I'm not a fan of museums and exhibitions, but I really like this place.
The Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow is located on the edge of the old, closed airport built in 1912. Until now, some of the runways with damaged surfaces and the ruins of hangars have been preserved. The old airport area is a monument filled with humankind's dreams of conquering the skies - the perfect site for the museum. In summer, air shows and music festivals take place here. The locals (including me) like to come here for walks.
While walking along the old runway, you can notice a fragment of the open-air exhibition, which arouses curiosity and encourages you to visit the museum.
So let's do it!
It is one of those places where men turn into little boys and express their delight as enthusiastically as their children. I like to observe not only the exhibits but also the reactions of visitors :)
The museum consists of the main building with an exhibition area, several hangars, and an open-air exhibition.
Main building with exhibits hanging under the ceiling.
Around the main building, we can also find some exciting exhibits, for example, the so-called papal helicopter. A Soviet-made helicopter that once served John Paul II's visits to Poland. There was a lot of Soviet equipment in the Polish civil and military air fleet. In the open-air exhibition, you can see, among others, the so-called "The MiG alley" (Soviet jet fighters).
My favorite of all the museum's collections was the exhibition "Wings of the Great War," located in a separate building.
Atmospheric lighting, music, scenery, posters, and comic books painted on the walls telling the story - all of that greatly influenced my imagination. I spent the most time here!
The old planes looked like big toys - and to think people flew them!
Meet the LFG Roland, a German fighter from 1918. I was captivated by its wooden structure and large, exposed engine at the front.
I felt like on the set of some movie.
You can see old suits, uniforms, documents, and patches in the display cases.
I liked the patches the most because they were very personal. Pilots often embroidered them themselves, as you can see - each one is different :)
I moved from the hangar to the open-air exhibition - there was a lot to see! There are over 200 exhibits throughout the museum; most are outdoors. Here you can also see the old surface of the runway.
The white and red checkerboard is the national marking for the Polish airforce; two days ago (01/12) was precisely the 103rd anniversary of its official introduction.
In the "MiG Aleey":) I like that you can touch each plane and see it up close.
In addition to the extensive collection of Polish Cold War aircraft, you can also see planes from behind the Iron Curtain. For example, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, an American supersonic fighter-bomber built in the 1950s. This one was flown by Major Donald Kutyna, an American of Polish origin who took part in the Vietnam War.
Let's move to the large hangar where the most famous planes from the Second World War and beyond have been collected. You can see them both from the floor level and the balcony surrounding the hangar's interior.
There is a corner here on Poland's participation in the Battle of Britain and other World War II air battles.
The legendary Spitfire, one of the heroes of the Battle of Britain.
In addition to planes, in the hangar, you can see showcases with uniforms and other exhibits, as well as trying out flight simulators. I wanted to try it, but there was a large queue of people willing, mainly children.
I was interested in the ejection seats, which looked more like torture devices than airplane seats 😅
As you can see, the aviation museum has nothing to do with boredom and dusty exhibits. Although I wrote about the men playing here like children initially, I also felt like a little girl in a toy store. Airplanes have been with us for over a hundred years and continue to fascinate us.
--- Thanks for stopping by! ---
I'm the only author of the text and photos.
