Pawiak Prison Museum
Pawiak Prison Museum
4
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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Plan your visit
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Muranów
How to get there
- Muranów • 9 min walk
- Ratusz Arsenał • 10 min walk
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2,859 within 3 miles
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613 within 6 miles
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4.0
273 reviews
Excellent
122
Very good
111
Average
32
Poor
2
Terrible
6
Roberts69
Northampton, UK18,987 contributions
Sept 2021
Pawiak was an interrogation prison located on Pawia Street, which it is named after. Built in the 1830's it was in use after WW1 and then during WW2 by the Nazi's. It is thought that around 37,000 prisoners were shot at Pawiak and many more went from here to concentration and forced labour camps. The Germans destroyed the prison in August 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising. Unfortunately the day I visited the museum was closed but it was still interesting and poignant to see the exterior, the yard, the old barbed wired gate and the 'Memorial Tree'.
Written 1 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kristinahensley559
Nampa, ID175 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
Great museum. We spent about 2 hours there looking at pictures and items collected from some of the prisoners. It is a very organized collection. $10.00 zloty for seniors. CASH only, no credit cards. You begin the tour seeing the prison cells, beds, tables etc. Then you go back the same way and there is a good sized room with pictures and items. Most displays include an English translation, otherwise I used Google Translate on my phone. Great visit, check out the tree outside the museum and the entrance gate with hanging fencing. You'll learn about their history inside.
Written 13 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zippy608
Gold Canyon, AZ2,077 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
The original prison was built in 1835. The Nazis used it as the largest political prison in Poland during the occupation of Warsaw in World War II. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 120,000 prisoners passed through Pawiak, mostly members of the underground resistance army and other political prisoners. Approx. 37,000 prisoners were executed and another 60,000 were sent to concentration camps in Germany and Poland.
Very little of the original prison remains. A small part of the building where the museum is located is original and the rest was reconstructed. Part of the original front gate still stands as well. The museum has lots of photos, some of them quite gruesome, such as executions. There are also lots of artifacts including the belongings of the prisoners. There is a section devoted to the original tree that survived and the memorial tree that now stands out front. The death notices attached to the tree are quite moving. I would say that this museum is well worth the visit.
Very little of the original prison remains. A small part of the building where the museum is located is original and the rest was reconstructed. Part of the original front gate still stands as well. The museum has lots of photos, some of them quite gruesome, such as executions. There are also lots of artifacts including the belongings of the prisoners. There is a section devoted to the original tree that survived and the memorial tree that now stands out front. The death notices attached to the tree are quite moving. I would say that this museum is well worth the visit.
Written 11 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy Smth
Redditch, UK623 contributions
May 2016 • Friends
I really wanted to see the Pawiak Prison museum because I knew the impact of the place would have a profound effect, which it certainly does.
The thing about places like Pawiak and Auschwitz is that you really don't need to know every single detail about the past, you don't need to be incredibly well read about the holocaust, because places like these just make everything very real and like they were yesterday, which in terms of ancient history, they literally were.
I always say that everyone should come and visit places like Pawiak or Auschwitz at least once in their lives, not only to be reminded of the atrocities that happened, but to remind themselves that however bad their lives can be at times, what happened in the holocaust really does put everything in to perspective.
The thing about places like Pawiak and Auschwitz is that you really don't need to know every single detail about the past, you don't need to be incredibly well read about the holocaust, because places like these just make everything very real and like they were yesterday, which in terms of ancient history, they literally were.
I always say that everyone should come and visit places like Pawiak or Auschwitz at least once in their lives, not only to be reminded of the atrocities that happened, but to remind themselves that however bad their lives can be at times, what happened in the holocaust really does put everything in to perspective.
Written 5 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
escottf
Warsaw, Poland77 contributions
May 2014 • Solo
I'd passed by this museum in winter, and if it was possible to look worse, being surrounded by snow didn't help. But it's not supposed to look nice - it's the basement and remains of the front gate of Pawiak Prison. The prison was used as a political prison by the Russians then the Nazis for over 100 years and the Nazis attempted to remove evidence of its existence before their departure at the end of WWII. The museum is based in what's left. The "sister" prison, Serbia (a women's prison) across the road is only marked by a monument but its inmates are also mentioned in the museum here.
When I finally visited, it was superb though. Friendly staff, and in one direction you have former cells with memorials and information in. The prison tries to remember a lot of the inmates - and there were a lot of "normal" people imprisoned here - as well as senior politicians and the odd celebrity.
Rather than a grizzly reminder (that I thought it might be) it seems to be a reflection on the inmates and what they did to remain...well, human. I haven't been to the sister museum where the Gestapo tortured people from this prison, but this museum is very inspiring - and a whole section is devoted to the remaining tree outside which has a story of its own - again a reflection of the Polish people and their dedication to remembering history. Rather than showing horrible photos, there's a lot of art drawn by inmates of each other.
The second second section is more a more general museum Polish and English (and I think there may have been German too) showing the plight of the Polish in WWII. A reminder that not all Nazi occupied lands where treat the same (the Poles had it very bad).
The museum is just off Jan Pawla road - a major tram thoroughfare and trams also travel along Al Solidarnosc nearby from the Old Town. It seems to be open Wednesday-Sunday and bring change as, like many small Polish museums, they don't take cards and don't like change - it only costs PLN8 though (less than £2).
When I finally visited, it was superb though. Friendly staff, and in one direction you have former cells with memorials and information in. The prison tries to remember a lot of the inmates - and there were a lot of "normal" people imprisoned here - as well as senior politicians and the odd celebrity.
Rather than a grizzly reminder (that I thought it might be) it seems to be a reflection on the inmates and what they did to remain...well, human. I haven't been to the sister museum where the Gestapo tortured people from this prison, but this museum is very inspiring - and a whole section is devoted to the remaining tree outside which has a story of its own - again a reflection of the Polish people and their dedication to remembering history. Rather than showing horrible photos, there's a lot of art drawn by inmates of each other.
The second second section is more a more general museum Polish and English (and I think there may have been German too) showing the plight of the Polish in WWII. A reminder that not all Nazi occupied lands where treat the same (the Poles had it very bad).
The museum is just off Jan Pawla road - a major tram thoroughfare and trams also travel along Al Solidarnosc nearby from the Old Town. It seems to be open Wednesday-Sunday and bring change as, like many small Polish museums, they don't take cards and don't like change - it only costs PLN8 though (less than £2).
Written 17 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David H
Prestatyn, UK53 contributions
Nov 2018 • Couples
As a dark tourist, this trip was still tough. Only the cellar remains , so I cannot imagine what 8 floors of this place looked and felt like. Those poor Poles . 2 hours of content and a good investment of your time when in Warsaw.
Written 12 November 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
corinnepcm
NJ9 contributions
Jul 2013
Reading the stories of particular prisoners in an actual SS prison was chilling. Dairy, upon hopeful dairy are display. German propaganda. See The Death room were a prisoner was placed before being put to death. See an actual prisoner uniforms tattered and stained with blood. Other objects range from sweet little music boxes to the harshest steel whips to be used on prisoners.
Written 4 September 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fidndiddjdj
melbourne9 contributions
We arrived on Thursday and realized entrance was free on that day.
We began to eat our lunch in the outside entrance. Before long the attendants called us in, showed us seats in their office, boiled their kettle and made us tea, then brought our tickets to us!
The descriptions are in English and polish and the it was a good way to get a lot of information without reading hours.
We began to eat our lunch in the outside entrance. Before long the attendants called us in, showed us seats in their office, boiled their kettle and made us tea, then brought our tickets to us!
The descriptions are in English and polish and the it was a good way to get a lot of information without reading hours.
Written 3 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lara988
Norwich, UK48 contributions
Oct 2019 • Friends
The artefacts are sensitively preserved and explanations are in both Polish and English. I found the history of the elm tree outside and the idea of it as a 'witness' to what had taken place there, and the original cell door that they had managed to salvage after the Nazis destroyed the prison, particularly affecting. Well worth a visit.
Written 21 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
scottkeir
Paisley, UK423 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
We visited on the 3rd of January and the sign said it has been closed since mid December as there was a fault.
Nothing about when it will re-open.
I had checked the website before I went and not a mention of it being closed. How hard is it to put this information on the website????
So yes I could not get in and problems happen, but keep potential visitors informed!
Nothing about when it will re-open.
I had checked the website before I went and not a mention of it being closed. How hard is it to put this information on the website????
So yes I could not get in and problems happen, but keep potential visitors informed!
Written 3 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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