Leszno Gliding Heritage

Leszno has an unusual claim: it is one of the significant gliding centres in the world, and has been since the 1930s, when the flat land, reliable summer thermals and lack of controlled airspace made it a natural site. The airfield has hosted world gliding championships several times, in 1958, 1968, 2003 and again since, along with a long list of national events, and the Polish gliding tradition - Leszno produced and tested many of the SZD sailplanes designed at Bielsko - is centred here as much as anywhere. The aeroclub runs training and passenger flights, so it is possible to go up in a two-seat glider on a summer day. There is a small aviation exhibition, and the sky over the town in June and July is full of sailplanes, which is the free version of the experience. The town itself has a baroque market square and church interiors by Pompeo Ferrari.

What you actually see

• A championship airfield - world gliding championships held here since 1958.
• Sailplanes overhead - a sky full of them on summer afternoons.
• Passenger flights - two-seat glider trips through the aeroclub.
• A baroque town - the square and Ferrari's church interiors, in the centre.

When to go

May to August. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Flights depend entirely on weather and thermals and are cancelled easily. Championship weeks restrict access to parts of the airfield. The aviation exhibition is small. Book flights ahead.

Nearby

Rydzyna palace is a few kilometres south-east.