Museum of Oil and Gas Industry in Bóbrka

Medals available in the vending machine at the entrance on the left side!

Welcome to the only museum located on the grounds of an oil field still in operation today.

Here you can see crude oil in its natural state, 19th century oil wells (“kopanki”), and stroll along beautiful paths through the forest.

The most valuable museum exhibits include objects from the time of Ignacy Łukasiewicz:

An obelisk founded in 1872 by Ignacy Łukasiewicz. The inscription reads: “TO COMMEMORATE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ROCK OIL MINE IN BÓBRKA IN 1854 IGNACY ŁUKASIEWICZ 4-11-72”;

The “Franek” hand-dug well from about 1860, originally 50 m deep, later extended to 150 m using a hand drill;

The “Janina” well; hand-dug to 132 m, then extended to 250 m with a hand drill; still operational today using a downhole pump;

The 1864 mechanical workshop with wooden construction, used for percussion drilling. It contains basic machining tools including a lathe and hand-powered drill operated via transmission belts.

The Administrative Building, known as Łukasiewicz’s House from 1865, features a pharmacy exhibition referencing Łukasiewicz’s first profession. It also presents audio shows about the history of petroleum discovery and the founding of the Bóbrka oil field. The building houses a collection of kerosene lamps, photographs, and a geological exhibition.

The 1856 wooden mine forge; inside are two brick furnaces from 1890-95 powered by leather bellows, equipped with old blacksmith tools;

A reconstructed 1862 hand drill rig for shallow percussion drilling.

Other museum exhibits in Bóbrka include:

A late 19th century wooden boiler house that provided steam power for mining equipment, containing a 30 m² flue boiler with brick casing;

An 1885 Canadian-type drill rig powered by a steam engine;

A 1923 Bitków-type percussion drill rig, a Canadian-type rig modified by Polish oil engineers;

SM-type drilling equipment;

Trauzl OP-1200 and N1400S rotary drilling equipment;

Pumps and compressors of old design;

Group well pumping units: from 1890 and the interwar period;

A collection of domestic and industrial gas meters;

A kerosene lamp collection;

Laboratory equipment;

Rotary drilling tools;

A collection of commemorative medals, oil-themed postage stamps, postcards and envelopes;

A library collection: books, publications, memoirs, oil industry journals since 1893;

Oil-themed photographs.