The Exploseum ("explosines + museum"; ) is an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

of industrial architecture combined with a museum of 20th century technology in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is built around the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

munitions factory DAG Fabrik Bromberg. It is an anchor point on the

European Route of Industrial Heritage The European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) is a tourist route of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. This is a tourism industry information initiative to present a network of industrial heritage sites across Europe. The ...

. A significant part of the 2 kilometre-long museum route are underground passages connecting the factory buildings. The exposition covers the life of the forced laborers (prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates of various nations, with the majority being Poles), including their acts of sabotage, as well as the history of the DAG and of

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

, the inventor of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

. The largest building contains the presentation of the history of arms and explosive materials since 15th century. Eksploseum g

History

In autumn 2007, the Regional Museum "Leon Wyczółkowski" took over under its supervision a complex of Nazi-factory buildings of DAG Fabrik Bromberg, located in the forest, in the south-east of the city. The ensemble was built during

in order to produce

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

s and

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

for the German war effort. It was manned by thousands of prisoners of war and forced laborers from all over Europe, under the supervision of German specialists. The most valuable part of the complex is ''NGL-Betrieb'', where the

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by ...

plant stands. The individual buildings are still preserved and connected by a near- long network of overground and underground

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s. In 2009–2011, a project was launched to revive the area, called ''

Open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

of industrial architecture with an underground tourist route and the Museum of

Armaments A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

Works DAG Fabrik Bromberg''. The outcome of the programme was the creation of the Exploseum.

References

{{coord, 53.071, 18.074, type:landmark_region:PL, display=title European Route of Industrial Heritage Anchor Points Cultural heritage monuments in Bydgoszcz 2011 establishments in Poland World War II museums in Poland Military history of Bydgoszcz Museums in Bydgoszcz