Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan

If y0u lik3 ciph3rs, puzzl3s, c0d3s 0r riddl3s, g0 t0 th3 3nigma Ciph3r C3nt3r in P0znan, Poland. Th3 cr3at0rs 0f this plac3 manag3d t0 c0mbin3 a mus3um 3l3m3nts with a m0dErn 3xhibiti0n and int3ractiv3 attraci0ns. Y0u d0n’t hav3 t0 b3 int3r3st3d in hist0ry t0 c0m3 h3r3. Just dr0p by 0n y0ur day 0ff and hav3 fun. Att3nti0n! Th3r3 ar3 pl3nty 0f puzzl3s and y0u hav3 t0 b3 3sp3cially car3ful s0 that th3y d0n’t g3t y0u h00k3d.

Don’t worry, we only encrypted the first paragraph, you can read the rest of our review without unnecessary difficulties.

Are you looking for an idea to spend your free time? Check out our section: Best things to do in Poznan!

Enigma Cipher Center, Poznan – photos

You must admit that the Enigma Cipher Center sounds a bit cryptic and attracts attention from the very beginning with its mysterious name. Remember that before you enter here, you need to properly warm up your gray matter. Don’t expect yourself to passively watch the exhibits. Inside, you will encounter a lot of puzzles of varying difficulty that require thinking and concentration.

Both the area and the number of activities are really large. So get ready for a longer adventure with ciphers. Although the Internet says that 2 hours is enough for sightseeing, in our opinion this is not entirely true. During this time, you will only have time to take a look at the exhibits and listen to the audio guide. However, if you want to dive into the fun, read all the information, watch short videos and solve every puzzle, you’ll need about… 5 hours. Seriously!

What distinguishes the Enigma Cipher Center from other ‘museum’ facilities is its truly eye-pleasing design. The interior is very nice and modern designed. We often focus on this, because in our case it really strongly affects the overall assessment of the place. It’s a bit industrial (metal elements, gray colors) and a bit homey (lots of wood, warm light).

Despite the contrast, everything fits together beautifully, and we don’t feel like we’re in a museum, but like a cozy living room in our own home. Ok, maybe not entirely, because our apartment is not as modern and multimedia as here. We also don’t have that many interactive devices. And (unfortunately) we don’t get that many guests.

But let’s get back to the point, i.e. the activities you can take part in during your visit. Although the most interesting elements here are, of course, all kinds of mysteries, the facility is actually dedicated to the famous cipher machine (from which it takes its name) and three famous Polish cryptologists who were the first to break the Enigma code in 1932. Marian Rejewski, Jerzy Rozycki and Henryk Zygalski thus contributed to shortening World War II and saving many human lives.

However, the history of information coding began much earlier, already in antique Greece. How did ancient ciphers do it? Using skytale, you can see that tool in the photo above. It was a wooden stick with a strip of parchment wound around it on which is written a message. Only the recipient who had a stick of the same thickness could wrap the material around it and correctly read the message. Smart, don’t you think so?

There are plenty of analog puzzles in the Enigma Cipher Center. Many of them are wooden, so you feel like you are literally touching the history of encryption. With the development of technology, cryptographers tried to modernize and speed up the transmission of secret information. An example of such a device is a field switch from 1928, which cooperated with telephones, radio stations, radio lines and radiotelephones. Even though it has long been out of use, it was quite nice to try it out.

Is it worth going to the Enigma Cipher Center? Of course. You just have to be careful not to get too caught up in the whirlwind of puzzles. Well, just look at the man in the photo above. It looks like he got completely into the coding and was actually trying to connect to some radio station. Did he succeed? Go to the ‘cipher fortress’ and you will have the opportunity to check it with your own eyes (or rather ears).

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – TOP 3 puzzles according to Travel-Mates

What surprises the most about the Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan is the ingenuity of the puzzle authors. Sometimes it is difficult to solve a complex puzzle. But someone must have come up with a brilliant idea to create it! We were very impressed with some of the exhibits. We didn’t cope with all of them, mainly because we were limited by time. Nevertheless, we have prepared a short ranking of the ‘cleverest ciphers’.

Place 3. – Microscopic information

We don’t know about you, but the last time we used a microscope was in primary school. Back then we certainly didn’t see it as a coding tool, rather a tool for viewing magnified fern fronds. However, it turns out that we were wrong. When we placed a small, inconspicuous plate on the microscope table and looked through the glasses, it turned out that there were hidden strings of numbers on it.

Place 2. – A letter with a second meaning

This letter doesn’t look suspicious at first glance. Just a simple friendly confession. However, when you put the appropriate stencil on the text, it turns out that someone very cleverly encoded the time and place of the meeting in the correspondence. In this method, it is of course crucial that the sender and recipient of the message have the same stencil. You have to admit that it’s quite brilliant.

Place 1. – Jagged comb

Here’s a higher school of (de)coding that requires a few ingredients. For this trick you need: a piece of paper with a sequence of numbers; a ‘key’ enabling decoding; a jagged comb. The puzzle involves moving the comb through the lines in such a way as to find the arrangement of letters encrypted by the same pair of digits. It sounds complicated, but it is definitely easier to understand the task in practice than in theory. We managed to solve the mystery, but we had to spend much time on it. Kudos to the cryptographer for his ingenuity.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – tickets

Tickets to the Enigma Cipher Center are available at very affordable prices.

• Normal ticket – PLN 28.
• Reduced ticket – PLN 22.
• Family ticket (max. 5 people – 2 adults + max. 3 children up to 16 years of age) – PLN 60.
• Group ticket – PLN 20.
• Children up to 6 years – free entrance.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – opening hours

The Enigma Cipher Center is open:

• from Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – visiting time

Estimated visiting time of the Enigma Cipher Center is 2 hours. In our opinion, in 120 minutes you will only be able to get acquainted with the exhibition and solve some puzzles. If you want to really immerse yourself in ciphers, codes and puzzles, and also gain some knowledge about cryptology and criminology, set aside a whole afternoon to visit here.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – directions

The Enigma Cipher Center is located at 78 Swiety Marcin Street, in the Collegium Martineum building (formerly Collegium Historicum) in Poznan.

• If you decide to travel by bus, the closest stop is Zamek.
• Those traveling by tram should get off at the Gwarna stop.
• If you arrive by car, remember to pay for parking. The nearest parking spaces are at Plac Wolnosci or Rondo Kaponiera.

Enigma Poznan Cipher Center – interesting facts and tips

• The participation of Rejewski, Rozycki and Zygalski in breaking the Enigma code is often overlooked. The media – mainly foreign ones – attribute all the credit in this topic to Alan Turing and his team. The truth is, however, that the first ciphertexts were broken in 1932 by three outstanding Polish cryptologists and mathematicians mentioned above.
• The Enigma Cipher Center was established on 25/09/2021 – thus it is one of the youngest facilities of this type that we’ve visited so far. Interestingly, it doesn’t officially have the status of a ‘museum’ because it doesn’t collect classic exhibits. Instead its creators focuses on interaction. In our humble opinion, this is how interesting, contemporary museums should look like.
• It is no coincidence that the facility dedicated to Rejewski, Rozycki and Zygalski was built in Poznan. The brilliant code breakers were graduates of the University of Poznan.
• When going to the Enigma Cipher Center, you have to focus on viewing the exhibits and solving puzzles, not on drinking coffee or eating a cookie. For now, there are no restaurants or even coffee shop here.
• The Enigma Cipher Center organizes the ‘quiet hours’, i.e. visiting the exhibition in conditions of reduced stimulation. During this time, highly sensitive people, people on the autism spectrum, neuro-atypical people or those who simply want to see the exhibition carefully have the opportunity to visit this place on special terms. Appropriate light and sound intensity, noise-canceling headphones and a quiet room are just some of the amenities offered. Please check the website for quiet hours dates or contact ECC directly.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – reviews

• Patrix – 10/10. This place is amazing! If you like solving riddles and puzzles, you will certainly be delighted. Solving them all will certainly take you a few hours. At the Enigma Cipher Center, I learned historical and current message encryption methods that I had no idea about. This is one of the coolest places on the map of Poznan.
• Wiolczix – 10/10. We went to the Enigma Cipher Center the day after our friends’ wedding – despite the lack of sleep and a slight post-wedding buzz in my head, this place gets the highest rating from me. Is it because all kinds of ciphers and puzzles are my specialty? It certainly is, but that’s not the only reason. The Cipher Center is very atmospheric, the interior is nicely (and even a bit mysteriously) designed, and the exhibits are really interesting. Museum creators should learn from Enigma how to interest visitors and engage them. Importantly, the difficulty level of some puzzles is really high (although, of course, there are also really trivial ones). You can come here with a group of friends or the whole family. For me it was a great adventure, but unfortunately we didn’t manage to solve all the puzzles in 3 hours. We will definitely come back for them, right Patryk?

Enigma Poznan Cipher Center – FAQ

How long does it take to visit the Enigma Museum?

Opinions about the visiting time of the Enigma Museum (or rather the Enigma Cipher Center) are strongly divided. According to the creators of the facility, it takes about 2 hours. In our opinion (curious, insightful and attentive visitors), true code breakers should set aside about 5 hours to thoroughly explore the entire exhibition.

How much does a ticket to the Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan cost?

Entrance tickets to the Enigma Cipher Center are at really reasonable prices. A regular ticket costs PLN 28, a reduced ticket – PLN 22, a family ticket – PLN 60, and a group ticket – PLN 20. Children up to 6 years of age will be admitted free of charge.

Is the Enigma Cipher Center a museum?

The Enigma Cipher Center is not officially a museum because it does not collect, research and care for museum exhibits (as the definition says). The creators focused on interactive attractions and presenting the history of ciphers in a ‘substantial’ way for visitors.

Is an audio guide available at the Enigma Cipher Center?

The Enigma Cipher Center offers audio guided tours of the exhibition. You can choose from five language versions: Polish, English, German, Russian and Ukrainian. Operating the equipment is extremely easy – just be within the range of a given transmitter and the appropriate recording will start automatically. Of course, you can also control the audio guide yourself.

Enigma Cipher Center in Poznan – map

You can find the Enigma Cipher Center in the very center of Poznan, a stone’s throw from the Old Town Square.