Museums
an open-air museum with huts, ramparts and a palisade of early medieval Wolin and the Festival of Slavs and Vikings
Hills and trails
an archaeological reserve with barrows from the 9th and 10th centuries on a hill above the Dziwna
Museums
early medieval Wolin, Jomsborg and Slavic beliefs in an exhibition of excavation finds
Churches and monasteries
Gothic brick pseudo-basilica from the end of the 13th century, rebuilt from a wartime ruin in 1988-1998
Historic sites
brick Dutch windmill of 1850 on a circular plan, behind the cemetery in the western part of the town
Historic sites
a manor house from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries on the foundations of a castle of the Dukes of Pomerania
Places with character
Churches and monasteries
a neo-Gothic brick church from 1848, built as an Old Lutheran one, with an organ from the mid-19th century
Places with character
Things to do in Wolin: a Slav and Viking open-air museum, a rebuilt collegiate church, a swing bridge over the Dziwna and the Gallows Hill burial mounds.
Wolin is a small town on the island of the same name in West Pomerania. One day here covers several unrelated themes: the early Middle Ages, Gothic brick architecture, engineering and water.
Start with the places that explain the old town: the open-air museum, the regional museum and the hill with the burial ground.
Skansen w Wolinie (Wolin open-air museum) is a reconstruction of an early medieval settlement on Wolińska Kępa, by the Dziwna strait. It has ramparts, a palisade and huts modelled on the old buildings, and the Centrum Słowian i Wikingów association runs it. The Festiwal Słowian i Wikingów takes place here. Its origins are described in a text on the reconstruction in Wolin.
Muzeum Regionalne im. Andrzeja Kaubego w Wolinie (Andrzej Kaube Regional Museum) stands on the market square next to the town hall. The permanent exhibition "Wolin - więcej niż legenda" runs in Polish and English, and four rooms lead from the geology of the island to the medieval port.
South of town, on a rise called Gołogóra above the Dziwna, lies Wzgórze Wisielców (Gallows Hill). It is a burial ground with barrows dating to the 9th and 10th centuries, enclosed by a fence, and an archaeological reserve with free entry.
Wolin's monuments lie close together and fit one loop: two churches, a manor on the site of a castle and a windmill on the western edge of town.
Kolegiata św. Mikołaja w Wolinie (Collegiate Church of St Nicholas) is a Gothic church from the end of the 13th century. Destroyed in 1945, it was secured as a permanent ruin and rebuilt by the end of the 1990s.
The second church, Kościół św. Stanisława w Wolinie (St Stanislaus Church) on Kościelna Street, is neo-Gothic. It was built in 1848 as an Old Lutheran church. Inside is an organ from the mid-19th century.
Dwór w Wolinie (Wolin Manor) stands on Zamkowa Street, in the courtyard of the town office, where a castle of the Pomeranian dukes once stood. The von Below family built it at the turn of the 19th century, and after a renovation finished in 2012 it houses a cultural centre for international cooperation.
On the western edge of town, behind the cemetery, stands Wiatrak holenderski w Wolinie (Dutch windmill): brick, three storeys, built in 1850 on a circular plan and listed as a monument. You view it from outside. Further reading: monuments of Wolin and museums of small towns in the region.
The Dziwna strait links the island with Wolińska Kępa and closes the day well, even if monuments are not your thing.
Most obrotowy w Wolinie (swing bridge) in the eastern part of town ranks among five swing bridges in Poland. Electric motors on the central pier turn part of the spans by 90 degrees, and opening for shipping closes the road twice a day, so check the time before you go. A second, arched bridge stands beside it.
Port Wolin lies on the eastern shore of the island. Barges, yachts, fishing boats and passenger vessels moor along its quays. This is a walk along the water rather than a place with attractions. For the wider area see the text on a weekend on the islands.
Museum and manor at the market in the morning, the two churches around noon, the open-air museum on Wolińska Kępa in the afternoon, and the swing bridge and port at the end of the day. Add the burial hill and windmill if you have a car or a bike. Seven places carry the Solo tag for people who travel alone, and the list of architecture in Wolin helps those who come for buildings. The early bishopric of Pomerania began here, as the text on the move from Wolin to Kamień explains.
The open-air museum, the museum on the market square, the collegiate church and the swing bridge.
Go to the museum with its exhibition on early medieval Wolin, and visit the churches. The regional museum and the open-air museum are both tagged for rainy days.
It opens for shipping twice a day and road traffic stops during that time. Check the hours before your visit.
Yes, the place carries the free tag. It is an archaeological reserve with burial mounds from the 9th and 10th centuries.
