Ochotnica Górna and Dolna, the longest village in Poland (measuring over 25 km), is situated almost in the center of the Gorce range in the Western Beskids, in the valley of the Ochotnica River and its dozen or so tributaries. It separates the main Gorce ridge, running through Turbacz (1,310 m), Jaworzyna Kamienicka (1,288 m), Przysłop (1,187 m), and Gorc (1,228 m), from the Lubań ridge (1,211 m) stretching for over 15 km. These areas were the scene of many dramatic events during World War II, including the defensive battles of 1939, intense partisan activity (1943–45), and a bloody pacification campaign carried out by the Germans on Christmas Eve 1944.
The wartime history of the Gorce Mountains and Ochotnica naturally includes fascinating aviation-related threads — among them, the “Memorial Grove” below the Pańska Przehybka pass (at the crash site of a B-24 Liberator “California Rocket”) and a permanent exhibition titled “Aviation Traces in the Gorce Mountains,” where visitors can see preserved fragments of the wreck of that very “Liberator” and other aircraft that crashed in the Gorce Mountains, along with models and displays documenting aerial operations over the Gorce Mountains in 1939–1945 and partisan activities. The exhibition is located in the Village Cultural Center in Ochotnica Dolna, near the Municipal Office.
The exhibition point is located on the first floor of the Police station building in Ochotnica. The exhibition is accessible through an independent rear entrance to the building, so that visitors do not interfere with the work of the police officers on duty on the ground floor.
