Polish Aviation Museum
Kraków Monuments
A museum on the grounds of the former Rakowice-Czyżyny airfield, one of the oldest military airfields in the world. The airfield was established in 1912 in connection with the development of Austro-Hungarian aviation, and in 1917 it became a stopover on the first regular airmail line in Europe, linking Vienna with Kyiv and Odesa. After Poland regained independence the first Polish combat unit was organised here, and on 18 July 1923 the Kraków Civil Air Station was opened. The number of aircraft on display exceeds 200.
History
The museum stands on the site of the former Rakowice-Czyżyny airfield, one of the oldest military airfields in the world. It was founded in 1912, as Austro-Hungarian aviation was developing, and originally covered 55 hectares. In 1917 it became one of the stopping points on Europe's first regular airmail route, flown from Vienna to Kyiv and Odesa.
When Poland regained independence, the airfield passed into the hands of the Polish Army, which formed the first Polish combat unit here, known as the Air Squadron. The base was expanded with repair and production workshops and a pilots' school, and in 1921 the 2nd Air Regiment was formed. The Kraków Civil Air Station opened on 18 July 1923, giving Kraków the second-largest airport in the country. From 1938 planes departed from here on the international Warsaw-Kraków-Budapest route. During the Second World War it was taken over by the Germans. The airfield was closed in 1963, and its complex of buildings was entered in the register of historic monuments in 2006.
Work on organising the museum began in 1963, to house a growing collection of aircraft then stored in various places around the country. Its core was formed by machines from the former German collection taken over in 1945. The Minister of National Defence then handed over the land and buildings of the former airfield, including the hangar, to the Aero Club of the Polish People's Republic. The first aviation exhibition opened at the turn of August and September 1964. Most of the exhibits are machines no longer used by the army or the state administration, and some were obtained in exchanges with museums in other countries. Today more than 200 aircraft are on display.
The new building, opened on 18 September 2010, stands next to the old office building that the Germans built at the airfield as a chancellery during the war. Seen from above it looks like a propeller, and its wings serve different purposes: two are exhibition halls, while the third houses a library, offices and a cinema and conference room, among other things. The collection includes the world's only surviving P.11c fighter that fought in the September 1939 campaign, and a Curtiss Export Hawk II used for displays at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. In spring 2023 construction began on the "Heksagon" exhibition hangar, which is to house an exhibition on civil aviation.
Did you know?
In November 2005 a Swedish AJSF 37 Viggen fighter flew to Kraków straight from its base in Luleå. It landed at Balice, and from there it was transported through the city streets to the museum. In 2002 the same aircraft had taken part in the Strong Resolve 2002 exercise, flying over Poland.