Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp

Your driver will meet you at your hotel and drive first to Project Riese which takes around 1.5 hours. It is a very nice ride through mountains and countryside.  Once you arrive, explore the Project Riese site. Learn how Project Riese was the codename for an impressive construction initiated by Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1945, consisting of seven underground structures located in the Owl Mountains and Książ Castle. Explore this extraordinary network of underground caverns, all in different states of completion. See the Osówka site which is called the Underground City. Then you can pause for lunch, or your driver can take you straight to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, a German network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen. At its peak in 1944, the Gross-Rosen complex had up to 100 sub-camps located in eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, and on the territory of occupied Poland. The population of all Gross-Rosen camps at that time accounted for some 11% of the total number of inmates incarcerated in the Nazi concentration camp system.  In the museum you will watch a short film about the camp and then you will have up to 2 hour to see the indoor and outdoor exhibition before your driver takes you back to your hotel in Wroclaw.

The Osówka Complex was part of a project conducted by the Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1945 (code name Riese). The mysterious structure known as the underground city still hasn't revealed all of its secrets. Discover the biggest and the most complex Hitler headquarter in Lower Silesia.  Ksiaz Castle is the third-biggest castle in Poland situated in the majestic rock cliff aside the Pelcznica River. Located 395 meters above sea level and surrounded by a beautiful forest, the castle is sometimes called the Pearl of Lower Silesia. The castle's location combined with its size is not a common sight in Europe. In 1943 Hitler's paramilitary organization began building one of his main quarters which, along with other objects of the Riese complex close to the castle near Osowka and Wlodarz played a crucial role. Gross-Rosen in Rogoźnica is the largest Nazi-German concentration camp in Lower Silesia, with particularly harsh conditions and penal work in the quarries. The motto of this place was 'Vermichtung durch Arbeit' (Annihilation through work). Around 40000 prisoners died here incleding Poles, Jews, Russians, French and Hungarians.

Explore Gross-Rosen concentration camp and learn more about the history of Nazi operations here with this trip from Wroclaw. Set up in 1940 as a satellite camp to Sachsenhausen, prisoners at Gross-Rosen were put to work in the construction of a system of subcamps.  After being picked up from your hotel in Wroclaw, your local driver will transfer you to Gross-Rosen and wait while you discover more about the camp and its inmates. Watch an informative documentary film about the site and the 3,000 Soviet POWs transferred there in 1941. Gross-Rosen was also infamous for its brutal treatment of prisoners and the 'Nacht und Nebel' prisoners who vanished without a trace. Following your time exploring Gross-Rosen, your driver will take you back to your accommodation. Benefit from private transfer in a comfortable modern vehicle after you take in the sobering experience of the camp. 

During this trip, you will get to visit 2 very unique places and experience the fascinating region of Lower Silesia. With its turbulent past, interesting culture, and incredibly beautiful landscape, it is one of the most visited "voivodeships" (provinces) in Poland. First up is the Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoznica, which was the biggest Nazi concentration camp in Lower Silesia, with particularly harsh conditions and hard labor in the quarries. The motto of the place was "Vermichtung durch Arbeit" (extermination through labour). Around 40,000 prisoners died there including Poles, Jews, Russians, French, and Hungarian. The second part of the trip will be spent at the Churches of Peace in Jawor, one of the largest wattle and daub religious buildings in Europe, built in the old Silesia in the middle of the 17th-century. This place is a manifestation of the desire for religious freedom and a rare sign of Lutheran ideology connected with the Catholic Church. Situated outside of the city walls, the churches were made of wood or clay in less than a year and are currently on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Take a guided tour that shows you the complicated heritage of World War II and its lasting impact on the province. Visit the former German Nazi concentration camp of Gross Rosen known for its deadly work conditions in the granite quarry.Find out about the German strategy of extermination through labour. See the mysterious legacy of World War II - the Riese Complex in the Owl Mountains. Enter into the tunnels, find out about potential hypotheses of its purpose, see the guard rooms and spacious hall excavated in stone The tour starts in the state museum and a former German Nazi concentration camp of Gross Rosen. Originally a sub-camp of Sachsenhausen, from 1941 it became the largest fully autonomous camp in the Silesian province and was known for its deadly work conditions in the granite quarry. Find out about the German state’s machine of brutal forced labor and human annihilation. Experience the feeling of visiting the former SS Cantine building, field crematoria, and memorial site while taking some time to reflect upon approximately 40,000 victims of the Nazis. Visit the Complex in the Owl Mountains. The program known under the code name Riese, which means giant in German, was a huge construction endeavour conducted from Autumn 1943 by the famous paramilitary organization Todt. The inmates, mainly from the Gross Rosen camp, worked in deadly conditions excavating the system of tunnels and shafts. Visit a part of the program in Walim, enter into the tunnels, find out about potential hypotheses of its purpose, see the guard rooms and spacious hall excavated in stone. Please note that there is a stable temperature of approx. 5-7 degrees Celsius and humidity of 98% through the whole year inside the tunnels, so please do not forget to take closed shoes and warm clothes with you. The visit in the complex takes approximately 1 hour. HIGHLIGHTS Take a sobering tour, that shows you the complicated heritage of World War II and its lasting impact on the province Visit the former German Nazi concentration camp of Gross Rosen known for its deadly work conditions in the granite quarry. Find out about the German strategy of extermination through labour See the mysterious legacy of World War II – the Riese Complex in the Owl Mountains Enter into the tunnels, find out about potential hypotheses of its purpose, see the guard rooms and spacious hall excavated in stone

The tour starts with pickup from your hotel in Wrocław between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. First, visit Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp to learn more about Nazi operations in this area. Watch a short film about the camp and spend time to see the interior exhibitions and the camp area. The maximum time for the camp is 2.5 hours.   Head to Książ Castle, one of the biggest castles in Poland, around a 30-minute drive from Gross-Rosen. Visit the castle’s rooms and beautiful gardens. For more than 400 years this castle belonged to the Von Hochberg family, one of the richest families in Europe. Learn all about the history of this place. After discovering the castle, start the drive back to your hotel, arriving after approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.