JuraPark Krasiejów

JuraPark Krasiejów near Opole is a dinosaur park built around a genuine palaeontological site. Excavations here have yielded thousands of remains of Late Triassic amphibians and reptiles, some 230 million years old, including Silesaurus opolensis – a dinosaur forerunner whose name put the Opole region on the world map of palaeontology. The fossils came first; the dinosaur models came later.

The Krasiejów site

The sediments of the former clay pit – dark red and grey claystones and mudstones – have been described in scientific literature since the 1970s, and vertebrate bones from the Late Triassic made them world-famous. At the time, the land that is now Poland lay on the supercontinent Pangaea, in a subtropical climate with dry and wet seasons. The most common vertebrate was the amphibian Metoposaurus; cyclotosaurs, the phytosaur Paleorhinus, the plant-eating aetosaur Stagonolepis and the small Silesaurus also lived here, while the predator was the rauisuchian Polonosuchus. Silesaurus, once regarded as a dinosaur, is now placed in the sister group of the dinosaurs.

The Palaeontological Pavilion

The heart of the park is a glazed concrete pavilion over an active excavation. Through the glass floor and railings you can see a dense bone bed – mainly metoposaurs and cyclotosaurs, with occasional remains of phytosaurs and aetosaurs. According to the park, it is the largest deposit of Triassic amphibian and reptile fossils in Europe on view where it was found. A movable platform for palaeontologists runs above the bone bed, and from July to September you can watch them at work. Inside there is also a reconstructed Silesaurus skeleton by sculptor Marta Szubert. The building, designed by Goczołowie Architekci and OVO Grąbczewscy Architekci, won the SARP Award for the best building completed in Poland in 2006.

More in the park

• Dinosaur Park – a trail lined with replicas of prehistoric animals.
• Time Tunnel and Prehistoric Oceanarium.
• Park of Science and Human Evolution.
• Play Park, a playground, a cinema and Jurassic Beach.

The educational trail with replicas of reptiles, amphibians and dinosaur forerunners leads straight to the Palaeontological Pavilion. In 2014 the Krasiejów Science and Entertainment Park received the Golden Certificate of the Polish Tourist Organisation, and in 2026 it was nominated in National Geographic Traveler's "Wonders of Poland" poll.

Tripto tips

The park is at ul. 1 Maja 10 in Krasiejów (Ozimek municipality). Entry to the Palaeontological Pavilion is included in the park ticket; opening hours, prices and offers change with the season, so check juraparkkrasiejow.pl – tickets bought online are often cheaper. The pavilion alone takes about 20 minutes, but allow half a day for the whole park with children. If you want to see palaeontologists at work, come between July and September.