Milling and Farming Museum in Osieczna

On a hill by the road from Osieczna to Leszno, three wooden post mills have stood side by side for more than 250 years. The two oldest date from 1761 and 1763, and the museum says this is the only place in Poland with three original 18th-century windmills in one group. The Jankowski family opened the Milling and Farming Museum here in 2012.

History: from Rydzyna to Osieczna

The windmills are what remains of a group of a dozen or so mills that once stood on a hill called Szubienica (Gallows Hill). As early as 1580 the suburb of Osieczna paid tax on three windmills. From 2004 the Jankowski family ran a museum in the Józef windmill in Rydzyna, and in 2012 they moved the collection here. The exhibitions are in two museum mills, "Franciszek" and "Józef-Adam". The third mill, "Leon", belongs to a private owner.

The hill also has a wartime history. On 11 January 1919, during the Greater Poland Uprising against German rule, Polish insurgents from Krzywiń, Śmigiel and Osieczna took up positions by the windmills. There they fought off an attack by the German Grenzschutz (border guard), which had field guns and machine guns. The clash went down in history as the Battle of the Windmills.

What to see

• The 1763 windmill, whose interior keeps its milling machinery and equipment largely unchanged.
• The 1761 windmill, with displays on traditional farming: tools, implements, costumes and folk art, mostly from southern Greater Poland.
• Several thousand exhibits, including a collection of old carpentry tools.
• The grounds around the mills, with old farm machinery, a miniature water mill, a sheep pen and a café selling regional products.

Interesting facts

The museum runs workshops that it says you will not find anywhere else in Poland. Participants start up a small farm-type post mill and turn it into the wind, then, weather permitting, grind grain in it. They knead challah and rolls from the flour and bake them in a bread oven. Other programmes include baking flatbreads and making herbal soap or a small pine stool. Each workshop lasts about 2.5 hours.

Tripto tip

This is a private museum with guided tours. The museum's website does not say whether you can simply turn up on any given day, so phone ahead (+48 601 567 032) to arrange a time, especially if you want to see a demonstration or join a workshop. The museum is at ul. Leszczyńska 9c in Osieczna, on regional road 432 between Leszno and Śrem. There is a monitored car park and bike racks. Allow 1–1.5 hours for your visit. Osieczna lies on Lake Łoniewskie, with a castle on its shore, so in summer you can easily combine the museum with time by the water. In Rydzyna, a short drive away, stands the Józef windmill where this museum began.