There is something strangely captivating about seeing an ordinary world made small, especially when its landscapes and stories feel close to home.
At Kolejkowo, trains travel through miniature landscapes, cars navigate tiny intersections and trams move along streets surrounded by buildings, mountains and hundreds of carefully constructed scenes.
The world presented here is 25 times smaller, but its details encourage visitors to look more closely. Alongside recognisable landscapes and architecture are moments of everyday life, including humorous situations that give the miniature inhabitants their own stories.
For readers in Lower Silesia, Kolejkowo's story has a particularly strong regional connection. Its origins lie in Karpacz, its first permanent exhibition opened in Wrocław, and its Modelarnia is now based in Jelenia Góra.
The attraction has since grown into a network of four locations across Poland, combining model-making, familiar places and observations of daily life in a way that can appeal to families, enthusiasts, schools and anyone curious about seeing the familiar differently.
From a Karpacz tent to a growing Polish attraction
Kolejkowo began with a childhood passion for modelling and the imagination of Jakub Paczyński, who created his first model in a garage.
The early miniature world was developed by amateur model-makers working from their own homes. Without professional tools, they constructed the elements of their miniature landscapes through creativity, patience and determination.
In 2014, the project was presented to tourists in a 150-square-metre tent beside the main promenade in Karpacz. The exhibition brought together miniature Lower Silesia, trains, buildings and scenes from everyday life.
The response encouraged the creators to develop the project into a permanent, year-round exhibition.
That opportunity came in Wrocław, where Kolejkowo opened at Świebodzki railway station on 26 January 2015. Wrocław was a symbolic choice for the creators, who had personal memories of the city, and the exhibition quickly became established among local residents and visitors.
The project expanded into Silesia in 2016, when a second location opened in Gliwice. The exhibition featured landmarks from across the region, taking Kolejkowo beyond its original Lower Silesian setting.
In 2021, the Wrocław exhibition moved to Sky Tower. The larger space allowed the creation of what Kolejkowo describes as the largest railway model exhibition in Poland, with changing light, sounds and movement helping to create the impression of a miniature city moving through different times of day.
The craft behind the miniature world
The story of Kolejkowo is not only about the finished exhibitions. It is also about the people and processes required to create them.
That side of the project can be seen particularly clearly in Jelenia Góra, where the Modelarnia opened to visitors in 2024.
The Modelarnia is where new elements of Kolejkowo's miniature world are created. It also serves as the centre from which the locations are managed. For visitors, the space offers a chance to see the work behind the finished displays and observe model-makers as they create the small buildings, scenes and other elements that eventually become part of the exhibitions.
This gives the attraction another connection to Lower Silesia. The region that provided the setting for Kolejkowo's earliest public exhibition is also home to the place where its miniature world continues to develop.
The latest stage in the attraction's expansion came in 2025, when Kolejkowo opened its fourth location in Warsaw. The miniature capital includes recognisable places such as Gdański Bridge, Plac Zbawiciela, Wola Depot and Bazar Różyckiego.
Across the different locations, the principle remains consistent. Real places provide inspiration, while the miniature scale creates room for observation and imagination.
When familiar places become miniature stories
The appeal of Kolejkowo ultimately comes from the way it changes the scale of everyday life.
A railway becomes part of a landscape that can be viewed as a whole. A city street becomes a collection of individual moments. Buildings become landmarks within a miniature environment, while small figures create scenes that encourage visitors to stop and look.
Children can follow the trains and vehicles moving through the displays, while adults may find themselves examining the architecture, landscapes or small situations taking place between the larger features.
The humour within the scenes adds another layer. Not everything in Kolejkowo is simply a reproduction of a real place. The miniature inhabitants also have their own situations, allowing the exhibitions to combine recognisable elements with imagination.
For Lower Silesia, there is an additional sense of continuity. Kolejkowo's journey began with a tent in Karpacz, developed through a permanent exhibition in Wrocław and continues through the Modelarnia in Jelenia Góra.
What started with models created in a garage has become a growing miniature world spanning several Polish cities. Yet the basic idea remains remarkably simple: take places, landscapes and everyday moments and give visitors the opportunity to see them from a different perspective.
The world may be deliberately small, but it encourages a closer look at the details that make familiar places memorable. For anyone interested in Poland's landscapes, cities or everyday life, Kolejkowo offers a reminder that sometimes changing the scale is enough to make the familiar feel new again.
Visitor Information
Kolejkowo Jelenia Góra
Jelenia Góra Modelarnia
ul. Legnicka 2
Jelenia Góra, Poland
Opening hours:
Monday–Sunday: 10:00–18:00
Admission:
Regular ticket: PLN 50
Reduced ticket: PLN 40