Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoznica
Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoznica
4.5
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4.5
58 reviews
Excellent
31
Very good
24
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KaroL2929
Warwick, RI6 contributions
Sept 2019
Truly a place to reflect how terrible people can be. Movie was moving and museum had so much to show and explain. Just walking around was very humbling. A must see in Poland but they only accept cash so be prepared!
Written January 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PietroMorrizio
Accra, Ghana700 contributions
Nov 2011 • Solo
I visited KL Gross-Rosen in November 2011 during a visit to Krakow. It is about 3-4 hours drive from Krakow, in fact closer to Wroclaw, but I have an interest in WWII history, and had read about KL Gross-Rosen in my history books. It is a part of the Oskar Schindler story, as some of the Jews on the now-famous Schindler's List were mistakenly sent to this camp in transit from Plaszow (in Krakow) to Brunnlitz, Schindler's home town, where he relocated when the Red Army began advancing into Poland.
So with this in mind, I decided that on my first trip to Poland, I would book a driver for three days, who would take me to KL Gross-Rosen, KL Auschwitz-Birkenau, the salt mine, the historical sites of Krakow, and the Communism Tour of Krakow.
I set out for KL Gross-Rosen at around 8am, and I think we got to the camp from Krakow at around 11:30am or so. I stayed at KL Gross-Rosen for about 2-3 hours.
This was the fourth KL I had visited at the time, and is now the fifth in total (others are Sachsenhausen, Dachau, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Plaszow). I have read some of the other comments on this KL from other travellers, and I would point out that it is no more intact that many of the other KLs that are still standing in Europe today. I mean, if you go to Dachau, outside of the main gate, admin block, and crematoria, there are no buildings left standing apart from a pair of reproduction barracks. Other than that, there is just the foundations.
In that respect, you could argue that KL Gross-Rosen is more intact than KL Dachau. The current reception centre at KL Gross-Rosen is the former SS Kasino (like a rec centre). Now, there are exhibits that show the history of the camp, and house some of the relics & uniforms from the camp's history. Upon paying the entry fee, which I can't recall but is rather nominal, one of the few guides at the camp plays a DVD in the language of your choice which shows the history of the holocaust and the camp.
By the parking lot, there are the foundations of the former SS garage, and the SS officer's quarters, and in a depression looking down, you can see the outline of what was the SS swimming pool, which is interesting. Taking the main camp road towards the main gates to the prison camp, I took a right turn first, which led me past the remains of the SS kennels for the camp dogs, and the path to the main quarry.
The quarry was very interesting, it is a giant excavation, with a huge pool of water in the bottom. Massive slabs of granite remind visitors of why the camp was there, and what most of the prisoners were housed there to do for the Nazis. There are giant rusting cranes and machinery, and several buildings that are slowly disappearing in the encroaching forest. One of the buildings is a prison, presumably for prisoners that had broken camp rules within the vicinity of the quarry area.
Heading back the the prisoner camp, the main gate/admin block is fully restored, and now houses an exhibit displaying the history of the Nazis and the holocaust. There is a parade ground immediately inside the prisoner camp from the main gate, where roll call was held, and there is gallows at the end.
Inside the prisoner camp, the buildings still standing include the baths, crematoria, the prisoner's kitchen, the weaver's shop, a couple of buildings from the "French Barracks", and the Siemens buildings. The tree where the commandant used to sit on a bench is located not far from the Siemens buildings. Also nearby are the monument to the victims of KL Gross-Rossen, and the place of remains. One of the prisoner barracks is reproduced to give an idea of how they lived. Some of these buildings can be walked through, although some are closed off to the public.
There was a second part of the prisoner camp called the "Auschwitz Camp", intended to house relocated Auschwitz prisoners, but none of that area survives, and much of it is signposted as off-limits, as it isn't stable and there are no walkways for the public. At the convergeance of the Quarry, main & "auschwitz" camp fences is a reproduced watchtower, which cannot be entered by the public (which is a pity, it would give an awesome view of the entire camp).
Souvenirs can be bought at the former guardhouse, which is the building by the roadside entrance to the camp. I bought a copy of the DVD that I watched in the former SS Kasino, and also a guide book & postcard. I think this came to less than 20Pzl.
I recall buying a drink at the former SS Kasino, but there was no food, so I recommend to take your own or time your visit before or after lunch. The toilets are only located at the SS Kasino, so if you need to go and you are on the other side of the camp, you better start walking (gingerly !).
Unless you have a major interest in going to KL Gross-Rosen, few people would travel from Krakow to see it. However, I think it is ideal if you are in Wroclaw and want to see one of the lesser known KLs that the Nazis ran during the war.
So with this in mind, I decided that on my first trip to Poland, I would book a driver for three days, who would take me to KL Gross-Rosen, KL Auschwitz-Birkenau, the salt mine, the historical sites of Krakow, and the Communism Tour of Krakow.
I set out for KL Gross-Rosen at around 8am, and I think we got to the camp from Krakow at around 11:30am or so. I stayed at KL Gross-Rosen for about 2-3 hours.
This was the fourth KL I had visited at the time, and is now the fifth in total (others are Sachsenhausen, Dachau, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Plaszow). I have read some of the other comments on this KL from other travellers, and I would point out that it is no more intact that many of the other KLs that are still standing in Europe today. I mean, if you go to Dachau, outside of the main gate, admin block, and crematoria, there are no buildings left standing apart from a pair of reproduction barracks. Other than that, there is just the foundations.
In that respect, you could argue that KL Gross-Rosen is more intact than KL Dachau. The current reception centre at KL Gross-Rosen is the former SS Kasino (like a rec centre). Now, there are exhibits that show the history of the camp, and house some of the relics & uniforms from the camp's history. Upon paying the entry fee, which I can't recall but is rather nominal, one of the few guides at the camp plays a DVD in the language of your choice which shows the history of the holocaust and the camp.
By the parking lot, there are the foundations of the former SS garage, and the SS officer's quarters, and in a depression looking down, you can see the outline of what was the SS swimming pool, which is interesting. Taking the main camp road towards the main gates to the prison camp, I took a right turn first, which led me past the remains of the SS kennels for the camp dogs, and the path to the main quarry.
The quarry was very interesting, it is a giant excavation, with a huge pool of water in the bottom. Massive slabs of granite remind visitors of why the camp was there, and what most of the prisoners were housed there to do for the Nazis. There are giant rusting cranes and machinery, and several buildings that are slowly disappearing in the encroaching forest. One of the buildings is a prison, presumably for prisoners that had broken camp rules within the vicinity of the quarry area.
Heading back the the prisoner camp, the main gate/admin block is fully restored, and now houses an exhibit displaying the history of the Nazis and the holocaust. There is a parade ground immediately inside the prisoner camp from the main gate, where roll call was held, and there is gallows at the end.
Inside the prisoner camp, the buildings still standing include the baths, crematoria, the prisoner's kitchen, the weaver's shop, a couple of buildings from the "French Barracks", and the Siemens buildings. The tree where the commandant used to sit on a bench is located not far from the Siemens buildings. Also nearby are the monument to the victims of KL Gross-Rossen, and the place of remains. One of the prisoner barracks is reproduced to give an idea of how they lived. Some of these buildings can be walked through, although some are closed off to the public.
There was a second part of the prisoner camp called the "Auschwitz Camp", intended to house relocated Auschwitz prisoners, but none of that area survives, and much of it is signposted as off-limits, as it isn't stable and there are no walkways for the public. At the convergeance of the Quarry, main & "auschwitz" camp fences is a reproduced watchtower, which cannot be entered by the public (which is a pity, it would give an awesome view of the entire camp).
Souvenirs can be bought at the former guardhouse, which is the building by the roadside entrance to the camp. I bought a copy of the DVD that I watched in the former SS Kasino, and also a guide book & postcard. I think this came to less than 20Pzl.
I recall buying a drink at the former SS Kasino, but there was no food, so I recommend to take your own or time your visit before or after lunch. The toilets are only located at the SS Kasino, so if you need to go and you are on the other side of the camp, you better start walking (gingerly !).
Unless you have a major interest in going to KL Gross-Rosen, few people would travel from Krakow to see it. However, I think it is ideal if you are in Wroclaw and want to see one of the lesser known KLs that the Nazis ran during the war.
Written March 2, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zippy608
Gold Canyon, AZ2,078 contributions
This was one of the slave labor camps built by the Nazi's to work the nearby granite quarry and to help build the Riese Tunnel system which is a massive tunnel complex that the Nazi's had built into the mountainside. The function of these tunnels are not known. There were an estimated 40,000 people killed at this camp. The camp was liberated 2/13/45 by the Soviet Army.
You can see the original main gate and guardhouse of this camp, as well as a small crematorium oven and if you walk up the hill you can stand on the edge of the granite quarry. The main building has a small museum and they will give you an English translated brochure so that you will know what it is you are looking at. This camp is a bit off the beaten path, but I think that it is well worth the visit if you are in the area and have some time.
You can see the original main gate and guardhouse of this camp, as well as a small crematorium oven and if you walk up the hill you can stand on the edge of the granite quarry. The main building has a small museum and they will give you an English translated brochure so that you will know what it is you are looking at. This camp is a bit off the beaten path, but I think that it is well worth the visit if you are in the area and have some time.
Written September 27, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
clohanes
Dublin, Ireland205 contributions
Sept 2015
We travelled to this Memorial site by public transport as there were no tours operating from Wroclaw over that week because of low numbers, and normally a tour for two people people cost €140 plus and a taxi as much more.
We got on the 9.42 am train from Wroclaw to Legnica Platform 4 and arrived there10.20 am. We got a bus outside the ladybird supermarket across the road from the train station at 11.10 am and arrived at Jawor bus station.We then got the 12.05pm bus to Rogoznica and arrived 12.25pm.We then walked the 2 km to Gross Rosen Museum which was well signposted.Inside the gate we got two tickets for 6 pln, and watched a film on the history of the camp which was ok in English translation .
We spent two hours at this memorial and could have spent at least another hour. There is not a whole lot to see here as most of the place was flattened after the war and the buildings that are there now was reconstructed in later years except the SS building which houses the museum .We bought a book on the history of the camp but there are very few in English .The staff were very helpful at the Museum which i could not say about the bus-drivers getting there and back.
I would not recommend public transport but it was the only way to get there.It was a very long day getting there and back for 44PLn for both of us and no none but it was worth it.Be sure to bring a packed lunch as there is no food at this memorial site and no place to eat in Rogoznica as it is only a small village.We had the whole site to ourselves while we were there and maybe that is because it is less well known as some of the rest of the German Nazi Camps.
We got on the 9.42 am train from Wroclaw to Legnica Platform 4 and arrived there10.20 am. We got a bus outside the ladybird supermarket across the road from the train station at 11.10 am and arrived at Jawor bus station.We then got the 12.05pm bus to Rogoznica and arrived 12.25pm.We then walked the 2 km to Gross Rosen Museum which was well signposted.Inside the gate we got two tickets for 6 pln, and watched a film on the history of the camp which was ok in English translation .
We spent two hours at this memorial and could have spent at least another hour. There is not a whole lot to see here as most of the place was flattened after the war and the buildings that are there now was reconstructed in later years except the SS building which houses the museum .We bought a book on the history of the camp but there are very few in English .The staff were very helpful at the Museum which i could not say about the bus-drivers getting there and back.
I would not recommend public transport but it was the only way to get there.It was a very long day getting there and back for 44PLn for both of us and no none but it was worth it.Be sure to bring a packed lunch as there is no food at this memorial site and no place to eat in Rogoznica as it is only a small village.We had the whole site to ourselves while we were there and maybe that is because it is less well known as some of the rest of the German Nazi Camps.
Written September 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GemZ77
Manchester, UK737 contributions
Oct 2019
We visited as part of a day tour from Wroclaw with our own guide. We began by looking at the exhibition, and an English brochure was provided for translation. We then had a pre-booked tour of the camp with a Polish guide. Our tour guide explained that pre booking in this way meant that we would be able to see more than if we just wandered around ourselves, and indeed buildings were opened up specially for us. The guide gave lots of detail and was patient as everything was translated into English by our guide. We had plenty of time to look around and ask questions, and we never felt rushed. Seeing the quarry really helped us to understand what happened at Gross Rosen. Renovation work is still taking place. A very interesting visit, a guide is a necessity.
Written November 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Suzu T
Fernandina Beach, FL151 contributions
Sept 2012 • Friends
On a dreary, rainy day several of us decided to visit this site, located near my husband's home town in Poland. As a child he heard people speak of this place, but he had never seen it. It is a stark reminder that there were many such camps that worked people to death without the notoriety of those with crematoria like Auschwitz. Here prisoners of war, Jews, Poles, Russians and some of the Valkyrie conspirators spent their days working in the quarries, where the average life span of a worker was 5 weeks. The museum has an orientation film, which can be played in English or German as well as Polish. The exhibits are all captioned in Polish, but the very helpful staff can provide a booklet with English translations. It was definitely worth the visit and serves as a reminder that man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds.
Written September 23, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
keith m
London, UK730 contributions
Nov 2017 • Friends
Much smaller than most camps I've visited but despite that it stills serves as a reminder of how cruel the human race is. The more camps you visit just confirms that it was not just one man or small group of men that carried out these atrocities but they did create a generation of evil. You have to read the history of Europe from before WW1 to understand it. All these camps are a must do if you are in the area to keep them going as a viable reminder to us all.
Written December 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
8002reverse
Melbourne235 contributions
Aug 2013 • Couples
My friend hadn't been here, so 'once more'. Nine minutes drive South West is Roztoce Palace 50°57'29.71"N 016°13'34.27"E which I found by accident. See photo. Lovely part of Poland.
Written September 24, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Larry R
Lulea, Sweden62 contributions
Jul 2011 • Couples
Putting aside the historical value of this point of interest the site it self has very little to offer. To get to the site is quite difficult without the car. The museum is interesting but if you know the history it has not mush to offer. The site was destroyed during the end of the war and there is only couple of restored building available. However walking there and reflecting on the history of what had happened there will definitely give you chills.
Written August 2, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RebeccaLeMaster
Wroclaw, Poland6 contributions
Jun 2010
I'm not sure what I expected because there aren't many buildings left but what I saw was haunting and to read the postcards and letters from the prisoners was very sobering. Many people who ended up in this camp were just plucked off the streets in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) or surrounding villages. it is worth going with a guide. I'm an American and went with my Mom and a Polish friend who translated what the guide said. It was sad to see the quarry and think of those who worked and died there to provide granite for buildings in Germany.
Written May 17, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
yes please how to to get there train ,bus, taxi?grateful for any assistance thanks.
Written September 9, 2015
We traveled to Gross Rosen Museum from Wroclaw in 2015 by public Transport .
We got the train from Wroclaw station to Legnica .We gon on the bus there to Jawor station and then another bus to Rogoznica.
We walked the rest of the 2 Km to Gross Rosen .
I would not recommend public transport unless you really wanted to go there.
Written February 14, 2019
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