Everything you need to know to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau

“It is true that we all have evil in ourselves, but even putting together large amounts of individual evils, we could not explain what happened at Auschwitz. […] Evil on that scale seems to be quantitatively and qualitatively different.”

Jeffrey Burton Russell, historiador.

Located just 70 kilometers from Krakow is one of the sites where one of the darkest chapters in the history of humanity took place: the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

Located where the Auschwitz concentration camp was originally located, the museum, founded on July 2, 1947 by decision of the Polish parliament, allows you to visit two of the three original camps:

• Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp, served as the administrative center of the entire concentration camp (which also included the extinct Auschwitz III-Monowitz labor camp) and it is estimated that around 70,000 Polish intellectuals and prisoners of war died in this part. Soviets.
• Auschwitz II (Birkenau), built as an extermination camp and where it is estimated that more than a million victims died.

Within the exhibits, you can also find the entrance gate with the German motto Arbeit macht frei (Work liberates), guard towers, death block 11, a crematorium, the wall of death and some objects that were confiscated from prisoners, among other things.

How to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau?

Address: Więźniów Oświęcimia 20, 32-603 Oświęcim, Polonia.

Cost: Free

The museum is open all year round, seven days a week, except January 1, December 25 and Easter Sunday.

Given the historical importance of this site, sites should be set aside well in advance. In this league you can make your reservation with a guaranteed day and place (they only allow around 30 people per time, with weekends being the most saturated).

The page allows reservations to be made up to 4 months in advance, so if you travel in high season or summer, stay tuned for the opening of places on the official page.

For a better understanding of the history of Auschwitz, it is recommended to take a guided tour, which is offered in several languages ​​on the same ticket reservation page.

You can also choose to make your visit with some of the tours they offer in several languages, which cost 110 and 100 zlotys for full admission and a reduced price for students, respectively.

If you cannot find a place for the day of your trip, you can choose to hire a tour with one of the agencies that offers a visit to the museum from Krakow or Warsaw.

The length of a visit is determined solely by the individual interests and needs of the visitors. However, at least three and a half hours are recommended to tour the site. Visitors are also asked to maintain solemnity and respect.

Take photos on the grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim for own purposes, without the use of flashes and tripods, is permitted with the exception of the room with the Victims’ hair (block 4) and the basements of Block 11.

NOTE: Entry is not recommended for children under 14 years of age.

How to get?

The Museum is located on the outskirts of the city of Oświęcim on national road 933, if arriving by car, the entrance to the parking lot is located at Stanisławy Leszczyńskiej Str. No. 11.

By public transport, the cheapest way (around 10 zlotys) to get there is by bus from Krakow central station, which leave approximately every 20 minutes and after an hour and a half of travel you will be at the gate of Auschwitz.

If you decide to take the train, you should go to the Kraków Główny station in Krakow and for around 20 zlotys it will take you to the train stop in Oświęcim, which is about 20 minutes walk from the entrance to Auschwitz, so take your precautions of time.

If it is about mobility, perhaps consider taking a taxi to take you to the museum, however, the trip can cost up to 400 zslotys. If you don’t mind driving, it could be cheaper to rent a car to move around as you wish.

#QuestionAXM Would you visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum?