Historic sites
a Renaissance residence of the Piasts of Oleśnica with sgraffito facades, today the seat of the Voluntary Labour Corps
a complex with an indoor pool, a bowling alley, a climbing wall, tennis courts and an ice rink under one address
an indoor children's play room on the first floor by the Oleśnica market square
an indoor play area for children in Oleśnica, a place for active entertainment for the whole family
Culture
a public library with the Zaplątane craft club and regular author meetings
a cosy, wooden Montessori-style play centre for children up to 5 years old
a collection of ejection seats and aviation memorabilia in the foyer of a former cinema in Oleśnica
Places with character
a brick water tower from 1896 with a surviving steel tank at the top
a bowling alley with lanes and darts in the municipal ATOL sports and recreation complex
a library branch with an audiobook library, housed in a school and preschool complex
Things to do in Oleśnica: the castle of the Oleśnica Piasts, a brick water tower, the ATOL complex and an ejection seat museum in town.
Start with the Ducal Castle on Zamkowa Street. The Renaissance castle grew on the site of a 13th-century Gothic stronghold and is entered in the register of monuments. The defensive stronghold of the Oleśnica Piasts was first mentioned in 1239, and the first record of the castle itself dates from 1292. Its construction was probably initiated by Conrad I of Oleśnica, and its heyday came under the descendants of the Czech king George of Poděbrady. Today the castle is the seat of the National Headquarters of the Voluntary Labour Corps.
The second stop is the water tower on Wojska Polskiego Street, built in 1896-1897 to a design by engineer Adolf Thiem, the author of the whole Oleśnica water supply system. The brick cylindrical shaft reaches 45 metres, of which 33.5 metres is up to roof level. The style is historicism echoing medieval architecture. On top a riveted steel tank survives, 10 metres in diameter and 5.8 metres high.
The Ejection Seat Museum sits in the lobby of a former cinema. It is a private collection open to individual visitors, not only groups. You see ejection seats of various types, including KK-1, KK-2, K-36 and Martin Baker, and seats from TS-11 Iskra and IŁ-28 aircraft. A separate display case is devoted to Lieutenant Franciszek Żwirko and engineer Stanisław Wigura, with a fragment of the RWD-6 aircraft. For books go to the Mikołaj Rej Public Library, which offers e-books on Legimi, the Zaplątane handicraft club, author meetings, workshops for children and discussion book clubs. The Pod Pegazem branch at Kleeberga 4 has a lending library for adults and teenagers, a collection of audiobooks and a reading room with academic and popular science literature.
The ATOL complex has an indoor aquapark with a sauna, and next to it ATOL Marina, a water harbour. On site there are also a gym, a fitness room, a sports hall, tennis courts, squash, the ATOL Wall climbing wall, the ATOL Ice Rink and a sauna area with a salt grotto. ATOL Bowling on Kolejowa Street, with lanes and darts, is part of it. For younger kids there are Strefa Ninja on Sikorskiego Street, Dziecięca Kraina 2 by the Market Square and Bambini play centre in Montessori style for children up to 5, with a wooden interior without plastic slides and a cafe for parents. Dziecięca Kraina 2 is right in the centre, a few hundred metres from the castle, so you can combine play with a stroll around the old town.
For families with kids there is the list For children, and for rain see the page Oleśnica in the rain. Around lie Twardogóra, Bierutów and Syców.
