Kocjan Cottage in Rabsztyn

This whitewashed wooden cottage from 1862 is where Antoni Kocjan was born – the designer whose gliders made up half of all those built in Poland in the 1930s, and during the war a key figure in uncovering Germany's V-2 rockets. The house was moved from Olkusz to the foot of Rabsztyn Castle and now holds an exhibition about his life. In season, entry is included in the castle ticket.

Who was Antoni Kocjan

He was born on 12 August 1902 in the village of Skalskie, now part of Olkusz. After grammar school in Olkusz he studied at Warsaw University of Technology, was active in its aviation section and from 1932 was chief designer of the Glider Workshops in Warsaw. His designs included the Czajka, Wrona, Komar, Sroka, Sokół, Mewa and Orlik gliders and the Bąk motor glider. According to Rabsztyn Castle, half of the 1,400 gliders built in Poland in the 1930s were his designs; 40 national records and international records were set on them.

During the occupation Kocjan served in the Home Army (ZWZ-AK) and the "Musketeers" intelligence network; in 1940 he spent 10 months in Auschwitz. He played a major part in gathering intelligence on the Peenemünde rocket centre and the V-2 missile. On 2 June 1944 he was arrested with his wife, tortured by the Gestapo and on 13 August 1944 murdered with the last group of prisoners of Warsaw's Pawiak prison.

What you will see

• A biographical exhibition on Kocjan's life – from his work as a glider designer to his Home Army intelligence role.
• An ethnographic display of everyday objects from an old farmstead.
• The cottage itself – a log house with a shingle roof, dismantled at the request of the Olkusz authorities, moved to Rabsztyn and rebuilt.

Tripto tip

The cottage stands right next to Rabsztyn Castle on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests, and from April to October it can be visited free with a castle ticket. According to the castle's price list, tickets cost PLN 20 (reduced PLN 15) Tuesday to Friday and PLN 25 (reduced PLN 18) at weekends; an audio guide is PLN 5. The castle season starts on 1 March, and at weekends from March to October guides wait on the hour from 11:00 to 16:00. Allow 20–30 minutes for the cottage, 1.5–2 hours with the castle and viewing tower. There is parking by the castle and you can pay by card; because national road 94 is being rebuilt, access may be difficult – the castle advises following the Olkusz bypass.