Main courtyard of the National Museum
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Established | 20 May 1862 |
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Location |
Aleje Jerozolimskie 3, Warsaw, Poland |
Type | National museum |
Collections | Painting, Sculpture, Decorative arts |
Visitors | 540,138 (2015) |
Director | Agnieszka Morawińska |
Public transit access |
Tram: 7, 8, 9,22, 24, 25 116, 128, 195, 180, 222, 503 (Foksal) |
Website | www.mnw.art.pl |
Tram: 7, 8, 9,22, 24, 25
The National Museum in Warsaw (Polish: Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art (Egyptian, Greek, Roman), counting about 11,000 pieces, an extensive gallery of Polish painting since the 16th century and a collection of foreign painting (Italian, French, Flemish, Dutch, German and Russian) including some paintings from Adolf Hitler's private collection, ceded to the Museum by the American authorities in post-war Germany. The museum is also home to numismatic collections, a gallery of applied arts and a department of oriental art, with the largest collection of Chinese art in Poland, comprising some 5,000 objects.
The Museum boasts the Faras Gallery with Europe's largest collection of Nubian Christian art and the Gallery of Medieval Art with artefacts from all regions historically associated with Poland, supplemented by selected works created in other regions of Europe.
The National Museum in Warsaw was established on 20 May 1862, as the "Museum of Fine Arts, Warsaw", and in 1916 renamed "National Museum, Warsaw" (with the inclusion of collections from museums and cultural institutions such as the Society of Care for Relics of the Past, the Museum of Antiquity at Warsaw University, the Museum of the Society for Encouragement of the Fine Arts, and the Museum of Industry and Agriculture).