Józef Piłsudski Museum in Sulejówek

The Józef Piłsudski Museum in Sulejówek (say "soo-leh-YOO-vek") is a striking modern museum and a historic family home on the eastern edge of Warsaw. It tells the life story of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the founding father of independent Poland after World War I, and includes Milusin, the manor house where he lived with his family in the 1920s. Set among pine trees and only a short train ride from central Warsaw, it is one of the best history museums in the capital region.

Where it is and how to get there

Sulejówek is a leafy town just east of Warsaw. Take the SKM S2 suburban line or a Koleje Mazowieckie train from central Warsaw to Sulejówek station; the museum entrance is about a 15-minute walk away. The address is Aleja Piłsudskiego 29. Drivers can use the museum's free, unguarded parking lot at the corner of Aleja Piłsudskiego and Matejki Street. Warsaw Chopin Airport is the nearest international airport.

Who was Piłsudski?

Piłsudski (1867–1935) spent his youth as a revolutionary against Russian rule, led the Polish Legions in World War I and became head of state when Poland regained independence in 1918. In 1920 he commanded the Polish army that stopped the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw. He remains one of the most admired, and debated, figures in Polish history.

The story of Milusin

In 1921 his wife Aleksandra bought a wooded plot in Sulejówek with a small wooden summer house, known as the Drewniak. In 1923 a brick manor designed by Kazimierz Skórewicz went up next to it, paid for by a soldiers' fund. A plaque on the facade says the house was built for the Marshal by "the soldier of independent Poland." Piłsudski agreed to accept it only after money from the sale of his own house was added to the fund. The family lived here full time until 1926, when after the May Coup they moved to the Belweder Palace in Warsaw. After World War II the furniture was carted off on communist orders, and the house served as a kindergarten.

The agreement to create a museum was signed in Milusin on November 10, 2008. The new building opened on August 14, 2020, on the eve of the centenary of the Battle of Warsaw, and the same month Milusin was declared a national Historic Monument.

What to see

• The permanent exhibition – about 2,100 m² across five chronological galleries plus a sixth, "Symbol," on Piłsudski's legacy and myth. Plan around two hours.
• Milusin manor and its historic garden – visited with a guide, about one hour. The manor cannot be visited after dark, which matters in winter.
• The Drewniak and Bzów villa, part of the roughly 4-hectare historic site.

The free audio guide is available in English, Polish, German and Russian.

Opening hours

As of October 2026:

• Monday: 10 am–3 pm (only from September 28 to December 7),
• Tuesday: closed,
• Wednesday–Thursday: 10 am–5 pm,
• Friday–Sunday: 10 am–6 pm.

Ticket offices close one hour before the museum. Closed on October 31, November 1–2, December 24–26 and 31, and January 1 and 6.

Tickets

• permanent exhibition: 26 PLN standard, 20 PLN reduced; children under 7 free,
• Milusin manor with guide: 26 / 20 PLN,
• combined ticket (Milusin + permanent exhibition): 46 PLN / 35 PLN,
• private guide in a foreign language for the exhibition: 330 PLN per group.

Wednesdays are free for the permanent exhibition; in Milusin you then pay only a 13 PLN guiding fee. You can buy tickets online or at the desk by cash or card.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes. Even if you know little about Polish history, the exhibition explains Poland's road to independence clearly and engagingly, and the manor adds a personal dimension. Because it is indoors and easy to reach by train, it is a great half-day trip from Warsaw in any season.

Nearby

• Ossów, near Wołomin – site of a key clash in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, with a war cemetery.
• Belweder Palace in Warsaw – Piłsudski's residence after 1926 (exterior only).
• Central Warsaw – a short train ride away, so the museum pairs easily with a city break.