Hevelianum

What to expect

Hevelianum in Gdansk is a science centre with interactive exhibitions, housed in the former military buildings of the fort on Gradowa Hill (Góra Gradowa), behind the main railway and bus station. It has operated since November 2008 as a budgetary unit of the City of Gdansk. Until October 2018 it was called Centrum Hewelianum, and older texts use that spelling, for instance a 2014 news item from the Polish Press Agency (PAP) on culture.pl.

The site covers more than 20 ha of a fortified hill about 50 m above sea level. The exhibition package includes three displays: “Dookoła Świata” (Around the World), which the price list places in the offer for children, “Łamigłówka” (Puzzle), and “Z Energią!” (With Energy!), listed under science and housed in the South Caponier. The exhibitions and facilities are spread across several historic buildings, among them the Shelter Barracks (Koszary Schronowe), the Artillery Carriage House (Wozownia Artyleryjska) and the South Caponier (Kaponiera Południowa).

Among the places accessible to wheelchair users, the museum also lists the exhibition “Hevelianum bez Barier” (Hevelianum Without Barriers), with Braille models, and the Creative Playground (Kreatywny Plac Zabaw). On Saturdays and Sundays there are also the science show “Magia kontra nauka” (Magic versus Science) and the children’s workshop “Przygoda na Srebrnym Globie” (Adventure on the Silver Globe), each with its own ticket. A post by the museum of 10 October 2026 announces a weekend show in which a magician and a scientist appear as rivals: it lasts 45 minutes, and the suggested age is 8+.

On Google Maps Hevelianum is rated 4.5 out of 5 from 1,963 reviews (as of 25 October 2026).

Who it suits: above all families with children, and also anyone curious about science presented through interactive exhibitions and shows. The price list has a family ticket and workshops with separate tickets for the child and the carer, there is a pram park by the building, and the educational programme covers workshops, science shows, living history lessons and outdoor classes, in English too. Skip it if you are looking for a museum with a historical collection: the price list covers interactive exhibitions, a science show and workshops.

Allow about three hours for the package of three exhibitions; at least two of them are in different buildings across the extensive grounds. At the weekend add about an hour if you want to see the 45-minute show.

Tips

• On a rainy day, buy your ticket online. The museum warns that attendance rises on rainy days and tickets sell out quickly. It sells tickets online at bilety.hevelianum.pl and at the ticket office in the building by the main square, for cash or by card.
• Check the day and the season. During the school year the museum is closed on Mondays, and on weekdays it closes earlier than at weekends (on Tuesdays 8:00-16:00, on Saturdays 10:00-18:00). The summer holidays and the winter school break have a separate timetable, and the museum publishes the list of closed days for the whole year on its website: check it before your visit.
• The package or a single exhibition. The three-exhibition package costs 30 PLN (about 7 EUR) for a standard ticket and 25 PLN (about 6 EUR) for a reduced one. “Dookoła Świata” and “Z Energią!” can also be bought separately, for less, which is enough if you are coming for one of them; families have a family ticket, whose price is given in the museum’s price list.
• Cards and discounts. The museum honours the national and the Gdansk Large Family Card (Ogólnopolska and Gdańska Karta Dużej Rodziny), the Culture Card (Karta do Kultury), the Pomeranian Tourist Card (Pomorska Karta Turysty) and the Gdansk Resident Card (Karta Mieszkańca Gdańska). Holders of the Pomeranian Tourist Card enter the interactive exhibitions free, and with the Gdansk Resident Card you can get in free once a year, if places are available.
• In a wheelchair - with a caveat. The museum lists as accessible to wheelchair users the exhibitions “Hevelianum bez Barier”, “Dookoła Świata”, “Z Energią!” (levels 0 and +1) and the Creative Playground. The Shelter Barracks, the Artillery Carriage House and the South Caponier have lifts or hoists and adapted toilets. The historic buildings, however, have barriers that cannot be removed, so do not count on easy access to every one of them.
• Concessions and accessibility facilities. People with disabilities under 16 and people with a significant degree of disability over 16 enter free on showing a document, and so do their carers. For people on the autism spectrum there are special visiting times, quieter zones and noise-cancelling headphones, and the ticket office has an induction loop. Before your visit you can download an easy-to-read text (ETR) and the “Przedprzewodnik”, a pre-visit guide to the exhibitions written in plain language.
• Cloakroom and pram park. The Shelter Barracks have a self-service cloakroom with lockable lockers, and there is a pram park by the building, so you can leave the pram outside before going into the exhibitions.
• Do not go by the stop name. The stops “Hevelianum 01” and “Hevelianum 02” are about 610-620 m as the crow flies from the building at ul. Gradowa 6, while the “Dworzec PKS” stops are only about 150-180 m away as the crow flies: the building is closer from the station side.

Getting there

Address: ul. Gradowa 6, 80-802 Gdańsk, on Gradowa Hill, behind the main railway and bus station. The museum points to the bus and tram stops Dworzec PKP, Dworzec PKS, Hevelianum 01, Hevelianum 02 and Brama Oliwska. Stops and lines follow ZTM Gdańsk data (the city’s public transport authority); the distances are straight-line distances from the stop to the building at ul. Gradowa 6.

• Dworzec PKS stops: “Dworzec PKS 03” (about 153 m, line 184), “Dworzec PKS 02” (about 172 m, line 11) and “Dworzec PKS 01” (about 177 m, line 11).
• Dworzec Główny stops: “Dworzec Główny 06” (about 310 m, line 100) and “Dworzec Główny 08” (about 314 m; lines 106, 111, 112, 138, 166, 186, 212, N8, N9). Further away is “Dworzec Główny 10” (about 339 m; lines 130, 167, 184, 199, 210, 267, N16, N3, N6).
• Hevelianum stops: “Hevelianum 01” (about 617 m; lines 130, 183, 199, 210, N16, N6) and “Hevelianum 02” (about 609 m; lines 130, 199, 210, N16, N6).
• By SKM commuter train: Dworzec PKP station.
• On foot: by the stairs next to the bus station, from the petrol station side on ul. Gradowa, or from the car park on ul. 3 Maja.
• By bike: there is a MEVO bike-share station on Gradowa Hill.
• By car: the museum names three paid car parks for visitors: a lower one at ul. Gradowa 3, an upper one by the main square of the fort, open around the clock, and one at ul. 3 Maja 9. The rates are given on the museum’s website.

Nearby

Within about 1.3 km of Hevelianum as the crow flies lie, among others, these Gdansk museums:

• Museum of Amber (Museum of Gdansk branch), Wielkie Młyny 16, 80-849 Gdańsk - about 680 m as the crow flies.
• Artus Court (Museum of Gdansk branch), Długi Targ 43/44, 80-831 Gdańsk - about 1.25 km as the crow flies.
• Maritime Culture Centre (National Maritime Museum branch), ul. Tokarska 21-25, 80-888 Gdańsk - about 1.3 km as the crow flies.