The battery — how it came to be
Between 1933 and 1936 the Polish military authorities decided to build coastal fortifications at Hel. The peninsula was a strategic point — it controlled the entrance to the Gulf of Gdańsk, and by 1933 Poland had already built a naval port here. The battery named after Captain Heliodor Laskowski (a naval officer killed in the First World War) was designed as the main element of the anti-ship defence.
The battery had four 152.4 mm guns of the B-152 type (Bofors), with a range of about 20 km, each in a concrete casemate with walls 3 m thick. Underground ran a system of passages linking the guns, ammunition stores, barracks, a training room and gas shelters. In 1939 the battery was one of the most modern in Central Europe.
September 1939 — 32 days of defence
On 1 September 1939, with the German attack on Poland, Hel came under fire — from the sea by German warships (among them the battleship Schleswig-Holstein, the same one that shelled Westerplatte) and from land by German divisions advancing through Pomerania. The garrison of Hel numbered about 3,000 Polish soldiers under the command of Commander Włodzimierz Steyer.
The fighting lasted 32 days. The Laskowski Battery damaged German ships several times (among others hitting and lightly damaging the Schleswig-Holstein on 25 September). The Germans mounted bombing raids and attempted landings, and tried to blow the peninsula apart (Operation Lawine — barrels of explosive were to sever Hel from the rest). On 2 October 1939, with the ammunition exhausted and the battery destroyed, the Polish garrison capitulated — it was the last organised force of the Second Republic, holding out longer than Warsaw itself.
What you can see today
- Three 152.4 mm guns in their original concrete casemates (the fourth was destroyed in 1939 and is a replica today)
- Underground passages — kilometres of tunnels linking the positions
- Ammunition stores — with original shells
- The command room — with staff maps from 1939
- Exhibitions — uniforms, weapons, documents and photographs from the defence
- A shelter for 200 people — fully preserved and open to walk through
- A memorial obelisk with the names of the defenders
Practical notes
- Address — Hel, ul. Helska (about 1 km from the centre, on the road to the tip)
- Ticket — about 25 zł adults, about 15 zł children
- Open — daily 9:00–18:00 (in season), shorter out of season
- Time needed — 1.5–2 hours
- The underground route — with a torch (or included with the ticket); it is cold (about 10°C)
- From Hel railway station — about 15–20 min on foot, or 5 min by car
- Other batteries nearby — the Greif Battery and the Łyśniewo Battery (smaller, also open)
How to get there and practical info
- Address
- Hel, ul. Helska
- Ticket
- About 25 zł adults, about 15 zł children
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Open
- 9:00–18:00 (in season)
- From the centre of Hel
- About 15–20 min on foot
- Temperature underground
- About 10°C — bring a jumper
When to go
May — no crowds and an intimate visit. The ideal time.
Crowds in July and August, with queues for the underground. Come early in the morning.
September — around the anniversary of the defence, sometimes with special events (re-enactments).
Shorter opening hours. Few visitors, a raw climate and the underground at its most dramatic.
Other sights in Hel
Straight-line distances from „The Museum of Coastal Defence" — calculated from real coordinates. By road it is often further.
Where to stay nearby
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