Szlaki województw śląskiego i opolskiego

The Brzeg-Skarbimierz airport is a former airfield and air base located southwest of Brzeg. The first facilities in this place were created for a sports airfield before World War I. In the 1930s, it was used by the German air force Luftwaffe. The area of the air base included the airport proper with a runway and taxiways, about 40 hangars, flight control towers, barracks, several repair halls, a housing estate, an NKVD prison, two fuel bases, and a bomb depot. In 1939, planes bombing Poland took off from it. On the southern edge of the airport was a labor camp – a branch of the Gross-Rosen camp, where in the years 1939-45 about 1000 prisoners, mostly Poles, stayed. They worked mainly as construction workers at the airport. After World War II, a grave of prisoners murdered there was discovered in the vicinity. Today, this place is commemorated by a commemorative plaque. In 1945, the airport – along with a large amount of equipment and ammunition – was taken over by Soviet troops. After this year, the facility passed into the hands of Soviet troops. After expansion, it constituted one of the largest Soviet air bases in Poland. Soviet troops used the facility to withdraw their units from Poland in 1993. Currently, part of the area of the former airport is occupied by a housing estate and service companies. Practical information: The tower of the Opole town hall is open to visitors every Friday from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM (entrances every hour). Sightseeing takes place in organized groups with a guide. Admission: 5 PLN. Tickets can be purchased at the Municipal Tourist Information. Reservations are recommended by calling: +48 77 451 19 87. Paid parking at the Solaris Shopping Center.