Editing Palace of Culture and Science (section)

===Construction===
[[File:Budowa_Pałacu_Kultury_i_Nauki_001.jpg|thumb|left|The Palace under construction in 1953]]
[[File:Budowa Pałacu Kultury i Nauki 1954a.jpg|thumb|left|Workers on the building, 1954]]
The agreement to construct the tower was signed between the governments of the [[Polish People's Republic]] and the [[Soviet Union]] on 5 April 1952. It was offered as a gift to the people of Poland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dawson |first=Andrew H. |year=1999 |title=From Glittering Icon to... |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3060413 |journal=The Geographical Journal |volume=165 |issue=2 |pages=154–160 |doi=10.2307/3060413 |jstor=3060413 |bibcode=1999GeogJ.165..154D |issn=0016-7398 |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217100624/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3060413 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jabłoński |first=Krzysztof |date=1984 |chapter=Kronika odbudowy, budowy i rozbudowy 1945–1982 |title=Warszawa: portret miasta |language=pl |location=Warsaw |publisher=Arkady |isbn=83-213-2993-4}}</ref> Upon its completion in 1955, it was dedicated to Joseph Stalin.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.acsa-arch.org/chapter/stalins-cold-war-cathedral-as-architext-and-autofiction-the-identities-of-the-palace-of-culture-and-science-in-warsaw-poland/|editor=Craig Barton|title=86th ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, Constructing Identity|chapter=Stalin's "Cold War Cathedral" as Architext and Autofiction: The Identities of the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland|author=Magdalena J. Zaboroska|year=1998|access-date=1 April 2023|archive-date=1 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401135952/https://www.acsa-arch.org/chapter/stalins-cold-war-cathedral-as-architext-and-autofiction-the-identities-of-the-palace-of-culture-and-science-in-warsaw-poland/|url-status=live}}</ref>

To visually determine the optimal height of the building, Soviet and Polish architects gathered near the eastern approach of the [[Silesian-Dąbrowa Bridge]]. A small airplane flew over the planned site of the Palace, towing a balloon. It made the first pass at {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}}, then at {{convert|110|and|120|m|abbr=on}}. The Soviets, led by [[Lev Rudnev]], decided that {{convert|120|m}} was enough for the tallest building in the city. However, the Poles, led by the chief architect of Warsaw, Józef Sigalin, kept shouting "Higher!" after every pass. Finally, the tower's height was set at {{convert|237|m}}, with a {{convert|120|m|abbr=on}} main structure, a {{convert|40|m|abbr=on}} turret and a {{convert|77|m|abbr=on}} spire.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://warszawawpigulce.pl/palac-kultury-i-nauki-konczy-65-lat/|title=Pałac Kultury i Nauki kończy 65 lat!|website=Warszawa w Pigułce|language=pl|date=1 July 2020|access-date=28 May 2023|archive-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528210017/https://warszawawpigulce.pl/palac-kultury-i-nauki-konczy-65-lat/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Construction started in May 1952 and lasted until July 1955. The tower was built using Soviet plans. It is estimated that between 3,500 and 5,000 Soviet guest workers and 4,000 local Polish workers participated in the project. 16 workers died in accidents during construction.<ref name="history">{{cite web |title=Historia |url=http://www.pkin.pl/historia/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720000248/http://www.pkin.pl/historia/ |archive-date=20 July 2011 |access-date=25 July 2008 |website=Pałacu Kultury i Nauki |language=pl}}</ref> The builders were housed at a new residential complex built at Poland's expense in the Bemowo district of Warsaw, called Osiedle Przyjaźń ("Friendship Neighborhood"). The complex had its own cinema, a food court, a community center and a swimming pool.<ref name="Palace-2" /><ref name="history" />

The architecture of the building has many similarities to Moscow's [[Seven Sisters (Moscow)|Seven Sisters]], a group of Stalinist skyscrapers by the same architect, in particular the [[main building of Moscow State University]]. Other similar buildings are the [[House of the Free Press]] in [[Bucharest]] and the [[Latvian Academy of Sciences|Latvian Academy of Sciences Building]] in [[Riga]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Latvian Academy of Sciences, Riga, Latvia - SpottingHistory.com |url=https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/4791/latvian-academy-of-sciences/ |access-date=2023-02-17 |website=www.spottinghistory.com |language=en |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217095036/https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/4791/latvian-academy-of-sciences/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Lev Rudnev incorporated Polish architectural details into the project after travelling around the country. For example, the parapets<!-- NOTE TO POLISH EDITORS: "parapet" is a false friend that is pervasively mistranslated. It does not mean "windowsill", it means "low wall surrounding a roof". The correct Polish translation appears to be "attyka". --> are modeled on [[Renaissance]] houses and the palaces of [[Kraków]] and [[Zamość]].<ref name="history" />