Museum of the Oil & Gas Industry

Carpathian Mountains

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Bóbrka, 17km southwest of Krosno, is the cradle of the Polish oil industry. It was here in 1854 that the world’s first oil well was sunk by Ignacy Łukasiewicz, inventor of the paraffin lamp. Despite still producing oil, the site is now a curious open-air museum. From Krosno several buses go daily to Bóbrka (5zł, 30 minutes), though fewer depart at weekends. The site is at Chorkówa, about 2km north of the bus stop in central Bóbrka.

Among the early wells and derricks on display is the world’s oldest surviving hand-dug oil shaft, named Franek and dating back to 1860.

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