The Warsaw Drone Summit will take place at the Kinoteka, a movie theater located inside the historic Palace of Culture and Science (Polish: Pałac Kultury i Nauki; abbreviated PKiN). The Palace is an impressive building that stands in the heart of Warsaw. At 237 meters tall, the Palace is one of the highest buildings not only in Poland but indeed on the European continent. Its construction required 3,500 Soviet workers. The Palace’s architecture is closely related to that of several similar skyscrapers built in the Soviet Union during the same era. The PKiN houses various public and cultural institutions such as cinemas, theatres, libraries, sports clubs, university faculties, and the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2007 it became listed in the Registry of Objects of Cultural Heritage. Despite its notable features, the PKiN has long been a source of controversy for Poles. Constructed between 1952-1955, when most of Warsaw still lay in ruins in the aftermath of World War II, the Palace was “gifted” to the Poles by Stalin. The Palace thus symbolized the strategic importance that Russia – and Stalin himself – placed upon Poland.
Loved and hated passionately because of its place in history, the Palace now symbolizes both the destruction of Poland in the 1940’s and its resurrection in 1989 when the Iron Curtain fell. For this last reason, we have decided to hold the Warsaw Drone Summit at Kinoteka to symbolize the victory of Solidarity and free world over tyranny, in the face of the renewed aggression in Eastern Europe that triggered the need for this summit.
Throughout the years, the Palace has been threatened with demolition in order to cleanse the city of its history of communism. Though the building may have its controversies, it is a staple of the modern-day Warsaw skyline, and encourages the growth of modern Polish culture within its walls.
We invite you to come join us at this one-of-a-kind event and become a part of history.
Need assistance? Please contact vboyd@chenope.com
