Historic sites

Polish Parliament in Warsaw

The complex of Sejm and Senate buildings at Wiejska Street 4/6/8 is the seat of the Polish parliament and one of the key monuments of the capital's political history. The parliamentary tradition here is older than the address itself: from 10 February 1919, the Sejm of reborn Poland sat in this place, in the building of the former Noble Institute of 1852 — the first since the times of the partitions.

The proper parliament building was erected in 1925–1928 to a design by Kazimierz Skórewicz in the neoclassical spirit. We owe him the Chamber Session Hall of 1930 with its characteristic colonnade. After the Second World War the complex was expanded by Bohdan Pniewski, who added modern buildings in 1949–1952 and gave the complex its present dual character: classicism meets modernism here.

History in a nutshell

The institution reaches far further back than the walls. The first bicameral Sejm was convened on 18 January 1493 in Piotrków, and since the enactment of the nihil novi statute (1505) the Sejm has been the supreme legislative authority in Poland. Sessions rotated among Piotrków, Kraków, Radom and Warsaw before the capital took on the permanent role.

Practical information

The entire complex, including its grounds, is managed by the Chancellery of the Sejm. The surroundings are best viewed from the Ujazdowskie Avenue side and Agrykola park; details of visits and plenary sessions are published on the official site sejm.gov.pl.