The Palace of Culture and Science (Polish: Pałac Kultury i Nauki) in Warsaw is the tallest building in Poland. The building was originally known as the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science (Pałac Kultury i Nauki imienia Józefa Stalina), but in the wake of destalinization the dedication to Stalin was revoked.
As the city's most visible landmark, the building was controversial from its inception. Many Poles initially hated the building because they considered it to be a symbol of Soviet domination, and at least some of that negative feeling persists until today. Some have also argued that, regardless of its political connotations, the building destroyed the aesthetic balance of the old city and imposed dissonance with other buildings.
However, over time, and especially in recent years, Warsaw has acquired a number of other skyscrapers of comparable height, so that the Palace now fits somewhat more harmoniously into the city skyline. Furthermore, since Soviet domination over Poland ended in 1989, the negative symbolism of the building has much diminished. Four 6.3-meter clock faces were added to the top of the building in 2000, making it briefly the tallest, and now the world's second-tallest, clock tower.
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