Museum of the Slovincian Village in Kluki

The Museum of the Slovincian Village in Kluki ("KLOO-kee") is an open-air museum on the shore of Lake Łebsko, on Poland's central Baltic coast, where reed-thatched, half-timbered farmhouses stand inside a living village on the very plots where they were built. It tells the story of the Slovincians, a small community of fishermen and farmers whose culture has now disappeared. It is one of Poland's most authentic open-air museums and a perfect add-on to a visit to Słowiński National Park.

History

The first museum farmstead opened on September 22, 1963, preserved where it stood. In the 1970s, as the last native families left and many old houses faced demolition, curators saved several farmsteads. From the 1980s the site was developed as a reconstruction of the 19th-century village; today it is a branch of the Central Pomeranian Museum in Słupsk.

Who were the Slovincians?

The name was popularized by the scholar Alexander Hilferding in 1862 for the Slavic-speaking people living between Lake Gardno and the Łeba River. By the 20th century their distinct language was fading; after 1945, when this formerly German region became part of Poland, most identified as German and eventually emigrated. The museum describes them as "a people with only a past tense."

What to see

About 18 buildings on roughly 5 ha – cottages, barns and byres from the 18th to the early 20th century, several in their original location. Highlights:

• Charlotte Klück's cottage (18th century), the oldest Slovincian house, with a rare wide timber-and-clay chimney and a smoke-blackened open kitchen.
• The cottage from Żoruchowo (1841), a typical two-family house.
• Original farmsteads with interiors from around 1900, a fishermen's hut from the Łeba Spit and a bread oven.

A public road runs through the museum, and centuries-old trees grow beside the cottages.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• October–April: closed Monday; Tuesday 10 a.m.–1 p.m. (free entry); Wednesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; last entry one hour before closing.
• Summer hours are longer (June–August, Tuesday–Sunday until 6 p.m.).
• Closed on some holidays, including January 1, Easter Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 11, and December 25.
• Tickets 24 PLN, reduced 18 PLN. Guided tours in Polish (170 PLN) or German (200 PLN) per group, booked three days ahead.

How to get there

Kluki is on the west shore of Lake Łebsko, reached via Smołdzino. Year-round bus 204 runs from Słupsk, which has trains from Gdańsk and Szczecin. Allow 1.5–2 hours.

Events and family tips

The museum comes alive during its folk events: the "Black Wedding" on May 1, "Spring Delights" in the week of Corpus Christi, "In the Slovincian Farmstead" in late July and early August, and "Farewell to Summer" on the third Sunday of September. Children usually enjoy the animals' stalls, bread ovens and fishing gear; paths are unpaved but flat, so strollers manage in dry weather. There is also an inn on site, Karczma "U Dargoscha".

Is it worth visiting?

Yes – especially during one of the museum's folk events in May, June, late July/August or September.