Polish Aviation Museum Krakow

Some aviation museums have put a few aircraft in a hall. In Krakow, the museum itself is a piece of aviation history: it sits on the former Rakowice-Czyżyny airfield, where Austro-Hungarian military aircraft were already taking off in 1912. Today it holds World War I aircraft that exist nowhere else, the last surviving PZL P.11c, a Spitfire in the colors of Poland’s No. 308 Squadron and an outdoor area where a Starfighter stands next to a MiG-21. The Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego is among the great aviation museums of Europe – and for spotters who like to look beyond airliners, it is a must-visit.

An airfield with more than a hundred years of history

The history of the site begins before the museum. According to the museum chronicle, in 1912 the first aircraft of the imperial and royal (k.u.k.) aviation troops appeared on the Rakowice fields, and Air Park 7 was established. Krakow belonged to Austria-Hungary at the time. On October 31, 1918, Polish soldiers took over the field – a few days before Polish independence was restored. In 1919 a pilot school began here, and in 1921 the 2nd Air Regiment was established.

In the interwar period the airfield grew into a center of Polish aviation. In 1923 a civil air traffic station began passenger service, hangars of concrete and reinforced concrete were added in 1925 and 1929, and at the end of 1931 a civil airport opened in Czyżyny. Some of these buildings still stand today and house exhibitions.

World War II hit the field early: on September 1, 1939, a German air raid damaged what is now the Large Hangar, and a few days later German troops occupied the airfield. During their retreat in January 1945 they blew up hangars and buildings. After that, first Soviet, then Polish units used the grounds. In 1953, according to the museum, a 2,006-meter concrete runway was completed.

With the fighter regiment’s move to Balice in 1955, Rakowice-Czyżyny lost importance. Military flying ended in March 1963 and civil flying in October 1963. In the same year the decision was made to build an aviation museum on the site. Scheduled traffic for the city was taken over by today’s Krakow-Balice Airport in the west.

From exhibition project to museum

It began with a show: from August 23 to September 12, 1964, the Great Aviation Exhibition ran on the former airfield, organized for the 20th anniversary of the People’s Republic of Poland. Historic aircraft were brought to Krakow for it – including aircraft from the former German Aviation Collection in Berlin, which we cover in more detail below.

After several renamings, the exhibition became a permanent institution. According to the museum chronicle, the museum officially opened on August 31, 1968, and from 1971 it came under the Ministry of Transport. Since 1998 it has been a cultural institution of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

For almost half a century the museum showed its collection in the airfield’s old hangars. They were never built for museum purposes and, according to Wikipedia, were hard to heat in winter. So new space was added step by step:

• 1991 an engine exhibition in a former garage of the 2nd Air Regiment
• 1992 the Small Hangar with World War I aircraft
• 2005 two arched hangars that, according to the museum, came to Krakow in 2004 and 2005 as original metal hangars from the Cold War era
• 2010 the new main building
• 2025 a new exhibition hangar for civil aviation

The main building opened in September 2010. According to Wikipedia, the design is by the architects Peter Ruge and Justus Pysall; the building is about twelve meters high and offers roughly 4,500 square meters of exhibition space. Together with the other buildings, everything sits on grounds that, according to the museum, cover 25.7 hectares and are protected as a monument.

The Berlin one-offs from World War I

The part of the collection that aviation historians around the world talk about stands in the Small Hangar. It was built in the early 1990s modeled on Austro-Hungarian hangars of World War I and modernized in 2014. The exhibition is called “Wings of the Great War.”

The aircraft in it come from the German Aviation Collection in Berlin, often referred to as the Göring collection. When Berlin was bombed in World War II, parts of the collection were moved east. They ended up in the Czarnków area of Greater Poland and were left behind in the German retreat of 1945. Badly damaged, they later came to Krakow and were restored in the museum workshops.

According to the museum, every aircraft in this exhibition – with the exception of the Sopwith Camel – is the only surviving example of its type. On display are, among others:

The origin of the aircraft is still a point of dispute today. According to Wikipedia, the German Museum of Technology in Berlin regards them as its property, and Germany has made restitution claims. No agreement is known. For you as a visitor, this mainly means: you see these aircraft only here.

Large Hangar: Wings and People of the 20th Century

In the restored hangar of the 2nd Air Regiment, the exhibition “Wings and People of the 20th Century” has been running since 2021. It tells Polish aviation history from the interwar period to the early jet age – and shows some of the museum’s most important pieces along the way.

• PZL P.11c: According to the museum, the fighter of the 121st Fighter Squadron is the only surviving example in the world. The P.11 was Poland’s most important fighter in 1939. According to Wikipedia, it survived only because the Germans displayed it as a war trophy.
• Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk XVIe: in the colors of Poland’s No. 308 Squadron of the RAF. If you want to dig deeper into the type’s history, you’ll find it on the page for the Supermarine Spitfire.
• Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 and Caudron CR.714 Cyclone: two fighters from World War II. According to the museum, the Caudrons were flown exclusively by Polish pilots in the 1940 campaign in France.
• Curtiss Hawk II: a dive bomber at the entrance, once flown by Ernst Udet according to Wikipedia.
• Amiot AAC-1 Toucan: the French licensed copy of the Junkers Ju 52, here in Ju 52 livery. You can go inside.
• Lisunov Li-2: the Soviet licensed version of the Douglas DC-3, in Polish national markings and also walk-through. Inside is an exhibition on airborne troops.
• Early jets: the Yak-23, de Havilland Vampire and Sea Venom show the transition from piston to jet propulsion.

There are also personal keepsakes of well-known Polish aviators. In the main building, according to Wikipedia, a memorial also commemorates the Polish pilots who fell in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Cold War: arched hangar and outdoor area

In Arched Hangar No. 1, an original Cold War–era metal hangar in camouflage paint, East and West face each other directly. According to the museum, the exhibition shows, among others, an F-4E Phantom II of the US Air Force that was also stationed in Germany, an Italian Starfighter and a MiG-19PM, under whose cockpit its pilot’s signature can still be seen.

The outdoor area is the part that stays longest in most spotters’ memory. Here stand types from both blocs that you hardly get to see in active service anymore. According to the museum, they include:

For airliner fans, the Tu-134A is the highlight: according to the museum, it was the first jet airliner of LOT Polish Airlines and flew international short- and medium-haul routes until 1994. How it fits into the development of Eastern Bloc airliners is covered in the article on Soviet airliners.

According to Wikipedia, the collection also includes other types such as the MiG-29 and the MiG-23. Which aircraft are where at any given time can change because of restorations and rebuilds – take the lists as examples, not as a guarantee.

Civil aviation and the main building

Since August 2025 the museum has had a new permanent exhibition on civil aviation. It is in a modern hangar built on the site of the historic hangar of the 2nd Air Regiment and, according to the museum, covers more than 3,000 square meters. Across seven areas, it covers sport flying, gliding, aerobatics, agricultural and air ambulance flying and the history of LOT – with uniforms of flight deck and cabin crew.

On display are, among others, an RWD-13, the Gil helicopter – the first helicopter designed and flown in Poland –, a PZL-104 Wilga, a PZL-106 Kruk and an Albatros B.II. For general aviation fans it is a rare overview of how Polish sport and utility flying developed.

The main building tells Polish aviation history through homebuilt aircraft, prototypes and jets. At its center stands a TS-11 Iskra, joined by, among others, the Yak-17W, the experimental aircraft EM-10 Bielik, helicopters such as the SM-1 and Mi-2 and the mock-up of a suborbital rocket. According to the museum, the tour here takes 30 to 40 minutes.

The offering is rounded out by the engine hall, the visible storage depot “Magazines of History,” an exhibition on aviation archaeology, the “MiG Alley” and an exhibition on agricultural aviation. In total, the museum has twelve permanent exhibitions.

Photography at the Krakow aviation museum

Under the visitor rules, photos and videos for strictly private purposes are allowed. If you want to publish images or use them commercially, you need the approval of the museum management, and a fee applies. Drones may only fly under EASA rules and with the director’s permission. You may not touch or climb on exhibits or turn propellers – exceptions apply only to items expressly meant to be tried out.

Photographically, Krakow is split in two: in the hangars you work with artificial light and tight spaces, on the outdoor area with sun position and clouds.

Getting there, opening hours and tours

The museum is at al. Jana Pawła II 39 in the east of Krakow; pedestrians can also enter the grounds from Markowskiego Street. According to the museum, it is open Tuesday to Sunday, with hours changing by season. Ticket sales and last admission end 45 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on some public holidays – the list for the current year is on the website. We deliberately don’t list times and admission prices because they change.

• By tram: to the “Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego” stop on Markowskiego Street, according to the museum with lines 4, 5, 9, 10, 52 and 75.
• By bus: for example to “Ugorek,” about 650 meters from the museum.
• By car: visitor parking on Markowskiego and Gnysia streets is free.
• By bike: bike racks are in front of the main building.

If you don’t want to walk the whole grounds on foot, according to the museum you can book a tour in an electric vehicle for up to seven people, also in English. The museum offers tours in Polish, English and German – the latter is handy if you want to hear the history of the Berlin collection in detail.

On accessibility: according to the museum, visitors with a severe disability card may drive up to the main building, and there are also two designated parking spaces.

Is anything still flying here?

The old airfield isn’t completely quiet. According to the museum chronicle, in August 2003, for the 40th anniversary, an aircraft landed on the surviving runway for the first time in many years, and the Kraków-Czyżyny landing site (EPKC) was registered. In May 2005 a police air squadron also began operations on the grounds in one of the arched hangars. From 2004 on, the Lesser Poland Air Picnic also took place here – in 15 editions through 2019, according to the museum.

Still, don’t expect regular traffic like at an airport. If you happen to catch a helicopter or a light aircraft at the museum, that’s a bonus. How to deal with restricted areas is covered in the article Is plane spotting allowed?. You’ll find specific tips on vantage points and subjects on the grounds on the spot page for the Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego.

Combining it: museum and live traffic in Krakow

Krakow is well suited to a long weekend with a museum and spotting. Krakow-Balice Airport west of the city is heavily used by low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air. Add LOT Polish Airlines and leisure airlines such as Enter Air. The contrast could hardly be greater: a LOT Tu-134A in the museum in the morning, today’s fleet on approach in the afternoon.

If you’re traveling further, you can also factor in Warsaw Chopin Airport, the LOT hub. For a museum tour of Central Europe, the Prague-Kbely Aviation Museum with its large collection of Eastern Bloc aircraft and – toward Germany – the Cottbus Airfield Museum also make good stops. If you want to understand the Berlin side of the story, visit the German Museum of Technology in Berlin.

The visit is also worthwhile with children: walk-through aircraft such as the Li-2, Toucan and the Mi-8 as well as the wide outdoor area provide variety. Just plan enough breaks, because the distances between the halls are long. You’ll find more ideas in the article Plane spotting with kids.

Conclusion

The Polish Aviation Museum is more than an aircraft collection. It stands on an airfield where flying has taken place since 1912, in hangars that survived war and occupation. The World War I aircraft from the former Berlin collection are true one-offs, the PZL P.11c is the last example of Poland’s 1939 fighter, and on the outdoor area the Cold War lines up in rows.

Plan a whole day, check opening days and the weather and expect that not every aircraft always stands in the same place. If you still want to see current traffic afterward, Balice Airport is only a short drive away.