The idea to fund the Palace of Culture and Science first appeared in an agreement between the USSR and the People's Republic of Poland on April 5, 1952 as a "proof of friendship" of the Soviet nation to the Polish.

It was officially confirmed by Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Wiatcheslav Molotov during his visit to Warsaw on July 3, 1952.

The issue of the usage of the future skyscraper was primarly undecided. The Soviet authorities were planning an university modeled on Moscow State University while the Polish would rather see a center of culture and science.

The first proposed height of a planned skyscraper was 100 meters but talks between Soviet and Polish architects raised the final height to 230 meters.

Excavation began on May 1, 1952, which was an important date for socialist propaganda, coinciding with May Day.

Five different locations were initially proposed as possible sites for this building.

Construction started on July 21, 1952 and lasted 1175 days.

Around 7000 Russian and Polish workers, evenly split, were working at the construction site.

The masonry work was completed on October 1953.

On July 22, 1955 the completed Palace of Culture and Science was officially handed over to Polish society at large as a "gift" from Soviet nation in the name of Joseph Stalin.

Shortly after completion, this mostly unwanted gift has become a subject of numerous jokes among the Polish citizens opposed to the Communist government.

Over 550 ornamental sculptures decorate the building. Almost all of them were cast especially for the Palace by a factory in Estonia.

The ornamentation is modeled on decorative elements of Polish architecture. Combined with the buildings's monumentalism, this inspired Warsawers to baptize the Palace as 'an elephant in lacy underwear'.

The main design team composed four architects: Lew Rudniev, Alexander Hriakov, Igor Rozyn and Alexander Wielikanov.

Shortly after completion the Palace became a popular place for suicides. The first suicide was a French man who deemed it a more honorable place to die than the Tour Eiffel.

Right after its opening in 1955 the Palace was closed to the general public, and only those with a pass could enter. This restriction led to the circulation of many myths about the structure.

Tallest skyscraper in central Europe when completed, and still one of the tallest in the continent.

The fountains in front of the building used to serve the additional purpose of cooling the water for the Palace.

With room for over 2800 places, the Congress Hall has entertained such celebrities as Marlene Dietrich, Jan Kiepura, Jacques Brel, Dalida, The Rolling Stones, Luciano Pavarotti, Eric Clapton and many others.

A rumor that the Palace has 5 underground floors is false; however the two existing basements are each 5 meters tall.

On December 31, 2000 a 6-meter diameter clock was exposed on each of the four sides of the tower. This makes the Palace of Culture & Science the second-tallest clock tower in the world, after NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Building in Tokyo.

A public observation deck is available on the 30th floor.

A smaller version of this palace, similar in both appearance and origin, is the Academy of Sciences in Riga, Latvia.

Holds all main height records for Poland except highest occupied floor, held by Warsaw Trade Tower and number of floors, held by InterContinental Warszawa.