Giganty Mocy in Belchatow with kids - the biggest hole in Poland

Where can you see the Belchatow open-pit mine? The best place is the viewing terrace in Zlobnica: from there you see a pit about 12 km long and about 3 km wide, with the chimneys of the power station in the background. After that it is worth going to Belchatow, to the PGE Giganty Mocy museum, where an audio guide tells the story of coal and mining machines. This is how we spent a day in August 2020, and in the evening we reached Ciechocinek.

The day before, we had visited the railway bunker in Konewka. The plan of our whole 2020 holiday is in the post Poland road trip with kids 2020.

The viewpoint in Zlobnica

On Tuesday 18 August we drove 55 km from the campsite by the Sulejow Reservoir to Zlobnica. A small viewing terrace stands on the edge of an open-pit lignite mine. Over 40 years, more than a billion tonnes of coal were dug out here. From the terrace you see a huge hole in the ground stretching to the horizon. The kids climbed on the railing to see as much as possible.

PGE Giganty Mocy in Belchatow

From Zlobnica we drove to Belchatow, to the PGE Giganty Mocy museum. At the entrance everyone got an audio guide with headphones. The visit is designed like a journey in time: it starts with how coal came to be here, and then you go from station to station and learn about the machines that were used to dig it out.

On the route there are a mammoth skeleton, games on screens, models of excavators, a piece of a real conveyor belt and a control room with a huge panel full of buttons. At every station the kids clicked something, listened and checked things out. It was 2020, so everyone visited in face masks.

At the end we looked at a model of what is going to appear in place of the mine: a lake with beaches, boats and recreation trails. It is meant to be the deepest lake in Poland. However, filling it with water is to start only after 2050 and last about 20 years.

An evening in Ciechocinek

From Belchatow we drove 200 km north, to campsite no. 17 in Ciechocinek. The campsite is a few hundred metres from the graduation towers (salt towers) and the spa park. We went for a late lunch to the Willa Nowa restaurant, and then for a walk in the park and along the graduation towers.

Fun fact

The graduation towers in Ciechocinek are together about 1.7 km long and almost 16 m high. It is the biggest wooden structure of this type in Europe. Two of them were built in 1824-1828, and the third was added in 1859.

Next day

In the morning we walked along the graduation towers once more, and then we set off on the A1 motorway to Kashubia: Kashubia and Chmielno with kids.

Practical info

We checked in November 2026.

• The terrace in Zlobnica: free entry, parking for a few cars. It is a mining area, so keep to the paths.
• PGE Giganty Mocy: online ticket PLN 20 (adult) and PLN 15 (reduced). A 2+2 family ticket costs PLN 60 online, children up to 3 enter free.
• Opening hours: Tuesday-Friday 9:00-16:00, weekend 9:30-17:00, closed on Mondays.
• Campsite no. 17 in Ciechocinek: open all year, 200-300 m from the graduation towers and the promenade.