Muzeum Polskiej Wódki

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The south facade of the former rectification building with the entrance to the museum

The Muzeum Polskiej Wódki (German: Museum of Polish vodkas ) is a museum in Warsaw city district of Praga-Północ on Plac Konesera 1 . The museum is dedicated to the history of vodka and is the only one in the world that exclusively focuses on vodka (“Polska Wódka”) from Poland.

“Polska Wódka”

Based on the inclusion of Polish vodkas as a protected geographical indication (PGI) in the EU quality register, the Polish Sejm passed a law in 2013 that defines the term Polish vodka (“Polska Wódka”): an alcohol that can be made with potatoes , Rye , wheat , oats , barley or triticale plus purified and demineralized water is used. The purity law applies to clear vodka; certain flavors may be added to flavored vodka. The use of corn and grapes is not allowed. To be classified as Polish Vodka , it is necessary to prove that the cultivation of these ingredients as well as the entire production process (with the exception of bottling) took place in Poland. Such products are protected by a corresponding trademark .

It is controversial in which country vodka was first made; both Poland and Russia claim to have invented the spirit. According to Polish vodka experts, production in Poland was first documented in 1405 in a historical source.

Today's museum building before renovation, east side 2010
View from the west after renovation, 2018

Museum history

The idea of ​​founding a museum arose in 2004 when representatives of the Polish vodka industry visited the Scotch Whiskey Association in Edinburgh . The discussions about a law to protect vodkas produced in Poland strengthened the desire for a museum on the subject. After a suitable location had been found in a former Warsaw vodka factory, the first construction work on the future museum building was carried out in 2014. Construction and renovation work began the following year. They were carried out under the supervision of the Monument Preservation Office, as the historic building is a listed building. In July 2017, the construction work was completed and the interior design of the museum rooms began.

For interior design, a competition was announced in cooperation with the Polish architects' association SARP , in which the interior designer Mirosław Nizio ( Nizio Design International ) prevailed with a multimedia concept in November 2014 . The logo of the museum was designed by graphic artist Andrzej Pągowski. The international engineering office Arup advised on the transformation of the building. Mar-Bud Budownictwo was hired as the general contractor.

The museum is run by a foundation registered in the Warsaw Commercial Register in October 2015 ( Fundacja Polska Wódka ). The main objective of the foundation is to run the museum. In addition, the tradition and culture of the Polish alcohol industry, the geographical trademark of origin Polska Wódka / Polish Vodka and responsible alcohol consumption are to be promoted. The company Pernod Ricard , which is also active in vodka production in Poland (brands: Wyborowa , Luksusowa, Pan Tadeusz), supported the financing of the museum equipment. Grants from the European Regional Development Fund of the EU totaling EUR 585,000 were also used. The patronage was the Polish Vodka Association ( Stowarzyszenia Polska Wódka ). Krzysztof Drągowski was hired as museum director. The opening took place in June 2018. Within a short time the museum became known throughout Poland through media coverage.

A second vodka museum in Warsaw is located near the Theater Square ( Plac Teatralny ) at 11 Wierzbowa ulica . The Muzeum Wódki presents the history of vodka from the introduction of modern production methods in Lviv in 1782 ( JA Baczewski ). According to its own information, it contains the world's largest collection of historical objects for vodka production and marketing. This museum is also connected to a restaurant and a bar.

building

The museum is located in a building of the former Koneser vodka factory in Warsaw's Praga district. This production facility, which has been closed since 2009 and in which vodka brands such as Luksusowa, Wyborowa or Siwucha were previously bottled, was redesigned in the 2010s into a modern residential, office and shopping complex with dining facilities and a hotel, the Centrum Praskie Koneser . The renovation of the complex was a joint project between Liebrecht & Wood and BBI Development.

The neo-Gothic brick building that now houses the museum was used from 1897 to 1970 for the distillation and purification of vodka; means of rectification undesirable accompanying flavors of the fire will be removed, especially the so-called fusel oils , to obtain a neutral tasting product. It was the central production building of the Koneser complex. The inscription “Rektyfikacja spirytusu 1897–1970” on the facade indicates the original use. The building consists of three parts: the five-storey main body, a two-storey and a single-storey hall wing, in which the distillery ovens used to be and today there is a restaurant attached to the museum. The museum sponsor appears as the tenant.

Multimedia representation of the distillation process (according to Pistorius)
Traditional raw materials for vodka production
Original and replicated production equipment
Exhibition of historical vodka bottles

exhibition

The concept is based on experiences with modern museums that have opened in Poland in recent years and that are considered successful. Nizio Design International had already designed the exhibition concept for two such museums in Warsaw, the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews .

Group visit

A visit to the museum is only possible as a guided tour in a group of around 20 people. These tours are offered in Polish and English. The museum is open every day, visitors must be of legal age . The tour lasts about an hour.

Cinema room

The guided tour program includes the introduction of a 20-minute film in a small cinema room. This room on the first floor of the entrance wing has a net-like copper structure on the walls and ceilings and has been furnished with 50 historical seats from the “Komedia” theater in Warsaw's Żoliborz district . The introductory film shown presents employees in the vodka production (including former employees of the Koneser factory) and their work. The steel staircase leading to the cinema is an original construction of the building.

Since the last cinema operated in Warsaw's Praga district, “Praha”, had to close in March 2019, program films have also been shown in the museum cinema on Friday evening since April 2019.

exhibition

The exhibitions are divided into five thematic areas that present the 600-year history of Polish vodka. The presentation takes place by means of multimedia installations and historical exhibits. There are also reconstructed production facilities. In the windowless rooms the development of alcohol production methods, the marketing and the use of the spirit is presented. The role that vodka played in politics, in trade and in social life is explained and drinking customs are explained.

Visitors can experience the virtual laboratory of a medieval alchemist and life in a Polish guest house and manor house. The various production facilities, some of which were presented using multimedia, include the Pistorius distillation apparatus developed by Johann Heinrich Leberecht Pistorius and used for distillation . Partly replicated equipment such as a rectification column , a hydrometer , a fermentation tank , a mash kettle, a high-pressure steam apparatus and vats can be viewed. An original brick wall with historical boilers is located in the attached restaurant.

Tasting and restaurant

The price of admission to the museum also includes a voucher for tasting various types of Polish vodkas. Here - depending on the amount of an additional payment - qualitatively different vodka brands of the three basic types of rye, wheat and potatoes are presented. The tasting takes place in the rooms of the museum's own vodka academy, where workshops are also held. The “Bar ¾” on the fifth floor of the museum offers a view of the entire complex. The single-storey wing building houses the “Zoni” restaurant (whose founding chef, Aleksander Baron, is a well-known Warsaw chef) and another bar, the “WuWa Bar”. “Zoni” was named one of the best designed restaurants worldwide in the World Interiors News Award ( shortlist ) in 2019 .

One of the tasting rooms of the museum's own academy

Commercial background

In addition to the museum component, the vodka museum and events there are also used for marketing purposes.

“Nasza koncepcja zakłada połączenie w obrębie obiektu dwóch nadrzędnych funkcji: muzealnej i komercyjnej.”

"Our concept includes the combination of two superordinate functions within the facility: museum and advertising."

- Mirosław Nizio (interior designer) : Architektura Murator, 10/2017

The association of Polish vodka producers led by Pernod Ricard was in charge of the idea for the museum, the development of the concept and the financing. The association's chairman, a senior executive at Pernod Ricard, is also the chairman of the museum foundation. In the presentation and tasting of vodka brands, a focus is placed on brands of the Pernod Ricard group: Wyborowa, Luksusowa, Pan Tadeusz and Ostoya.

“Polish Vodkas are strategic pillars of our activities in Poland. We strongly believe that everyone visiting the museum will appreciate Polish Vodka's fascinating history that is several centuries long. They will undoubtedly love its unbeatable quality and taste. I trust that this museum will strengthen awareness and knowledge about Polish Vodka. "

“Polish vodkas are strategic pillars of our business activities in Poland. We firmly believe that anyone who visits the museum will appreciate the fascinating centuries-long history of Polish vodka. You [meant: the visitors] will undoubtedly love its unbeatable quality and taste. I am sure that this museum will raise awareness and knowledge about Polish vodka. "

- Eric Benoist, CEO, Wyborowa Pernod Ricard : Group press release

The museum also celebrates the Polish national drink for economic reasons. According to a report by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk about the museum, the PR offensive is necessary. After centuries of success, vodka consumption in Poland is declining. More and more Poles would buy wine instead of cheap vodka. In 2017, the country only produced around 93 million liters, 4.2 percent less vodka than in the previous year.

The establishment of the museum with the presentation of the 600-year history and tradition of Polish vodka production also coincides with a time when Polish and Russian representatives are fighting over the invention of vodka. In Saint Petersburg and Moscow (as well as in Amsterdam ) there were already vodka museums in which reference is made to the original Russian origin of the spirit. The more modern Warsaw Museum is also supposed to send a different message on this.

Web links

Commons : Polish Vodka Museum in Warsaw  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Muzeum Polskiej Wódki: nowa atrakcja na mapie Warszawy , June 13, 2018, National Geographic Polska (Polish)
  2. ↑ New Vodka Museum in Warsaw celebrates Poland's national drink , June 11, 2018, Deutsche Welle
  3. ↑ a b Norbert Frątczak, Muzeum Polskiej Wódki na Pradze. Otwarcie już na wiosnę , August 22, 2017, Gazeta Wyborcza (Polish)
  4. ↑ Poland tastes good: Polish food specialties , brochure, Agencja Rynku Rolnego (ed.), Warsaw 2012, ISBN 978-83-62107-82-7 , p. 15
  5. ↑ a b c d e How a museum advertises Polish vodka , June 19, 2018, MDR television
  6. ^ Economic Profile Poland , AHK in Poland , p. 33
  7. ↑ a b c Juliette Bretan, The Vodka Legacy , Issue 17, H2 2018, Poland Today, p. 76 (English)
  8. ↑ a b c d e Muzeum Polskiej Wódki Koneser w Warszawie , September 29, 2017 (edition 10/2017), Architektura Murator (Polish)
  9. ↑ a b c Permanent exhibition at the Polish Vodka Museum in Warsaw , Nizio Design International (English)
  10. ↑ Bogdan Twardochleb, Fabryka myśli w Torgelow , June 7, 2019, 24Kurier.pl (Polish)
  11. ↑ O fundacji on the museum website (Polish)
  12. ^ Piotr Halicki, Muzeum Polskiej Wódki już gotowe. Zobacz, jak wygląda , June 5, 2018, Onet.pl (Polish)
  13. ↑ a b c Polish Vodka Museum Opens! , June 12, 2018, Warsaw Insider (English)
  14. ↑ History , website of the museum (English)
  15. ↑ Alembik , website of the administration of the Koneser Center (English)
  16. ↑ a b For a vodka or two in the museum , August 9, 2018, Travel Business
  17. ↑ Christian Davis, World's first vodka museum in Warsaw , June 11, 2018, Drinks International (English)
  18. ↑ Beda seanse filmowe na Pradze. W Muzeum Polskiej Wódki , April 11, 2019, Gazeta Wyborcza (Polish)
  19. ↑ Muzeum Polskiej Wódki , The long night of museums May 18 , 2019, City of Warsaw, 2019, p. 44 (English)
  20. ↑ Marta Ciastoch, Wnętrze polskiej restauracji wśród najpiękniejszych na świecie. Zoni ma szansę na prestiżową nagrodę , September 5, 2019, Noizz.pl (Polish)
  21. ↑ Museum of Polish Vodka at Koneser , May 21, 2014, press release by the project developer Koneser , BBI Development (English)
  22. ↑ The world's first-ever Polish Vodka Museum to open with the initiative of Pernod Ricard and Polish Vodka Association , press release by Pernod Ricard, June 25, 2018 (English)
  23. ↑ Vanessa Gera, New Polish vodka museum in Warsaw celebrates national drink , June 7, 2018, Chicago Tribune (English)
  24. ↑ "Muzeum Polskiej Wódki będzie prawdziwą atrakcją Warszawy i całej Polski" , interview with the head of the Polish Vodka Producers Association, Elżbieta Kwiecińska-Prysłopska, April 2, 2015, Historia.org.pl (Polish)

Coordinates: 52 ° 15 ′ 19.7 "  N , 21 ° 2 ′ 45.4"  E