Auschwitz-Birkenau is the largest and most notorious Nazi concentration and extermination camp, located about 70 km from Krakow. Today it is a memorial and museum declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visited every year by millions of people from around the world.

The complex includes Auschwitz I, the main camp with original barracks, gas chambers and crematorium, and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the vast extermination camp with railway tracks and the ruins of its structures. The visit is a deeply moving experience that allows visitors to understand the horrors of the Holocaust.

It is recommended to book a guided tour for a complete and respectful experience. Tours generally depart from Krakow and include transport.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was established in 1940 by the Nazi German army in occupied Poland. Initially designed as a detention camp for Polish political prisoners, it quickly became the largest extermination center in history. Between 1940 and 1945, over 1.1 million people lost their lives there, the vast majority being Jews from across Europe. In 1947, the site was transformed into a museum and memorial, and in 1979 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a universal symbol of the Holocaust.