Open-air Charcoal Firing Museum

The retorts standing here, i.e. steel furnaces for burning charcoal, encourage tourists to look at them closely and feel like real tar makers. Before the stoves appeared in the Bieszczady forests, charcoal mounds, i.e. earth mounds, were used for firing. We will also see an example of such a mound here. Further on, there is a barrack of charcoal burners. Looking through the window, you can see the modest conditions in which they lived.

Small-scale coal outbursts in the Bieszczady Mountains began in the interwar period. However, it was in 1966, i.e. before the Solina was flooded, that large-scale charcoal burning began.

Initially in charcoal mills, then in metal retorts. There was no shortage of raw material, i.e. beech and alder wood, so in the 1970s there were already about 100 wood burning locations in the Bieszczady Mountains. At present, due to the changing technology of obtaining charcoal, there are only a few places with retorts.

Thanks to its location on the route to Muczne, visiting the open-air museum gives you the opportunity to rest while traveling. There are benches, tables and boards informing about the technology of charcoal firing. Entry to the Museum is free.