The Rocket Launch Site in Łeba

The Rocket Launch Site at Rąbka ("ROMP-kah"), just west of the Baltic resort of Łeba in northern Poland, is a small open-air museum on the grounds of a secret German rocket test range from World War II. Hidden in the pine forest of Słowiński National Park, on the trail to the famous Łącka Dune, it combines concrete launch structures with rocket models and tells the story of the site from Nazi weapons tests to Polish weather rockets of the Cold War era.

History

According to Słowiński National Park, the launch pad belonged to a German experimental rocket center that operated on the Łeba Spit during World War II (sources date its start to 1940–1941). Engineers tested the Feuerlilie and Rheintochter anti-aircraft missiles and the Rheinbote ballistic rocket, firing them out to sea. The site was abandoned in early 1945. Despite what you may read online, V-1 and V-2 weapons were not tested here.

After the war the Red Army used the area. In the 1960s and 1970s a Polish atmospheric sounding station launched Meteor weather rockets from here to study the upper atmosphere.

What to see

• The Rheintochter launch position – a concrete funnel about 8 m across, now holding a rocket model.
• A postwar assembly hall with an exhibit on Poland's Meteor rocket program.
• The original observation post, one of the few surviving German buildings.
• Radar mounts and building foundations scattered in the forest.

Before and after the rockets

A local history published by the town of Łeba notes that before the war the open dunes of the spit were used by a gliding school, thanks to the steady winds. The German military then took over the area and hid the rocket range in the forest a few kilometers west of town. After the war a state weather station was set up on the west bank of the Łeba River; it still operates, first using rockets and later weather balloons to study the atmosphere.

Opening hours and tickets

The museum is seasonal; it usually opens from May to October, with paid entry. Check current 2026/27 hours and prices before you go. According to the national park, visitor services are run by Łebski Serwis Turystyczny (phone +48 507 555 860, biuro@seapark.pl). From May 1 to September 30 you also need a national park ticket (10 PLN) for the trail. Information is mainly in Polish.

How to get there

From Łeba, drive or cycle to the national park parking lot at Rąbka, then walk through the forest toward the Łącka Dune; the launch site is on the way. In summer, electric carts also run along this road. Allow about an hour here and combine it with the dune walk. Łeba is about 110 km (two hours by car) west of Gdańsk.

Is it worth visiting?

For history buffs, yes – it is one of the few places where you can stand at an actual WWII rocket launch position. For a casual visitor it works best as a short stop on the way to the dunes.