The Palace of the Commonwealth marks two years of public access and 300,000 visitors
Two years have passed since the Palace of the Commonwealth first opened its doors to the public. On 21 May 2024, one of Warsaw’s most beautiful palaces welcomed visitors for the first time in its centuries-long history. Its Baroque interiors now house priceless treasures of Polish and world literature from the collections of the National Library of Poland – works that were previously accessible chiefly to researchers and specialists. Today, the Palace is open to everyone free of charge, six days a week.
Since it opened to the public, the Palace of the Commonwealth has welcomed around 300,000 visitors from Poland and abroad. It has become a key landmark on Warsaw’s cultural map: a place to encounter history, literature, language and memory, as well as being a modern institution open to all. The permanent exhibition includes, among many other treasures, the Holy Cross Sermons, the Florian Psalter, manuscripts of the chronicles of Gallus Anonymous and Wincenty Kadłubek, European illuminated manuscripts, literary manuscripts by Kochanowski, Słowacki, Mickiewicz, Norwid, Herbert and Miłosz, as well as musical treasures such as handwritten scores by Chopin and Górecki.
A particular highlight in the Palace’s recent history was its role as an official cultural venue during Poland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. During this period, the Palace welcomed almost 3,000 distinguished guests from across the European Union, including ministers, state secretaries, secretaries-general, directors and heads of central offices and institutions. Delegation visits regularly included a tour of the Palace and the exhibition of treasures from the National Library of Poland.
The Palace of the Commonwealth has also become a venue for major exhibitions, including Miłosz. Return, featuring items from the Miłosz archive at the National Library, and Mr Herbert – the Traveller, presenting the manuscripts and travels of Zbigniew Herbert. The current exhibition – JAM POSEŁKINI JEGO. The Language and Emotions of the Polish Middle Ages – runs until 30 June 2026 and includes the oldest texts in the Polish language, dating back almost 800 years.
The Palace of the Commonwealth has shown how important it is to make the greatest treasures of culture accessible to all. Visited by hundreds of thousands of people, welcoming international delegations and presenting some of the most important works of Polish heritage, it has become one of Warsaw’s most distinctive cultural spaces.
Visit the Palace of the Commonwealth any day except Tuesday, from 11 am to 7 pm. Admission is free. Full information for visitors is available at www.palacrzeczypospolitej.pl.