If you enjoy visiting quirky museums during your travelers, Warsaw has just the thing for you. Neon Muzeum is one of the most retro spots at the Polish capital, and it’s dedicated to the preservation of neon signs from the Cold War era.
This unusual museum was originally founded in 2005, and currently houses the largest collection of historic neon signs in Europe. Hundreds of signs were put up throughout Poland between ‘50s and ‘70s and they come with a pretty amazing back story.
These signs were commissioned by Poland’s official advertising agency Reklame, during Cold War years. This attempt to “neonize” the country was a reflection of cultural shift this era brought along, and some of Poland’s most prominent artists were in charge of designing the signs.
Polish streets were covered in neon signs for years but suddenly started disappearing in the post-Cold War era. That’s why the photographer Ilona Karwinska decided to document and preserve as many as she could, and her exhibition “Polish Neon” eventually transformed into this unique museum.
