Polona: Poland's Digital Library
The National Library of Poland's digital collection: manuscripts, old photos, maps, sheet music and posters you can zoom into in high resolution.
What it is
Polona is the digital library of the National Library of Poland. It holds digitized books, newspapers, manuscripts, photographs, maps, sheet music and prints, all shown in a deep-zoom viewer, so you can study a single initial letter in a medieval codex or a shop sign on a 1930s Warsaw street. The interface switches to English; the material itself is mostly Polish, but a large part of it is visual and needs no translation.
Why we picked it
The curated collections on the homepage won us over. There are medieval illuminated manuscripts, work by early Polish photographers such as Karol Beyer, a set on Polish railways, another on city transport, a collection of Polish women composers and a surprising one about Esperanto. Each runs from a couple of dozen items to more than a thousand, which makes them a friendly way into an archive that would otherwise be easy to get lost in.
The library's blog helps too. Short pieces about writers and collectors come with scans from the holdings, so you read the story and then open the original right next to it.
Where to start
- Pick any set from the National Library collections row on the homepage; they work like ready-made exhibitions.
- Open an illuminated manuscript and zoom all the way in to see the miniatures up close.
- Browse old photographs of Warsaw, a city that looks very different today.
- Switch the interface to English from the language menu.
- Create a free account if you want to save favorites and build your own collections.
Who it's for
Anyone who enjoys old books, maps and photography, designers hunting for historical type and posters, and travelers heading to Poland who want to see its past beyond the guidebook.
Quick answers
Do I need to read Polish? No. The interface is available in English, and photos, maps and prints speak for themselves. Book and newspaper texts are mostly in Polish.
Who runs Polona? The National Library of Poland in Warsaw.
Is it free? Yes. Browsing is open to everyone; an account is only needed for personal collections and notes.
