Visiting the Płaszów Camp in Krakow, a little-known concentration camp

The Płaszów concentration camp, in the southeast of Kraków, remains one of the least-known Holocaust sites in Poland. And yet its history is closely tied to that of the city itself, the Jewish ghetto of Podgórze, and the figure of Oskar Schindler. Today, the site is a vast, hilly expanse, almost entirely devoid of buildings, where you can still make out traces of the camp among the grass and paths.

Located in the Podgórze district, about 3 km (about 1.9 miles) from Kraków's historic center, the site is now freely accessible and serves as an open-air memorial.

In this article, I offer a complete guide to visiting the Płaszów camp from Kraków: historical background, the main places to see, a suggested route, guided tours, up-to-date practical information, and the new KL Plaszow museum.

Understanding the Płaszów camp before visiting

Płaszów is a former forced labor camp and later a Nazi concentration camp, built on two Jewish cemeteries in Kraków, which operated mainly between 1942 and 1945. It is estimated that around 35,000 people were imprisoned in Płaszów. Several thousand were murdered there; the KL Plaszow museum cites approximately 5,000 to 6,000 deaths in the camp.

The Płaszów camp is among the first images that stayed with me of Kraków… because its remains were clearly visible from the air when my plane flew over the city. Seen from above, the landscape still traces the outlines of what was once a concentration camp: barbed wire, barracks, the roll-call square (Appellplatz), mass graves. Seen from the ground, however, it is a place that needs to be "decoded."

Today, Płaszów remains a memorial site that is far less structured than Auschwitz-Birkenau: no lines of preserved barracks, no fully organized visitor route like in a conventional museum, even though panels and reference points have gradually been installed. You walk through a large green space, crisscrossed by dirt paths and dotted with a few monuments. This is both what makes the visit so powerful - you feel the almost complete disappearance of the camp - and what makes it difficult without preparation.

Płaszów: from a district of Kraków to a concentration camp

Originally, Płaszów was a district in the southeast of Kraków, in Poland, where there were two former Jewish cemeteries. At the end of 1942, the Nazis decided to set up a forced labor camp there, before turning it into a concentration camp in 1944.

The camp was then a large enclosed area, surrounded by about 4 km (about 2.5 miles) of barbed wire and guarded by 13 watchtowers. It gradually took shape around several zones:

• A camp for men, with its Appellplatz (roll-call square), its barracks, and its latrines.
• A camp for women.
• An area for so‑called "recalcitrant" Polish prisoners.
• Workshops and work zones: stone quarries, armament factories in Kraków and the surrounding region.

The inmates were subjected to an exhausting work regime in catastrophic sanitary conditions. As in many other Nazi labor camps, typhus epidemics and malnutrition took a heavy toll. Although Płaszów was not officially an extermination camp, some of the prisoners died there from exhaustion, abuse, and shootings. The others were often deported to extermination camps such as Bełżec or Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Plaszow concentration camp under the Third Reich

The link between Oskar Schindler and the Płaszów camp

For many visitors, Płaszów is associated with the figure of Oskar Schindler, whose story was popularized by the film "Schindler's List."

In the context of the occupation, several hundred prisoners from the Płaszów camp worked for the industrialist Oskar Schindler, who owned an enamelware factory nearby (the Schindler factory is now a museum in Kraków).

At first, Schindler was mainly looking for a captive and cheap workforce. He gradually discovered the reality of the camp and the violence inflicted on his workers: summary executions, arbitrary punishments, constant hunger. He then organized a rescue operation by drawing up a list of workers "essential" to his factory, which allowed around a thousand Jewish people to survive.

Among them, Mietek Pemper, deported to Płaszów and secretary to Amon Göth, left a valuable testimony. He particularly emphasizes the unique nature of the camp:

"The Kraków-Płaszów camp - which had at first been a forced labor camp before being transformed into a concentration camp during the year 1944 - represented a unique case in all the territories under German control: it was the only main camp (Stammlager) created from a Jewish ghetto - that of Kraków.

Indeed, during the final liquidation of the Podgórze ghetto, located in the western sector of Kraków, all the Jews deemed "fit for work" were interned in the Płaszów camp, in the southeast of the city - the others were massacred on the spot or deported in successive waves to the extermination camps of Bełżec and Auschwitz-Birkenau. To my knowledge, no other camp was established, like Płaszów, on the ruins of a ghetto."

I strongly recommend reading Mietek Pemper's book (The Road to Rescue) before your visit. This very accessible testimony helps you clearly understand daily life in the camp, how the command structure worked, and Schindler's role.

Amon Göth, commandant of the Płaszów camp

From February 1943 to September 1944, Płaszów was run by Amon Göth, an SS officer whose name is associated with an almost unbroken reign of terror.

Survivors' testimonies describe a commandant of extreme cruelty, carrying out arbitrary executions, organizing mass shootings, terrorizing prisoners and even some members of his own inner circle. Mietek Pemper, who was his secretary, portrays him from the inside in his book.

Toward the end of the war, as at Birkenau, the Nazis tried to erase the traces of their crimes: they destroyed buildings, exhumed bodies buried in mass graves, and burned them. The last prisoners were sent on a "death march" to Auschwitz, where many were murdered.

When the Red Army reached the site in January 1945, they found only a vast field of ruins.

Visiting Płaszów today: what to expect on site

Today, a visit to Płaszów is entirely outdoors, on hilly ground, with very few preserved buildings: the experience is less "museum-like" than at Auschwitz, but just as powerful if you know what you are looking at.

What strikes you most is the contrast between the violence of the history and the site's current appearance. You walk through a large green space crisscrossed with paths, where you may pass local residents or people walking their dogs, even though the site is still above all a war cemetery and a place of remembrance. Unlike Auschwitz, which is a structured museum with exhibitions, signs, and official guided tours, Płaszów is still largely an open area within the city.

On my first visit, there was almost no information on site, apart from a few signs in Polish and a very small-scale map. It was easy to cross the area without grasping the full extent of what had happened there.

Since then, things have gradually been changing with the opening of the KL Plaszow Museum: bilingual explanatory panels (Polish/English) have appeared at some key locations, routes are better marked, and the Grey House is eventually supposed to host a permanent exhibition. But for now, you should not expect a "classic" museum with a visitor center, ticket office, and a complete, fully operational exhibition layout.

If you don't have much historical background, I strongly recommend choosing a guided tour (I'll come back to this later) or at least preparing your visit with a map and a few key points to look out for.

How to get to the Płaszów camp from downtown Kraków?

You can easily reach the Płaszów camp by tram or bus from downtown Kraków, then on foot in about ten minutes.

Access by public transport

From Kraków's historic center (Rynek Główny, the main market square), the simplest option is to take the tram to the Cmentarz Podgórski stop, then walk toward Jerozolimska Street, which runs along the former camp.

The tram lines serving this area may vary slightly depending on the time of year and any construction work, but you'll regularly find lines such as 3, 11, 13, 24 (check the lines in real time in the transit app).

I recommend using the Jakdojade app (website or mobile app):

• It's available in English and fairly intuitive.
• It lets you check tram or bus lines in real time.
• It shows you the best route from your accommodation to "Cmentarz Podgórski" or "Jerozolimska."

From the Cmentarz Podgórski stop, allow about 10 to 15 minutes on foot to reach the start of Jerozolimska Street and the former "SS street."

Access on foot or by taxi

If you're staying in the Podgórze district or near the Krakus Mound, you can reach Płaszów directly on foot by crossing the hill and then walking down toward the camp grounds.

You can also take a taxi or a rideshare (Uber, Bolt, and FreeNow operate in Krakow), entering Jerozolimska Street or the Grey House (Szary Dom) as your destination. The cost is still reasonable compared with Western European standards, especially if there are several of you.

Time to plan for the visit

For a first visit to Płaszów, plan on:

• About 1 hour to follow the route of the outdoor exhibition.
• 2 to 3 hours on site if you want to see the main points (Grey House, Hujowa Górka, remains of the Jewish cemetery, monument to the victims, possible ruins of the crematorium).
• A bit more if you like to take your time, read the inscriptions, or if you walk from Podgórze or the Krakus Mound.

If you combine this visit with the Schindler Factory or the former Jewish ghetto of Krakow, expect it to take up a good part of your day.

Suggested walking route through the Płaszów camp: key points to look for

You can walk freely through Płaszów, but it's easier to get your bearings if you follow a few landmarks: former command sector, Grey House, Hujowa Górka, remains of the Jewish cemetery, monuments, possible ruins of the crematorium.

Here I'm sharing an example route that follows the main stages of my visit. It's not "official" or exhaustive, but it will give you reference points to help you orient yourself on site.

The former "SS Street" (Jerozolimska Street)

Getting off the tram at Cmentarz Podgórski, I entered the site via Jerozolimska Street, which used to be known as "SS Street," lined with houses occupied by Germans and by the camp command.

Today, you find a mix of single-family homes, new apartment buildings, and construction sites. It is a neighborhood undergoing rapid development, which makes the contrast with its past even more striking.

Off to the side, you quickly notice some remains of concrete buildings: these were the offices of the camp command, the checkpoint area, and a small hospital for the SS. This was also where the main entrance to the Płaszów camp was located. Opposite stood the communications facilities (telephone, radio).

Among the trees, there are still fragments of walls, foundations, and slabs. A few signs ask visitors to "respect the history of the site," but there is not always detailed information about the exact function of each ruin.

Farther along, you come across large concrete blocks, some of them toppled over. These are believed to be the remains of the former funeral home of the Jewish cemetery, partially blown up by Amon Göth when the camp was built.

Szary Dom, the "Grey House"

At number 3 Jerozolimska Street, you will see Szary Dom ("The Grey House"), a plain building that doesn't look like much from the outside.

Before the war, it housed the headquarters of the Jewish Funeral Brotherhood, connected to the nearby cemetery. Under the occupation, the house was requisitioned and used as housing for some of the SS non-commissioned officers in charge of the camp. Above all, it became a place of detention and torture.

In his book, Mietek Pemper describes the cellars of the Grey House as follows:

"The infamous 'Grey House', which still exists on the site of the camp, housed on the ground floor and the first floor a number of apartments reserved for non-commissioned officers. The cellar, divided into several cells, served as a dungeon [...] There were also some Stehbunker in this basement. These cells, whose floor area did not exceed 90 cm² (about 14 sq in), were arranged in such a way that the prisoners could stand up in them, but not sit down, and even less lie down."

In front of the Grey House, a monument also pays tribute to Sarah Schenirer, an important figure in Orthodox Judaism, who founded the Bais Yaakov movement and the first religious schools for young Jewish girls.

Nearby, a large road leads into the interior of the camp: in the past, it led to the men's barracks and the Appellplatz. From above, you can still make out the shape of the central square where the prisoners were gathered for roll call, surrounded by lighter patches in the grass. From a distance, you might not realize what you are looking at; once you know, it feels as if you are seeing a scar in the landscape.

Not far from the Grey House there is also a small monument in memory of 13 Poles murdered in September 1939, at the very beginning of the occupation.

The former villa of Amon Göth

If you continue along Jerozolimska Street towards Wiktora Heltmana Street, you come across a house that has generated a lot of ink: Amon Göth's villa, the former commander of the camp.

The house, poorly maintained after the war, was bought in 2016 by a real estate investor, who set about completely renovating it in order to live there. The result: an upmarket residence with a neat façade that preserves the main lines of the original villa but no longer bears any visible trace of its history.

This transformation especially shocked Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, a Holocaust survivor who had been forced to work in the house serving Amon Göth. She suffered psychological abuse there and lived in constant fear. Seeing this place become a "regular" villa again was, for her, an additional ordeal, as if her story were disappearing a second time.

The debate is complex: should we preserve places associated with the perpetrators, or focus on sites linked to the victims? Should a house be allowed to become an "ordinary" living space again? At Płaszów, this question arises in a very concrete way.

Hujowa Górka: the first memorial at the Płaszów camp

Hujowa Górka is one of the most striking places in Płaszów: it is a former execution site and mass grave, now marked by a cross surrounded by barbed wire.

Continuing along Jerozolimska Street, a small sign points the way to a memorial. You then follow a dirt path lined with trees, quiet, almost pastoral. It is hard to fathom that this path once led to mass graves where thousands of bodies were buried, then exhumed and burned to erase the evidence of the crimes.

At the end of the path stands a simple cross, surrounded by barbed wire. The inscription in Polish commemorates the memory of "hundreds of Poles" and the "eternal rest of the souls." In reality, this was the site of one of the main mass graves of Płaszów, where many bodies were dumped and later dug up.

The site is known as "Hujowa Górka". In Polish, "Górka" means "hill." "Hujowa" is said to be a play on words between a vulgar slang term and the name of Albert Hujar, one of the Nazi officers involved in the executions. It was in this area that many arbitrary shootings took place.

The atmosphere is distinctive: a modest hill, a cross topped with barbed wire, a silence broken only now and then by distant voices or barking. It is a place that leaves a mark more through what it represents than through what you actually see.

The remains of the former Jewish cemetery of Płaszów

One of the most powerful moments of my visit was the almost accidental discovery of the remains of the former Jewish cemetery on which the camp was built.

As I walked across the uneven ground, I caught sight in the distance of what looked like standing stones. As I came closer, I discovered fragments of shattered Jewish graves scattered in the grass. In their midst, a single tombstone still standing: that of Chaim Jakob Abrahamer, who died on May 25, 1932 at the age of 74.

Reading the date, I had this rather brutal thought: Chaim Jakob Abrahamer "died at the right time," before his cemetery became the foundation of a concentration camp and tens of thousands of people were massacred on that very same land.

You are standing there in the middle of what used to be one of the two Jewish cemeteries on which the Nazis built Płaszów. You can reach it in particular via Abrahama Path, to the left of the Grey House.

When the camp was created, the Nazis began by selling off the finest tombstones to local stonemasons. The other stones were broken up and used to pave the camp access road, later nicknamed the "Royal Route." It is this terrible image of tombstones turned into paving stones that Steven Spielberg recreated in "Schindler's List."

After the war, a Płaszów survivor tried to recover whatever he could of the tombstones. Some were reinstalled in the nearby new Jewish cemetery, which you can also visit.

Around this area, as you keep walking, you will come across fragments of bunkers, walls, buildings here and there, sometimes too damaged to know exactly what they once were. In some cases, they may have been former workshops or storage buildings (such as the one where the potatoes were kept).

The large monument to the victims of Nazism

Continuing south, you reach the area where the main monument to the victims of fascism (Pomnik Ofiar Faszyzmu) stands, designed in 1964 by architect Witold Ceckiewicz.

This granite monument depicts massive human silhouettes, bent over as if crushed under a block. A visible gash, like a wound, cuts through the stone at heart level. I find it very expressive, both understated and powerful.

Its location is surprising: it is turned toward the highway, overlooking a very busy thoroughfare. In the background, you see the sign of a DIY store, car headlights, the constant noise of engines. You can see in this a desire to make the monument visible from the road, to remind those who drive past without stopping of the history of the place. But for reflection and remembrance, it is not the most intimate spot in Płaszów.

Around this main monument, several steles and commemorative plaques have been installed:

• A plaque in memory of Hungarian Jewish women who were deported and passed through Płaszów before Auschwitz.
• A memorial dedicated to all the Jews of Poland and Hungary who were deported and murdered here, whose names remain unknown.
• A monument paying tribute to around forty Polish policemen who died for the nation.

Most of the inscriptions are in Polish and sometimes in Hebrew.

The possible ruins of the crematorium

If you move a little away from the main monument toward Swoszowicka Street, you can see ruins covered in graffiti. On some period maps, this building, located outside the main perimeter of the camp, is marked with the letter "K," interpreted as "Krematorium."

Other sources suggest that it may instead have been food storage buildings. The reality is difficult to establish with certainty because the Nazis tried to destroy the facilities and cover their tracks.

We know that a crematorium project was indeed launched in Płaszów at the beginning of 1944, but that the installation was never fully operational. The relative proximity of Auschwitz‑Birkenau, which was already equipped, led the Nazis to transfer some of the deportees there to be murdered.

As you walk, you may also see:

• Air‑raid shelters dug into the rock.
• Inhabited houses in very poor condition, which at the time were located between the camp and the large nearby quarry (the one used as a set for "Schindler's List").
• The outline of a former basin that Amon Göth is said to have wanted to turn into a private swimming pool, a project abandoned because the water was toxic.

Be careful in the less‑maintained areas: deep holes or access points to underground reservoirs still remain, hidden by the grass.

Visiting Płaszów with or without a guide: how to choose?

You can visit Płaszów independently, following a map and a few landmarks, or join a guided tour, which really makes it easier to understand the site.

Self-guided visit of Płaszów

If you decide to go to Płaszów on your own, think of your visit as a long walk with specific stops along the way:

• Start on Jerozolimska Street (the former "SS Street").
• Walk past the Grey House (Szary Dom) and the monument to Sarah Schenirer.
• Stop at Hujowa Górka and at the cross surrounded by barbed wire.
• Make a detour through the area of the former Jewish cemetery and the grave of Chaim Jakob Abrahamer.
• Continue towards the large monument to the victims and the commemorative plaques.
• If you feel comfortable, explore the possible ruins of the crematorium and the remains around the quarry.

I recommend downloading a map of the camp in advance (available on the KL Plaszow Museum website) and having an offline map on your phone. Without that, you can quickly start to feel a bit lost in the contours of the terrain.

Guided tour of Płaszów

Since 2020, several local guides and agencies have been offering guided tours of the Płaszów camp. For me, this is a very positive development: during my first visit, I was struck by the lack of explanations on site. Being able now to be accompanied by a guide really helps to give words and reference points back to this place.

The KL Plaszow Museum offers its own official tours, providing a list of English-speaking guides.

These supervised tours allow you to:

• Gain a clear historical understanding of the site, with reference points for the places you see.
• Place Płaszów back into the broader history of Krakow during the Second World War (ghetto, Schindler, deportations).
• Freely ask your questions to someone who knows the area and the recent historiography.

Self-guided or guided visit: comparison table

The KL Plaszow Museum project: what is changing for visitors

A museum project dedicated to the Płaszów camp is currently being set up. Its aim is to better preserve the site and provide educational tools, without turning the place into a "closed" museum.

The KL Plaszow Museum was officially launched at the beginning of 2021 by the City of Krakow and several partner institutions. The goal is to preserve and manage the area of the former camp, carry out historical research, document the remains, and offer the public a better understanding of the site.

The project is being rolled out over several years and includes several components:

• Maintaining free and open access to the site, without ticketing, so that local residents can continue to use the paths and green spaces, while reinforcing its character as a memorial site.
• Installing commemorative and explanatory panels at key points of the camp (Appellplatz, Hujowa Górka, Grey House, work areas, former cemeteries, etc.).
• Creating a museum building on Kamienskiego Street, with exhibition spaces, a visitor reception area, restrooms, and parking.
• Developing the Grey House and giving it a central role: a permanent exhibition on the ground floor and in the basement, and a room for reflection and consultation of digitized archives on the first floor.
• Stabilizing the condition of the site to prevent further changes to the terrain or additional destruction of remains.

As of 2026, the outdoor memorial site is already accessible and clearly much better arranged than in the past, with paths, panels, and historical markers. However, the full museum project is still in progress: the Grey House and the future exhibition spaces still need to be fully developed in the coming years.

Practically speaking, for you as a visitor, this means:

• A site that remains largely open, with no entry control.
• More on-site information than a few years ago, but still unevenly distributed.
• A landscape marked by tensions between remembrance and urban development: some remains have been tagged or damaged, and some period houses have become ordinary homes.

It is a necessary and welcome project, even if it comes late: part of the heritage has already been lost or transformed. Visiting Płaszów also allows you to understand that preserving memory is a long-term struggle, and far from self-evident.

Płaszów and Auschwitz: two complementary experiences

A visit to Płaszów is very different from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, but these two places complement each other in helping you understand the history of the Holocaust in Poland.

Auschwitz-Birkenau has become a structured state museum, with a clearly defined visitor route, exhibitions, a booking system, and visitor facilities. You can see entire buildings there, barbed wire, gas chambers, and barracks that have been preserved or rebuilt.

Płaszów, by contrast, is a "vanished" camp: almost no above-ground structures remain. What strikes you most is a landscape that has absorbed part of its past, where everyday life has returned.

If you're planning a stay in Kraków, it's really useful to think of these two visits as two different moments within the same duty of remembrance:

• Auschwitz-Birkenau confronts you with a more structured, sometimes even "museum-like" approach to remembrance.
• Płaszów confronts you with the fragility of memory in a place that could easily have become just another city park, with no signs or monuments.

This is also what, for me, reawakened my own sense of the duty of remembrance. Leaving Płaszów, I better understood why, in France for example, people make a point of placing plaques at the entrance of certain buildings, or naming a garden "des enfants du Vél' d'hiv'" on Rue Nélaton, to recall the roundups that took place 75 years earlier.

Practical tips and behavior to adopt on site

Płaszów is at once a place of remembrance, a green space, and a residential neighborhood for local residents. It's important to behave respectfully there, while also keeping a few practical considerations in mind.

Respecting the site and its inhabitants

You may encounter families, people walking their dogs, and locals out for a stroll. The site is not as fixed or consecrated as some other memorials, which can be unsettling at first.

A few simple guidelines:

• Avoid loud or inappropriate behavior (blaring music, shouting, "posed" fashion-shoot-style photos on the monuments, etc.).
• Do not climb on the steles, monuments, or ruins.
• Do not leave trash behind and respect the vegetation.
• If you take photos, keep in mind that this is an open-air cemetery for thousands of victims with no individual graves.

What to bring for your visit

For a comfortable visit in 2026, think about:

• Wearing sturdy shoes (hilly terrain, uneven paths, sometimes muddy after rain).
• Bringing a windbreaker or warm jacket depending on the season: the site is partly on higher ground and fairly exposed.
• Downloading a map of the camp and some resources in advance.

How much time should you allow for Płaszów during a stay in Kraków?

It all depends on your interests and what else you plan to see, but as a rough guide:

• Short visit (1 hour on site): ideal if you just want to see the main monuments (Grey House, Hujowa Górka, former Jewish cemetery, large monument).
• More in-depth visit (2 to 3 hours): gives you time to walk more of the site, stop to read inscriptions, reflect, and make a detour to the nearby quarry.
• Visit combined with other places (ghetto, Schindler's Factory, Krakus Mound): in that case, allow half a day or a bit more, depending on your pace.

The Traveler's Memo for visiting the Płaszów camp in Krakow

Here are the answers to the most common questions to help you plan your visit to the Płaszów camp and better understand this memorial site.

Summary: why you should take the time to visit the Płaszów camp

Płaszów is not the most spectacular or most developed camp you can visit from Kraków, but it is essential for understanding the history of the city and its Jewish community.

After visiting the camp, I continued on to the adjacent quarry, which was used both as a site of forced labor for prisoners and as a set for some scenes in "Schindler's List." I decided to devote a separate article to the filming locations of the movie in Kraków, so as not to mix up film sets with the camp's historical reality.

For me, Płaszów is one of those places that forces you to rethink how we remember. Between a site like Auschwitz, which is extremely structured, and a site like Płaszów, long left almost abandoned, there is an entire spectrum of possible situations. Visiting Płaszów gives a concrete sense of what happens when a site of mass murder is not immediately protected and documented.

If you are going to Kraków, I strongly encourage you to take the time to visit the Płaszów camp. Even if it is less "accessible" emotionally and less educational than a museum, it offers an important experience: walking on ground where you can barely see anything anymore and where, nevertheless, almost everything was at stake for thousands of lives.