Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons

Open-air museumOlsztynek, Warmia-Masuria

Olsztynek Open-Air Museum with children: what to see, map and route

Museum of Folk Architecture, Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek (Muzeum Budownictwa Ludowego). In the Turi app, the same map shows your position, guides you from point to point and lets you tick off the places you’ve visited.

34points to see

15on the recommended route

approx. 3 hvisiting with children

Open this map in Turi Hours and tickets ↗ Directions ↗

Before you go Map Worth seeing All points

Before you go

approx. 3 hwith breaks, at a family pace

2toilets on the map

1places to eat

The grounds are large, and the windmills stand on the western and northern edges, so allow time for them and wear comfortable shoes. The inn from Skandawa is right by the entrance, and there are toilets by the entrance and in the storehouse next to the granary from Skandawa. Many cottages have furnished interiors that you can go into.

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Olsztynek Open-Air Museum in the Turi app

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1recommended, in route orderother pointsWCtoilets, food, tickets

Map: OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and BDOT10k GUGiK, checked against aerial photos. Descriptions and photos: Turi and Wikimedia Commons. Something not right? Report it in the app at that point.

Worth seeing

The Ethnographic Park in Olsztynek is an open-air museum of wooden and brick rural architecture from Warmia, Masuria, Powiśle and Lithuania Minor. Its beginnings go back to 1909 and the village museum in Królewiec (Königsberg), and some of the buildings were moved from there to Olsztynek in 1938-1942. Across the extensive grounds stand cottages with furnished interiors, inns, the church from Rychnowo, a smithy, a fire station, a watermill and four windmills. The museum keeps old breeds of farm animals: horses, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, hens and geese, and the hens roam freely all over the grounds.

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons1

Building / monument

Inn from Skandawa (2nd half of 18th c.)

A replica of an inn from the second half of the 18th century from the village of Skandawa in the Kętrzyn district. Inns like this stood on busy highways, here on the road to Królewiec (Königsberg), and were places for travellers to rest. The long half-timbered building with a red roof now houses a restaurant serving regional food.

Watermill from Kaborno (2nd half of 18th c.)

Photo Greekswax, CC0, Wikimedia Commons2

Building / monument

Watermill from Kaborno (2nd half of 18th c.)

The wooden watermill from the Warmian village of Kaborno dates from the second half of the 18th century. Dammed-up water fell from above onto a wheel with little troughs and turned it, and the wheel drove the machinery that ground grain inside. Stop by the stream at the mill and show the children how water alone did the hard work.

Stone house from Łutynowo (1st half of 19th c.)

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons3

Building / monument

Stone house from Łutynowo (1st half of 19th c.)

This thatched fieldstone house comes from the village of Łutynowo and was built in the first half of the 19th century. Inside there is the modest home of a poor family who had lost everything in a fire, from the early 20th century, and a shoemaker's workshop from the same time: shoes stand on the shelves, and the shoemaker's machine and tools are by the window.

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons4

Building / monument

School from Pawłowo (19th c.)

A 19th-century village school from the village of Pawłowo, a wooden building with red shutters standing among birch trees. The museum runs educational activities in it. According to the museum's website, the cottage from Pawłowo also houses the Herb Tea Room (Pijalnia Ziół), where you can drink herbal infusions and sit outside under a lime tree.

Cottage from Burdajny (1st half of 19th c.)

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons5

Building / monument

Cottage from Burdajny (1st half of 19th c.)

A replica of a cottage from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Burdajny, with a half-timbered arcaded upper extension resting on arches. Grain used to be kept in the extension. Inside there is a schoolroom and a teacher's home from the 1920s: children will see wooden desks, a blackboard and a globe, and can compare the old classroom with their own.

Paltrok mill from Ruska Wieś (2nd half of 19th c.)

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons6

Building / monument

Paltrok mill from Ruska Wieś (2nd half of 19th c.)

An original windmill from the second half of the 19th century from Ruska Wieś near Mrągowo, with a body clad in wooden shingles. It is a paltrok mill: to set the sails to the wind, the whole body was turned, sliding on cast-iron rollers along rails laid on a brick base. Children can spot this base at the foot of the mill.

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons7

Building / monument

Post mill from Wodziany (1773)

This original windmill from 1773 from the village of Wodziany in Powiśle stands alone among the fields on the western edge of the open-air museum. The whole wooden body, together with the sails, rests on a sturdy base called the kozioł (trestle). To set the sails to the wind, the miller turned the whole windmill using a long tail pole.

Beekeeper's and potter's farmstead with the cottage from Nowe Kawkowo

Photo GringoPL, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons8

Building / monument

Beekeeper's and potter's farmstead with the cottage from Nowe Kawkowo

A Warmian farmstead with a 19th-century cottage from Nowe Kawkowo, with a corner porch and a half-timbered gable. The 1930s interior belonged to a well-off beekeeper, and next door there is a pottery workshop with a kiln for firing pots. In the barn from Stękiny stands a horse gin, a device driven by a horse walking round in a circle.

Smock mill from Dobrocin (2nd half of 19th c.)

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons9

Building / monument

Smock mill from Dobrocin (2nd half of 19th c.)

This Dutch-type smock mill from the second half of the 19th century from the village of Dobrocin has traditional equipment for grinding grain. Its octagonal body stays still, and only the cap, the roof with the sails fixed to it, was turned into the wind. It is interesting to compare it with the post mill and the paltrok mills, which turned as a whole.

Shepherd's and basket maker's farmstead with cottage no. 1 from Kaborno

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons10

Building / monument

Shepherd's and basket maker's farmstead with cottage no. 1 from Kaborno

A Warmian farmstead with cottage no. 1 from Kaborno from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, with blue shutters and mossy thatch. Inside is the home of a moderately well-off shepherd's family and a workshop where baskets were woven. Around the yard stand a sheepfold and a granary from Purdka and a barn from Marcinkowo.

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons11

Building / monument

Fire station from Giedajty (1902)

A brick fire station from 1902 from the village of Giedajty in Warmia, with a tall tower where the fire hoses were dried. Inside stand old fire carts with hand pumps, painted red. Children can see up close what was used to fight fires more than a hundred years ago.

Smithy from Bielica (1st half of 19th c.)

Photo Dawid Galus, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons12

Building / monument

Smithy from Bielica (1st half of 19th c.)

A replica of a Powiśle smithy from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Bielica, with white walls and a half-timbered gable. Inside there is a forge and a blacksmith's bellows. The blacksmith heated the iron in the fire, which the bellows fanned, and then hammered it on the anvil, making horseshoes and tools.

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons13

Building / monument

Cottage from Gązwa (18th/19th c.)

The cottage from Gązwa, from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, is built of wooden logs. On the road side it has a shallow porch on three posts, and on the yard side a fieldstone cowshed. Inside stands a stove from 1792 made of tiles with little scenes and flowers, and the display shows the home of a carpenter and pigeon breeder's family.

Coaching inn with tavern from Małszewo (18th c.)

Photo GringoPL, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, Wikimedia Commons14

Building / monument

Coaching inn with tavern from Małszewo (18th c.)

A replica of an 18th-century coaching inn with a tavern from the village of Małszewo in the Szczytno district. Inns like this were built on busy highways so that travellers could eat and rest. Inside you will see a furnished tavern room with benches and a bar, and in the cart shed next door stand old carts and britzkas.

Church from Rychnowo (replica, 1712-1714)

Photo Bybbisch94, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons15

Building / monument

Church from Rychnowo (replica, 1712-1714)

This wooden Protestant church on an octagonal plan, roofed with reed, is a replica of the church from 1712-1714 in Rychnowo. It was built in Królewiec (Königsberg) in 1910-1913 and moved to Olsztynek in 1938-1942. Inside, look up: the ceiling is painted with the temptation in Paradise, the walls with the apostles, and the altar from 1662 comes from Różyńsk Wielki.

All points (38)

Grouped as in the map legend. A star marks recommended points.

Building / monument 32

Inn from Skandawa (2nd half of 18th c.) ★A replica of an inn from the second half of the 18th century from the village of Skandawa in the Kętrzyn district. Inns like this stood on busy highways, here on the road to Królewiec (Königsberg), and were places for travellers to rest. The long half-timbered building with a red roof now houses a restaurant serving regional food.

Watermill from Kaborno (2nd half of 18th c.) ★The wooden watermill from the Warmian village of Kaborno dates from the second half of the 18th century. Dammed-up water fell from above onto a wheel with little troughs and turned it, and the wheel drove the machinery that ground grain inside. Stop by the stream at the mill and show the children how water alone did the hard work.

Stone house from Łutynowo (1st half of 19th c.) ★This thatched fieldstone house comes from the village of Łutynowo and was built in the first half of the 19th century. Inside there is the modest home of a poor family who had lost everything in a fire, from the early 20th century, and a shoemaker's workshop from the same time: shoes stand on the shelves, and the shoemaker's machine and tools are by the window.

School from Pawłowo (19th c.) ★A 19th-century village school from the village of Pawłowo, a wooden building with red shutters standing among birch trees. The museum runs educational activities in it. According to the museum's website, the cottage from Pawłowo also houses the Herb Tea Room (Pijalnia Ziół), where you can drink herbal infusions and sit outside under a lime tree.

Cottage from Burdajny (1st half of 19th c.) ★A replica of a cottage from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Burdajny, with a half-timbered arcaded upper extension resting on arches. Grain used to be kept in the extension. Inside there is a schoolroom and a teacher's home from the 1920s: children will see wooden desks, a blackboard and a globe, and can compare the old classroom with their own.

Paltrok mill from Ruska Wieś (2nd half of 19th c.) ★An original windmill from the second half of the 19th century from Ruska Wieś near Mrągowo, with a body clad in wooden shingles. It is a paltrok mill: to set the sails to the wind, the whole body was turned, sliding on cast-iron rollers along rails laid on a brick base. Children can spot this base at the foot of the mill.

Post mill from Wodziany (1773) ★This original windmill from 1773 from the village of Wodziany in Powiśle stands alone among the fields on the western edge of the open-air museum. The whole wooden body, together with the sails, rests on a sturdy base called the kozioł (trestle). To set the sails to the wind, the miller turned the whole windmill using a long tail pole.

Beekeeper's and potter's farmstead with the cottage from Nowe Kawkowo ★A Warmian farmstead with a 19th-century cottage from Nowe Kawkowo, with a corner porch and a half-timbered gable. The 1930s interior belonged to a well-off beekeeper, and next door there is a pottery workshop with a kiln for firing pots. In the barn from Stękiny stands a horse gin, a device driven by a horse walking round in a circle.

Smock mill from Dobrocin (2nd half of 19th c.) ★This Dutch-type smock mill from the second half of the 19th century from the village of Dobrocin has traditional equipment for grinding grain. Its octagonal body stays still, and only the cap, the roof with the sails fixed to it, was turned into the wind. It is interesting to compare it with the post mill and the paltrok mills, which turned as a whole.

Shepherd's and basket maker's farmstead with cottage no. 1 from Kaborno ★A Warmian farmstead with cottage no. 1 from Kaborno from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, with blue shutters and mossy thatch. Inside is the home of a moderately well-off shepherd's family and a workshop where baskets were woven. Around the yard stand a sheepfold and a granary from Purdka and a barn from Marcinkowo.

Fire station from Giedajty (1902) ★A brick fire station from 1902 from the village of Giedajty in Warmia, with a tall tower where the fire hoses were dried. Inside stand old fire carts with hand pumps, painted red. Children can see up close what was used to fight fires more than a hundred years ago.

Smithy from Bielica (1st half of 19th c.) ★A replica of a Powiśle smithy from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Bielica, with white walls and a half-timbered gable. Inside there is a forge and a blacksmith's bellows. The blacksmith heated the iron in the fire, which the bellows fanned, and then hammered it on the anvil, making horseshoes and tools.

Cottage from Gązwa (18th/19th c.) ★The cottage from Gązwa, from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, is built of wooden logs. On the road side it has a shallow porch on three posts, and on the yard side a fieldstone cowshed. Inside stands a stove from 1792 made of tiles with little scenes and flowers, and the display shows the home of a carpenter and pigeon breeder's family.

Coaching inn with tavern from Małszewo (18th c.) ★A replica of an 18th-century coaching inn with a tavern from the village of Małszewo in the Szczytno district. Inns like this were built on busy highways so that travellers could eat and rest. Inside you will see a furnished tavern room with benches and a bar, and in the cart shed next door stand old carts and britzkas.

Church from Rychnowo (replica, 1712-1714) ★This wooden Protestant church on an octagonal plan, roofed with reed, is a replica of the church from 1712-1714 in Rychnowo. It was built in Królewiec (Königsberg) in 1910-1913 and moved to Olsztynek in 1938-1942. Inside, look up: the ceiling is painted with the temptation in Paradise, the walls with the apostles, and the altar from 1662 comes from Różyńsk Wielki.

Earth cellar from Małszewo (2nd half of 19th c.)This earth cellar from the second half of the 19th century from the village of Małszewo stands in the farmstead with the stone house from Łutynowo. From the outside all you can see is a grassy mound with a stone entrance. Cellars like this were common in the countryside: it was cool under the layer of earth, so food and crops were stored in them.

Tower from Mańki (replica, 1685)This tall wooden tower by the church from Rychnowo is a replica of the tower from 1685 by the Church of St Nicholas in Mańki. Together with the church and the stone wall it forms an old church complex: the oldest cemeteries were laid out around churches, and the wall separated the sacred ground from the rest of the village.

Cottage from Bartężek (1st half of 19th c.)A replica of a Powiśle cottage from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Bartężek. It is a house with a central recessed porch, thatched, with blue shutters, tucked away behind a wooden fence. It stands in the Powiśle farmstead, so it is worth comparing with the richer arcaded houses next door.

Bell tower from Kot (early 20th c.)This openwork wooden bell tower from the early 20th century from the village of Kot stood in the middle of the village. The ringing bell warned the villagers of fire and announced important events. Children can peek under the structure and spot the bell hanging high up under the little roof.

Paltrok mill from Schönfließ (replica, 18th/19th c.)A replica of a windmill from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries from the village of Schönfließ, now Komsomolskoye in Kaliningrad Oblast. It has a dark body of vertical boards and, like the paltrok mill from Ruska Wieś, it turned as a whole so that its sails caught the wind. The windmills standing nearby show nicely how the three types of mill differ.

Cottage no. 2 from Kaborno (19th c.)An original 19th-century cottage from the Warmian village of Kaborno, with red shutters, in the farmstead of well-off farmers. Inside there is an exhibition of painted folk furniture from Powiśle, Warmia and Masuria: colourful chests, wardrobes and cradles. Children can look for flowers and other painted patterns on them.

Cottage from Pempen (replica, 18th/19th c.)A replica of a cottage from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries from Pempen in former Lithuania Minor, now Pempiai in Lithuania. It is the house of a moderately well-off peasant, with blue shutters and crossed horses' heads on the gable. The Lithuanian farmstead also has a granary, a drying house and the buildings of the fishermen from Gilge by the pond.

Granary from Lankuppen (replica, 18th c.)A replica of an 18th-century granary from Lankuppen in former Lithuania Minor, now Lankupiai in Lithuania. A granary like this, called a kleć or świrunek, stood on one side of the yard of a Lithuanian farmstead and was used to store food. It has a tall thatched roof and a wooden porch with a balustrade.

Farm building from Chojnik (mid-19th c.)A farm building from the middle of the 19th century from the village of Chojnik, wooden and thatched, which together with the cottage forms the farmstead of well-off farmers from Powiśle. Buildings like this usually housed a cowshed, a stable or a store for equipment, and in front of it there is a garden with a scarecrow.

Farm building from Kwietniewo (19th c.)A 19th-century farm building from the village of Kwietniewo near Elbląg, with a tall wooden gable and a half-timbered lower part. It belongs to the farmstead with the cottage from Burdajny. In Powiśle, fodder, equipment and animals were kept in buildings like this. The combination of the half-timbered lower part with the tall wooden gable looks striking.

Manor granary from Skandawa (replica, 2nd half of 18th c.)A large white half-timbered granary with a red tiled roof, modelled on the granary from the manor farm in Skandawa from the second half of the 18th century. On estates, harvested grain was stored in buildings like this. Today it houses the museum's offices and back-of-house facilities, so you see it from the outside.

Cowshed with carpentry workshop from Jerutki (19th c.)A 19th-century farm building from the village of Jerutki, part of the Masurian farmstead with the cottage from Gązwa. Inside, a carpentry workshop has been set up: there are old workbenches, tools and a large wooden wheel. This suits the farmstead, because its farmer was a carpenter.

Cottage from Chojnik (mid-19th c.)An original cottage from the middle of the 19th century from the village of Chojnik near Morąg, the home of a well-off farming family from Powiśle. Its distinctive feature is the half-timbered arcaded extension with brick infill, resting on wooden posts. You could shelter from the rain under the arcade.

Barn from Jerutki (2nd half of 19th c.)A long barn from the second half of the 19th century from the village of Jerutki near Szczytno, built of wooden logs and thatched. It has three storage bays for grain and two threshing floors. On the threshing floor, a hard-packed floor, grain was threshed with flails to separate the grain from the straw.

Cottage from Zielonka Pasłęcka (1819)An original cottage from 1819 from the village of Zielonka Pasłęcka, with an arcaded extension, a projecting part of the house resting on posts. The interior shows the home of a well-off family of Dutch settlers from the end of the 19th century: painted furniture, stoves and an old kitchen. Beehives stand next to it in the farmstead.

Cottage from Królewo (1st half of 19th c.)A Powiśle cottage from the first half of the 19th century from the village of Królewo near Morąg, moved to the open-air museum in its original form. It has a red tiled roof and an arcaded part on wooden posts. Compare it with the neighbouring houses from Powiśle, Warmia and Masuria, because each region built a little differently.

Park pavilion from Judyty (early 20th c.)A small pavilion from the early 20th century, a replica of a building from the palace park in Judyty. It has red-brick half-timbered walls and a tiled roof. It stands close to the entrance, by the inn, so you can see it at the start or the end of your walk.

Attraction 1

Entrance gate from Borki (19th c.)This wooden gate with an openwork top is a replica of a 19th-century gate from the village of Borki and is now the main entrance to the park. Just beyond it your walk through the old village begins: on the left stands the inn from Skandawa, and further on the path leads past the watermill deeper into the open-air museum.

Shrine / cross 1

Wayside shrine from Giedajty (replica, 19th c.)This slender white shrine with a red roof is a replica of a 19th-century shrine from the village of Giedajty near Jonkowo. Shrines were typical of Catholic Warmia: they were put up at crossroads, by houses and along roads, and they also marked the routes of pilgrimages to sanctuaries.

Food 1

Herb Tea RoomThe Herb Tea Room (Pijalnia Ziół) serves herbal infusions and its own blends, as well as syrups and preserves made from local plants. According to the museum's website, it is currently in the cottage from the village of Pawłowo. You can have your drink inside or outside, in the shade of a lime tree.

Shop 1

Souvenir shopThe museum shop in the Visitor Service Centre in front of the main gate: work by regional artists and craftspeople, souvenirs, guidebooks and maps. Open from May to October.

Toilets / tickets / parking 2

ToiletsToilets by the entrance to the open-air museum, near the inn and the shop. A good place to stop before a longer walk around the park.

ToiletsToilets deeper inside the open-air museum, near the farmsteads and the manor farm granary. Handy halfway round, as the museum grounds are extensive.

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Photo 1bumer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Photo 1bumer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Photo Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Olsztynek Open-Air MuseumGet Turi