Kołobrzeg Maritime Open-Air Museum

The Kołobrzeg Maritime Open-Air Museum (Kołobrzeski Skansen Morski) is an outdoor branch of the Museum of Polish Arms in the town's fishing port. Its stars are two Polish Navy warships standing on dry land that you can climb aboard, along with the mast and guns of the famous World War II destroyer ORP Burza. Opened in August 2013, it is one of the best things to do in Kołobrzeg with kids – and a quick, memorable stop for anyone interested in naval history.

Where it is

Kołobrzeg (roughly “koh-WOB-zhek”) is a Baltic spa town in northwest Poland, about 230 km northeast of Berlin. The museum sits next to the Salt Redoubt, an earthwork of the former Prussian fortress, on Salt Island (Wyspa Solna), where Kołobrzeg's medieval salt works once made the town rich. From the town center it is an easy walk along the Parsęta River.

Why the ships are on land

The port had too few free berths and keeping museum ships afloat was expensive, so the vessels were hauled out of the water and set on supports. The bonus for visitors: you can see the hulls, propellers and rudders up close.

What to see

• ORP Władysławowo, a Soviet-built Project 205 (NATO: Osa I) missile boat and the last of 13 such boats in the Polish Navy. In service from 1975 to 2006, she was towed to Kołobrzeg in 2010 and lifted ashore in 2012. Length: 38.5 m.
• ORP Fala, the second ship open to visitors, with a twin 23 mm naval gun in front.
• Relics of ORP Burza, a Polish destroyer that escorted Atlantic convoys in World War II: her mast towers over the site, and you can see her guns, a rangefinder, a British Thornycroft depth-charge thrower and lifeboat davits.
• Naval mines, torpedoes, a rocket launcher and the ocean-going yacht Orkan II.

The story of ORP Burza

Built in France, Burza raised the Polish ensign on August 10, 1932. Days before World War II she sailed with two sister destroyers to Britain, then escorted Atlantic convoys, operated off Narvik and in Arctic waters, and helped rescue 254 survivors of the torpedoed liner Empress of Britain. From 1960 she was Poland's first museum ship in Gdynia before being scrapped in 1977; her mast and equipment survive here.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• October 1–31: Tuesday–Sunday 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; closed Monday.
• November 2 – April 30: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday. The museum may close in bad weather, so call +48 518 296 026 before you go.
• May–June and September: daily 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; July–August: 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
• Tickets 32 PLN (reduced 22 PLN, family 80 PLN); three-branch ticket 64/44 PLN; under-7s free. An English audio guide costs 10 PLN.

Tips

Allow 45–60 minutes. Everything is outdoors and the Baltic wind can be biting in winter, so dress warmly. The stairs onto the decks are steep. Afterwards, walk on to the lighthouse and the harbor breakwater, a short distance away.