Things to do in Hel
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Memorial
As you walk from the train station to the town centre, you'll notice a park containing a Memorial to the 1939 defence of the town during the Nazi invasion. Hel was the last place in Poland to surrender; a garrison of some 3000 Polish soldiers defended the town until 2 October.
The peninsula became a battlefield once more on 5 April 1945, when about 60,000 Germans were caught in a bottleneck by the Red Army and didn't lay down their arms until 9 May; this time it was the last piece of Polish territory to be liberated.
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Museum of Fishery
The oldest building in town is the Gothic church dating from the 1420s, which is now the Museum of Fishery. It features exhibits on fishing and boat-building techniques, plus a collection of old fishing boats. Though it’s attractively laid out, with picturesque fishing boats, dioramas and stuffed sea birds, the lack of English captions robs it of context. Go up to the tower for good views over the town, the peninsula and the Gulf of Gdańsk.
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Fokarium
Just off the beach in the centre is the Fokarium, Hel’s signature attraction, and the place to see Baltic grey seals. It has three large tanks housing half a dozen of the creatures, and feeding takes place at 11am and 3pm.
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Lighthouse
There’s a beautiful 100m-wide beach on the sea coast, 1km north of town, and you can visit the 42m-high brick lighthouse.
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Fishing Houses
A dozen 19th-century, half-timbered Fishing Houses on the main street, ul Wiejska, managed to survive Hel's various battles.
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