Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)
Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Kraków. Give it roughly ~180 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~180 min
- Kraków Kraków guide
About Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)
About 65 km west of Kraków lies the largest German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, where some 1.1 million people were murdered, now a memorial and museum.
Auschwitz was the largest German Nazi concentration and extermination camp, built and run by Nazi Germany on occupied Polish soil beside the town of Oświęcim, about 65 km west of Kraków. Auschwitz I, the original camp, opened in 1940; the mass killings were centred at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, about 3 km away. It must never be called a 'Polish camp': it was a German Nazi camp on German-occupied Polish territory. Approximately 1.1 million people were murdered here between 1940 and the camp's liberation by the Red Army on 27 January 1945, the overwhelming majority of them Jews (about 960,000), alongside roughly 74,000 Poles, some 21,000 Roma, about 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and others. In 1947 the Polish parliament established the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum to preserve the grounds and honour the victims, and in 1979 the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as 'Auschwitz Birkenau, German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)'. It is a place of remembrance; entry is free, by timed ticket.
How long is a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)?
Set aside roughly ~180 min for Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) worth your time?
Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) is among the 20 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Kraków, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Kraków
Day 2 of the Kraków in 2 days itinerary →
Updated:
Hear the story of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau)
Preview the Kraków tour free in the Gingerguide app.