November 16, 2009
By Sid Kaplan
Travel Writer
Troy Media
Sid Kaplan
KRAKOW, Poland, Nov. 16, 2009/ Troy Media/ — The Polish Air Museum (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego) may not be the first museum you think of to visit, but if you are into aviation history and old airplanes, it’s well worth a visit.
It is located in a suburb of Krakow at a historic airfield about 7 km (4.3 miles) east of the Old Town. The museum took over a few the buildings and part of the grounds of the Rakowice-Czyzny airfield, one of the oldest military airfields in Europe.
It was an active airfield up through World War II, after which the expanding city of Krakow started to encroach on it. Both the military and any commercial aviation finally moved out and all activity stopped in 1963.
Outside of the museum itself you will see all types of aircraft you won’t see in Western Europe and North America. It is an impressive display, even if the aircraft have seen better days. There are old Tupolevs, crop sprayers and Soviet-era rocket launchers.
Two indoor displays will have you running around yelling “I’ve only seen that before in pictures!” or “I never thought I’d see that!” Your excitement will come from discovering a Tupolev Tu-25, a Grigorovich M-15, and a couple of Yakolevs – a Yak-17 and Yak 23.
There is a new building going up at the Museum and you may find yourself wanting to come back just to see what the exhibits it will hold will look like when it’s finished.
It’s easy to get to the museum. Take a taxi or a tram from the center of Krakow; you can catch a tram near the Main Railway station. We took tram Number 4 out and Number 10 back. Don’t go as far as the Czyzny stop: as we found out the hard way, this is a couple of stops too far.
The stop before the museum is called Wieczysta. If you miss it, watch the side of the road, and you’ll see the Polish Air Museum logo. You can get off at the next stop and walk back.
Either way, walk a short way on the Aleja Jana Pawla II, then a couple of hundred meters up a street called Mariana Markowshiego which goes through the park and up to the museum. The walk is about the same distance from either tram stop.
The address of the museum is Aleja Jana Pawla II 39, but the museum is tucked into the Park Lotnikow Polskich and behind some apartments. It is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Tuesdays through Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays the hours are 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The gates and ticket office close 30 minutes before closing time. The museum is closed on Mondays, but you can walk around the outdoor exhibits. Try to get there on a day when the buildings are open; the really old aircraft are all inside buildings.
If you like aviation history and old planes, take a half a day away from Old Town Krakow and visit the Polish Aviation Museum.
Editor’s note: Have you been to the Polish Air Museum? What did you think of it? Tell us in the comment box below.
