Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Miejsce Pamięci i Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau
The site of the largest Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, where 1.1 million people were killed. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and a sobering memorial to humanity, it requires advance booking.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum lies in the town of Oświęcim, about 70 km west of Kraków. It was the largest concentration and extermination camp established by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945, where about 1.1 million people died, 90% of them Jews. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The visit is split between two sites. Auschwitz I is a brick barracks camp. Its entrance gate bears the slogan “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work Sets You Free”), and the barracks have been turned into exhibitions displaying victims’ hair, shoes, suitcases, and eyeglasses, along with the “Death Wall” in Block 11 and the only surviving gas chamber. Three kilometers away, Birkenau (Auschwitz II) is an open camp covering 140 hectares. The railway platform at its terminus, the wooden barracks, and the ruins of the blown-up gas chambers stand out in the open ground and are especially overwhelming. Free shuttle buses run between the two sites.
Admission: individual visits are free but require booking a timed slot on the official website (visit.auschwitz.org), and in peak season you should book 1–2 months in advance. A 3.5-hour guided tour is strongly recommended (about 90 złoty in English, with headsets), and day tours from Kraków with round-trip transport are also available (about 150–250 złoty). Rules: bags must not exceed 30 × 20 × 10 cm (paid left-luggage storage is available). Visitors under 14 are not recommended. Photography is prohibited in certain areas, such as the hair exhibition, and dress and conduct must be solemn. Getting there: direct buses from the Kraków bus station take about 1.5 hours (operators include Lajkonik), and by train you can get off at Oświęcim station and walk 20 minutes. The whole visit takes about 3.5–4 hours, so it is best to plan nothing else for the day.
Opening hours
Opens 07:30; closing time varies by month, from 14:00 in December to 19:00 in June–August; closed 1 January, 25 December and Easter Sunday
Nearby sights
- Energylandia
- Wadowice
- Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
- Tyniec Abbey
- Camaldolese Hermitage in Bielany
- Ojców National Park & Pieskowa Skała
- Kościuszko Mound
- Zakrzówek