The renovation of the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw is underway. The Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments showed what the work inside the building looks like.
MWKZ posted photos on social media. They show a crane outside the Palace of Culture, but also work underway inside the building.
“In November 2023, the authorities of the capital city of Warsaw managed to resume the unfinished renovation of the Congress Hall. Currently, renovation and conservation works are continuing in the facility, carried out under the supervision of the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments. The completion of the renovation is planned for the end of 2026,” we read on Facebook.
Contract to complete renovation of Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science amounts to 393 million zlotys. The task was undertaken by the company Adamietz.
Problems with renovation
The Congress Hall was closed in September 2014, and renovation began in 2015. The plan was to adapt the facility to fire safety requirements and, among other things, replace the seats. The cost of modernization was estimated at around PLN 45 million.
Just one year later, in the spring of 2016, the company carrying out the modernization declared bankruptcy. In December 2017, a tender was announced for a new concept for the modernization of the hall. The cost of the renovation was estimated at over PLN 100 million. In August, the Warsaw Council allocated PLN 183 million for the renovation.
In 2022, the tender for the renovation was canceled because the amount reserved by the city was too small. In the next tender announced in 2023, a contractor was finally selected.
The Rolling Stones played here
The construction of the Palace of Culture and Science, of which Kongresowa is a part, began in May 1952 and officially ended in July 1955. During the Polish People's Republic, it hosted PZPR congresses. Music stars also performed here, including Leonard Cohen, Jan Kiepura, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Patti Smith and Herbie Hancock. The last concert at Kongresowa took place on July 13, 2014, when Katie Melua performed. A year later, renovations began.
On April 13, 1967, the famous British rock band The Rolling Stones played at the Congress Hall.
Main image source: MWKZ