Construction The agreement to construct the tower was signed between the governments of the
Polish People's Republic and the
Soviet Union on 5 April 1952. It was offered as a gift to the people of Poland. Upon its completion in 1955, it was dedicated to Joseph Stalin. To visually determine the optimal height of the building, Soviet and Polish architects gathered near the eastern approach of the
Silesian-Dąbrowa Bridge. A small airplane flew over the planned site of the Palace, towing a balloon. It made the first pass at , then at . The Soviets, led by
Lev Rudnev, decided that was enough for the tallest building in the city. However, the Poles, led by the chief architect of Warsaw, Józef Sigalin, kept shouting "Higher!" after every pass. Finally, the tower's height was set at , with a main structure, a turret and a spire. Construction started in May 1952 and lasted until July 1955. The tower was built using Soviet plans. It is estimated that between 3,500 and 5,000 Soviet guest workers and 4,000 local Polish workers participated in the project. 16 workers died in accidents during construction. The builders were housed at a new residential complex built at Poland's expense in the Bemowo district of Warsaw, called Osiedle Przyjaźń ("Friendship Neighborhood"). The complex had its own cinema, a food court, a community center and a swimming pool. However, Lev Rudnev incorporated Polish architectural details into the project after travelling around the country. For example, the parapets are modeled on
Renaissance houses and the palaces of
Kraków and
Zamość. Shortly after opening, many visiting dignitaries toured the Palace, and the building hosted the
5th World Festival of Youth and Students, held from July to August 1955. In 1956, several people committed
suicide by jumping from the observation deck on the 30th floor, at the height of . The first victim was a Frenchman, followed by seven Poles. After these incidents, the observation deck was enclosed in steel bars. The Palace's concert hall has hosted performances by notable international artists. In 1967,
The Rolling Stones became the first major western rock group to hold a concert behind the
Iron Curtain. The 1985 concert by
Leonard Cohen, held during the period of
martial law in Poland, was surrounded by intense expectations that the artist would make a political statement about the growing
Solidarity movement.
Present day at the Palace of Culture and Science The building currently serves as an exhibition centre and office complex. The Palace contains a
multiplex cinema with eight screens (Kinoteka), four theatres (Studio, Dramatyczny, Lalka and 6. piętro), two museums (
Museum of Evolution and
Museum of Technology), offices, bookshops, a large swimming pool, an auditorium hall for 3,000 people called
Congress Hall, and an accredited universities:
Collegium Civitas, on the 11th and 12th floors of the building and
WSB University, Warsaw, on the 8th floor. The terrace on the 30th floor, at , is a well-known tourist attraction with a panoramic view of the city. The
Warsaw City Council and city offices are located in the building. A collection of sculptures representing figures of the fields of culture and science surrounds the Palace. Two of them are located in front of the main entrance: one of Polish astronomer
Nicolaus Copernicus, by Ludwika Nitschowa, and another of Polish poet
Adam Mickiewicz, by
Stanisław Horno-Popławski. Four clock faces were added to the top of the building ahead of the millennium celebrations in 2000. The clocks began working on 31 December 2000. The Congress Hall held the finals of
Miss World 2006. In 2010, the illumination of the building was modernized and high-power LED lights were installed, allowing the Palace to take various colours at night. The first use of the new lighting was during Christmas in 2010, when the Palace was illuminated in green and white to resemble a Christmas tree. In December 2013, during the
Euromaidan protests, it was illuminated in blue and yellow, the colours of the
Ukrainian national flag as a sign of solidarity with the protesters. On 29 January 2021, during the
Women's Strike protests, the symbol of the movement—a single red bolt on a black background—was projected on the building. ==Radio and TV transmitter==