Chasing Daylight: The Palace Of Culture And Science

The Palace Of Culture And Science

0 Comments Published by Ryx on Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 9:17 PM.

If there is one landmark that would make me remember Warsaw for the rest of my life, it has to be the Palace of Culture and Science. Why? It's the first and last landmark that I saw when I was in Warsaw, Poland. This spectacular architecture is located just across Intercontinental Warszawa, the hotel where I stayed. I could spend hours just staring at its beauty before going to bed. Ü

Warsaw's beacon. Proudly challenging the high-rising buildings of Warsaw, the Palace of Culture and Science is a testament to the Poles' high regard to the arts and sciences, both modern and ancient.

According to Travel with Pascal: Poland (my ultimate handbook when I was in Poland; big thanks to my colleague Slawek Kierner for providing me this one!), the Palace of Culture and Science [Palac Kultury i Nauki] symbolizes the bygone era of Soviet denomination over Poland. Built between 1952 and 1955 as a gift from Joseph Stalin to the Polish nation, it was meant to replace the old "capitalist" city centre burned to the ground by the Germans. This gigantic example of socialist realism in architecture, locally referred to as Stalin's rocket, is 234 meters high of 30 floors and has 3288 rooms (say what? haha!); from the top you can enjoy a wide panorama of the city. The Palace also houses the Museum of Technology [Muzeum Techniki].

Philosophy in Poland. The Palace of Culture and Science is a favorite venue for many of Warsaw's events and conventions.

Beauty all over. Picturesque fountains line the Palace exteriors. I love fountains - moving water has some magical aura that gets me hooked all the time.

Palace guardians. Gigantic stone representations of different people heavily involved in the history of arts and sciences serve as quiet custodians of the palace.