Rewind 50-100 years and cities across Europe would have been ablaze with neon signage. 

But if any single country took to it more, and better, than any other – that country was surely Poland.

Its neon heritage is celebrated in a museum in Warsaw and a celebrated courtyard in Wrocław. 

Occasionally, grants are made available in various towns and cities for the restoration of old neon signs. Some independent restaurant-, cafe-, bar- and shop-owners choose neon for their signage, in a nod to Poland's neon heritage.

The problem is, neon breaks quite easily and is expensive to fix. So it's not hard to find plenty of well intentioned neon signs that have died, which owners are either unwilling or unable to fix.

So I was wondering, should Poland's Culture Ministry be more proactive in preserving the country's neon heritage? How would people feel if the Ministry of Culture got involved?

The ministry could relatively painlessly make a case that neon signage is an integral part of Poland's modern cultural look and identity and is something thought of by some as distinctively Polish (not strictly true, but why not own it anyway).

It could offer to fully fund the repair or replacement of existing dead or broken neon signs, and subsidise new ones (all of this applicable to traditional neon only, of course, not LED 'neon'). 

The cost would be a tiny proportion of the ministry's annual budget of 4 billion złoty, but would contribute to the continuing enhancement of Polish towns and cities, bolstering still further civic pride amongst residents, as well as their appeal to visitors.

Or would you be against it, on the grounds that you feel it'd be a waste of taxpayers' money?

by sokorsognarf

5 comments

  1. There’s bollocks stigma, mostly from PiS-alike parties against PRL architecture. We demolished most of socmodernism buildings, regardless of their cultural value. Other countries were not so dumb and hellbent, and if i.e. you go to Romania, you’ll see that heritage preserved and in use.

  2. No, it’s distracting and annoying when walking in the evening.

  3. They look so fuckin cool but people probably will find a reason to complain

    Neon supremacy! Fuck the LED’s!

  4. There’s a neon museum in Warsaw, they have some famous pieces.

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