement houses. Despite the fact that this area was significantly destroyed at the end of World War II, the preparation of the site for construction required the demolition of about 80 buildings and the leveling of 6 sections of pre-war streets (Chmielna, Złota, Sienna, Śliska, Wielka, Zielna). It is assumed that the originator of the construction of the building was Joseph Stalin himself. According to the agreement signed on 5 April 1952, the building was to be erected entirely with the forces and funds from the USSR, as a gift from the "brotherly nation", but in practice it was an act of political domination and a symbol of the communist ideology operating in architecture and art with the aesthetics of socialist realism.

Models of this type of socialist "skyscraper" should be sought in Moscow skyscrapers erected in the 40s and 50s of the twentieth century, and the closest architectural analogy is the building of the Lomonosov Moscow University. The Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science was designed by a team of specialists under the direction of Lev Rudnev, which also included Alexander Velikanov, Igor Rozhyn, Alexander Khryakov, V. N. Nasonov, and the construction was supervised by engineer Georgi Karavaev. The design work was preceded by a scientific tour of Poland, the aim of which was to identify the characteristic elements of the country's architectural heritage, in accordance with the assumption that the project was to be socialist in content and national in form. The building was designed in Moscow, and a special model in the scale of 1:100 was also developed there, enabling the artistic creation of architectural details. The plenipotentiary of the Polish government for the construction of the Palace was the chief architect of Warsaw and head of the Warsaw Reconstruction Office, Józef Sigalin.

The construction of the facility began symbolically on May 1, 1952, and the actual works began a day later. It was agreed that the investment was to be financed from Soviet funds and materials from the USSR, except for those whose value was lower than the transport costs supplied from Polish (m.in. brick, plaster, stone). In addition to 3500 Soviet workers, 4000 Polish workers took part in the construction of the building. At the beginning, the investment required earthworks on a large scale to prepare the site for construction. This stage of work took three months, during which about 350,000 cubic meters of rubble were removed. Due to the propaganda dimension of the investment, the pace of work was impressive. In the period from 21 July to 4 October, the foundations were poured, by 8 October 1953 the construction was completed to the height of the 34th floor, and on 7 November the completion of the construction of the steel structure with the spire and the dome of the Congress Hall was announced. Until mid-July 1955, finishing and arrangement works were carried out. The protocol of handing over the Palace of Culture and Science was signed on 21 July 1955 by the USSR Ambassador Penteleimon Ponamarienko and the Prime Minister of the Polish People's Republic Józef Cyrankiewicz. On the same day, the building was made available to users and visitors.

Due to the propaganda nature of the investment, the public was meticulously provided with data proving its momentum. According to official statistics, m.in 46 million bricks, 80 thousand cubic meters of concrete and reinforced concrete, and 46 thousand tons of steel were used to build the building. Finally, the building reached a height of 230.58 meters with the spire (currently 237 meters with the antenna bracket) and consisted of 44 full floors, 2 basement floors and 3288 rooms with a total area of 123 thousand square meters. The functional program of the building, in addition to representative and office rooms, has m.in been enriched with theater, cinema, conference, restaurant, auditorium, reading rooms, a swimming pool, a museum, and an observation deck. The first users of the building were cultural institutions: the Theatre of the Polish Army House, the "Lalka" Theatre and the Museum of Technology of the Polish Technical Organisation, in 1955 the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Social Sciences and the Evening University of Marxism and Leninism began operating in the building. Over time, the Palace has witnessed numerous events of historical significance and hosted a number of figures from the world of culture, art and politics. Even before the opening, the building was visited by Nikita Khrushchev, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, and in 1961 he hosted Yuri Gagarin. In 1955, a great festival of the World Festival of Youth and Students took place in front of the palace, and on October 27, 1956, a political rally was organized on the Parade Square with the participation of Władysław Gomułka and 400,000 inhabitants of Warsaw. The Congress Hall hosted such celebrities as: Ives Montand, Paul Anka, Marlene Dietrich, Gilbert Becault, Ella Fitzgerald with Oskar Peterson's band, The Rolling Stones, Mirelle Mathieu, Eric Clapton, Dalida, Elthon John and many others. The most outstanding stage artists and several generations of actors worked on the stage of theatres. The palace hosted numerous exhibitions, congresses, conferences and political conventions. In 2000, to commemorate the millennium, the second largest tower clock in Europe was installed at the top of the Palace.

Description

The main element of the building is the central tower with four lower corner annexes, topped with a spire, located on a large base with four corner wings. The complex is complemented by a semicircular body of the Congress Hall, located on the west side. The building was founded on a reinforced concrete slab, the core of the building is a steel structure, the ceilings were made of prefabricated reinforced concrete slabs. The façades were faced with ceramic cladding and varied, classical architectural details and allegorical figures, symbolizing the virtues of Marxism-Leninism. An important element of the architectural decoration of the façade are the attic finials of the main parts of the building, referring to the Renaissance attics of Lublin. The concept of the building was complemented by a carefully arranged environment, diversified by such elements as monuments to Copernicus and Mickiewicz by Polish artists Stanisław Horno-Popławski and Ludwika Nitschowa, fountains with a dolphin motif, obelisks stylized as Egyptian ones, lanterns-candelabra, retaining walls, flower beds, extensive terraces and a meeting area on the eastern side with a free-standing rostrum hiding a lounge for dignitaries inside.

The interiors of the building are decorated with an extraordinary wealth of forms, materials and craftsmanship. Individual parts of the building have been differentiated by stylistic, material and aesthetic solutions. For better orientation, the most representative interiors were given individual names (e.g. Marble Hall, Town Hall Hall, Gagarin Hall, Rudniewa Hall). The rooms were decorated with floors made of, m.in, granite and marble, tile parquets made of noble types of wood. The walls are decorated with wainscoting, stone cladding, marbling, wall paintings, bas-reliefs (m.in. the allegory of "Marxist Peace Bringing Life to People" by Georgi Ivanovich Motovilov). Communication is provided by high-speed elevators and several staircases of various forms, with railings made of stone, steel and wood. Throughout the building there is individually designed lighting made of hand-formed glass, crystal, porcelain, brass, bronze, forged steel (chandeliers, wall lamps, free-standing candelabra, plafonds, illuminated coffers, lanterns). The ceilings were diversified with carefully made entablatures, coffers, stuccos and facets. The building's décor is complemented by a rich set of utility furniture designed specifically for the needs of the building and the institutions located inside, as well as various forms of door joinery framed in architectural portals and bands. The spatial structure of the building is diversified by such elements as galleries, vestibules, balconies, colonnades, and various structures of representative staircases. The building also has examples of original technical solutions, such as the original ventilation and heating system.

Prepared by NID