Żwirkowisko, Aviation memorial in Těrlicko, Czech Republic

Żwirkowisko is an aviation memorial in Těrlicko that honors two pilots through monuments, symbolic graves, and commemorative plaques. The site sits within a setting of mature spruce trees that have grown over the location where a historic aircraft accident occurred.

On 11 September 1932, pilots Franciszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura died when their RWD-6 lost a wing in a storm and crashed at this spot while flying to an air rally in Prague. A birch cross with a propeller was set up, and in 1935 a small mausoleum and gate were built. German forces demolished the mausoleum in December 1940; the present monument dates from after World War II.

The site became a Polish place of pilgrimage in the 1930s, and the Polish Cultural and Educational Union (PZKO) helped open the nearby "Dom Żwirki i Wigury" in 1992, with a room on the history of Polish aviation. Anniversary commemorations are held here every year, and the Czech Television documentary series Osudové okamžiky devoted episode 108 to Těrlicko 1932.

The memorial is accessible via road signs leading from Cieszyn through Těrlicko to the forested location. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes for walking the grounds and allow time to explore both the outdoor monuments and the information center.

The memorial gate bears the inscription "Żwirki i Wigury start do wieczności" (Żwirki and Wigura, take-off into eternity). Its authors were builder Rygiel of Fryštát and sculptors Julius Pelikán of Olomouc and Jan Raszka; the gate's inscription was saved when the Germans demolished the site in December 1940.