Poland’s first LGBTQ+ museum has opened in Warsaw, signifying the first queer museum to open in a post-communist European country.
The landmark opened in late 2024 in Marszałkowska Street by the Lambda Warsaw Association, which is the oldest operating LGBTQ+ organisation in the country.
Lambda director Krzysztof Kliszczynski has said that he was “overjoyed” to see it come to life. “For me this museum is both small and big at the same time, because it represents a milestone in the life of our community.”
The opening of the LGBTQ+ museum is also a form of protest, as same-sex marriage and adoption are not legal in Poland, along with conversion therapy still being allowed and legal gender change still not being recognised unless there is surgery involved.
Miłosz Przepiórkowski, Lambda’s president, said that “this sends a message to politicians: ‘Look, we are opening the fifth queer museum in the world in a country with the worst legal situation for queer people in the EU.’”
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The museum is home to almost 150 LGBTQ+ artefacts that represent the nation’s struggle for recognition. Some things include letters, pictures, and other forms of media that represent the opression suffered.
Andrzej Selerowicz was amongst those at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and donated some of his own memorabilia. He also launched the first Polish newsletter for gay men in 1983.
Selerowicz came to Warsaw specifically for the grand opening and brought Ryszard Kisiel, another LGBTQ+ activist from the 1980s, who also donated some artefacts. One of these is a leaflet on the rules of safe sex that he made around 40 years ago.
The two discussed Poland’s slow progress with LGBTQ+ rights and recognition, with Selerowicz saying: “I can’t comprehend why Poland is at the tail end of the whole of Europe, when even in quite conservative southern European countries civil unions are already introduced.”
“Enough of being afraid… We can no longer be afraid,” said Kliszczynski. “And if someone sprays our shop window, I will personally remove the paint.”
To stay up to date with Poland’s LGBTQ+ museum, find them on Instagram at @queermuzeum.
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