Pilica River Open-Air Museum

In January 1945 a German armoured artillery tractor tried to cross the frozen Pilica River on the ice and sank. It was only recovered in 1999, 54 years later, then restored and got running again. "Lufcik" is now the star exhibit of the Pilica River Open-Air Museum in Tomaszów Mazowiecki – an outdoor museum where a historic watermill stands next to a tsar's privy from Spała.

History: a museum fished out of the river

The museum was founded in 1999 by the Society of Friends of the Pilica and Its Valley, led by Andrzej Kobalczyk, together with the town authorities. It began with a historic watermill from Kuźnica Żerechowska, saved from flooding by a reservoir being built on the Luciąża River – it was moved and rebuilt on Modrzewskiego Street. In 2005 the museum became a municipal cultural institution, and since 1 January 2016 it has been a branch of the Tomaszów Mazowiecki Municipal Cultural Centre. In 2015 it received the Pro Publico Bono Medal.

What to see

• The watermill, with two machines for grinding flour and one for bran, models of former mills and bridges on the Pilica and Poland's largest collection of millstones.
• "Lufcik" – a Luftwaffe artillery tractor on an armoured SdKfz 8 chassis, still with its original number plate; the museum says it is the only surviving example of its kind in the world. Restoration lasted until 2003, and two years later the vehicle was running again.
• A T-34/85 tank from the Polish Army Museum, in working order after restoration, and three Soviet divisional guns, including a ZiS-3 and a D-44.
• The cross from Kurnędz near Sulejów, made in 1945 from the barrel of a Soviet gun and anti-aircraft shell cases.
• Relics from Spała, the former hunting residence – a wooden privy used by the Russian tsars when hunting in the Spała forest, and a guardhouse from the residence gate, moved to the museum in 2008.
• Exhibitions in the mill: "War Halted in the Pilica" on the fighting along the Pilica Line in January 1945, and "The Pilica Verdun" on the trench warfare of 1914–1915, including an album of over a hundred photographs taken by a Russian officer.

Practical information

The museum is at ul. A.F. Modrzewskiego 9/11. Opening hours (Tuesday–Sunday, closed on Mondays): 1 April–30 June and September 9:00–17:00, July–August 10:00–18:00, 1 October–31 March 9:00–16:00; last entry one hour before closing. A standard ticket costs PLN 22, reduced PLN 16, a family ticket (2+2) PLN 64, and PLN 12 with the Large Family Card, Łódź Region Senior Card or Tomaszów resident card. Guided group tours cost PLN 75, or PLN 150 in English. Parking at the museum is paid from 8:00 to 22:00: PLN 8 for the first hour and PLN 5 for each further hour.

Tripto tip

Allow 1.5–2 hours, longer with children – the vehicles, guns and trenches make a big impression on them. Part of the collection is outdoors, so on a rainy day start with the exhibitions in the mill. The museum borders the Niebieskie Źródła ("Blue Springs") nature reserve, and the Nagórzyce Caves are nearby too – together they make a good day out in Tomaszów.