Technical monuments

Road Museum in Szczucin

On the outskirts of Szczucin in the Dąbrowa district, along national road 73 from Kielce to Jasło, operates an institution without a counterpart in Poland: a museum devoted entirely to the history of road building and maintenance. It is run by the Road History Team of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways, which collects road-engineering heritage from all over the country.

From memorial room to open-air museum

The site was established in 1982 as a memorial room of a local road district and, as exhibits accumulated, grew into a museum with a large open-air section. In May 1992 the whole area was entered in the register of monuments by the provincial conservator. The main building, with two towers and an arched span, is shaped like a bridge, and a genuine 51-metre Bailey bridge links it with the skansen.

The road alley

The largest display is outdoors: more than 2 hectares surrounded by forest, crossed by a spiral alley about 1.5 km long. Original kerbs, culverts and drain gratings are built into its surface, and along it stand over 30 stations presenting roads of different eras — from Cretan to modern — made wherever possible from authentic materials. Alongside stand rollers, including steam and horse-drawn ones, crushers, boilers, ploughs and the WLs40 locomotive from the closed brickyard in Szczucin. Vitrines show cross-sections of road surfaces, and inside you will see work scenes with life-size figures, documents, banners and decorations of road workers.

Practicalities

Address: 1 Maja Street 39, Szczucin. On working days the site is open 7.00–15.00, and at weekends from April to November 10.00–17.00. Admission and parking are free of charge. Combine your visit with Pacanów (11 km) and Wiślica (28 km).