Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja (Polish ''Venice'') near

Żnin Żnin (german: Znin, 1941-45: Dietfurt) is a town in north-central Poland with a population of 14,181 (June 2014). It is in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (previously Bydgoszcz Voivodeship) and is the capital of Żnin County. The historical ...

(

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

) is an

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

collecting and exhibiting

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

, passenger and freight cars, trolleys, railwaymen's tools, signalling equipment, contents of an old waiting room, old maps. The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja is a department of the ''Muzeum Ziemi Pałuckiej'' (the Żnin's Museum of Pałuki Land) and was established in 1972 at a suggestion of enthusiasts of the

Pałuki Pałuki is a historic and ethnographic region lying in central Poland, part of Greater Poland neighbouring Pomerania and Kuyavia. In terms of administrative division the region lies in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship and Greater Poland Voivodship ...

region, of which Żnin is considered the capital. The Museum has collected numerous steam locomotives. One of the oldest is the German one made by

Orenstein & Koppel Orenstein & Koppel (normally abbreviated to "O&K") was a major Germany, German engineering company specialising in railway vehicles, escalators, and heavy equipment. It was founded on April 1, 1876 in Berlin by Benno Orenstein and Arthur Koppel. ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

in 1900. The Tx-1116 locomotive made by

Henschel & Son Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehic ...

( Kassel, 1918) and the Tx4-564 locomotive made by

Hanomag Hanomag (Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG, ) was a German producer of steam locomotives, tractors, trucks and military vehicles in Hanover. Hanomag first achieved international fame by delivering numerous steam locomotives to Finland, Romania and ...

(

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, 1923) are also very interesting. A real rarity is the Belgian locomotive No.2179 made by Les Ateliers Metallurgiques Nivelles with the unique wheel arrangement

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...

("Pacific"), and the only one which has steam brakes. There are also steam locomotives made in the First Polish Locomotive Plant in

Chrzanów Chrzanów () is a town in southern Poland with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999) and is the seat of Chrzanów County. History History to 1809 It is impossible to establish ...

, including active Px38. The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Wenecja is situated at the foot of the ruins of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle built in the 14th century by legendary Mikołaj Nałecz. Tourists can travel on the historic Żnińska Kolej Powiatowa, a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway from Żnin via Wenecja to

Biskupin Biskupin is an archaeological site and a life-size model of a late Bronze Age fortified settlement in north-central Poland that also serves as an archaeological open-air museum. When first discovered it was thought to be early evidence of a W ...

which is famous for a reconstruction of the

Lusatian culture The Lusatian culture existed in the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age (1700 BC – 500 BC) in most of what is now Poland and parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, eastern Germany and western Ukraine. It covers the Periods Montelius III (earl ...

settlement and the Archaeological Museum.

External links

The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in WenecjaThe Museum of Pałuki LandThe Żnin Town HallThe Archaeological Museum in BiskupinThe Żnin CountyThe Narrow Gauge Railway Company in ŻninKujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship
{{authority control 600 mm gauge railways in Poland Railway museums in Poland Żnin County Museums in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

See also

External links