Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej w Opolu

About the museum

The Opole Village Museum (Muzeum Wsi Opolskiej) was established on 14 November 1961 as a research and educational institution. Its task is to collect, conserve and make accessible the folk cultural heritage of Opole Silesia (Śląsk Opolski), especially its wooden architecture. The foundations of the open-air museum were laid in the 1950s by the ethnographer Stanisław Bronicz, later the museum’s first director, who drew up a list of more than twenty objects to be moved.

The museum occupies more than 10 hectares of a former military training ground in Bierkowice, a few kilometres from the centre of Opole. The first building, a small granary from Sternalice, was erected in 1967, and the open-air museum opened to visitors on 23 September 1970, when 15 objects stood here. To date, 49 wooden buildings have been rebuilt; outside the open-air museum the museum also looks after one cottage in Kielcza.

The buildings are arranged in farmsteads representing different social classes and in groups showing the subregions of Opole Silesia. They include cottages, a wooden church from Gręboszów from 1613, a school, an inn, a shop, a smithy from 1726, a mill and two post windmills (koźlak type). The interiors are furnished with original equipment, and the farmsteads are surrounded by gardens, front gardens and farm animals. The oldest building, a manor granary from Sławięcice from 1610, is also the largest object in the collection.

Highlights

• 49 wooden buildings recreating the landscape of the Opole countryside
• Wooden church from Gręboszów from 1613
• Manor granary from Sławięcice from 1610
• Smithy from 1726 and two post windmills (koźlak type)
• Exhibitions “Krucha sztuka” (Fragile Art) on kroszonki (painted Easter eggs) and “Głos mają ryby” (Fish Have a Voice)
• Quiet hours on Thursdays for visitors sensitive to stimuli

Permanent exhibitions

• Ekspozycja plenerowa – wieś opolska – The open-air museum presents 49 rebuilt wooden buildings with their furnishings, from cottages and farmsteads to a church, school, inn, smithy and mill.
• Krucha sztuka, czyli od kurzego jaja do opolskiej kroszonki – Exhibition in the granary from Głogówek devoted to decorated eggs and the Opole tradition of kroszonka.
• Głos mają ryby – Exhibition in the barn from Podlesie, accessible to people using wheelchairs.

Founded

1961

Admission & discounts

Free admission: every Monday all year round

Prices apply to the full-access season (11 April–25 October 2026). Guides in the historic buildings give information included in the ticket price. Tickets can be bought at the ticket office or online.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

The main entrance to the reception building has automatic sliding doors and is reachable from the pavement; the granite-block paving in front of the entrance may make access more difficult. The hall has ticket desks with induction loops, a toilet adapted for people with disabilities and parents with small children, and a tactile exhibition map. Walking around the grounds requires no steps, and the paths are covered with gravel and sand; the interiors of the historic buildings have high thresholds and narrow passages and are not adapted for wheelchairs, except the barn from Podlesie. Sound-reducing headphones can be borrowed at the ticket office, and a quiet room is available in the season. Voice navigation is provided by the Your Way app. The museum offers an easy-to-read pre-visit guide and a card in Polish Sign Language (PJM). Guide dogs are always welcome.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Children not of compulsory school age enter free. The museum has prepared sensory conditions for families with children who have special needs: quiet hours on Thursdays, sound-reducing headphones and a quiet room.

Getting there & parking

The museum lies in the Bierkowice district, about 5 km from the centre of Opole, on voivodeship road no. 414, near national road no. 45.

Amenities & dining

• Restaurant
• Museum shop

The restaurant Restauracja 174, run by an external operator, is located at the museum, with its entrance on the car park side. The souvenir shop is in the reception building. Toilets are at the ticket office and in the park grounds.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

The museum rents its audiovisual hall (PLN 196.80 per hour, PLN 240 with kitchen access) and the open-air museum grounds for events and celebrations, according to a price list depending on the number of guests. Contact: Adam Krzyżanowski, tel. +48 77 457 23 49 ext. 116.

Plan your visit