KL Plaszow Concentration Camp: A Kraków WWII History Tour
Tour of the original grounds of KL Plaszow, immortalized in Schindler’s List, where thousands of Jews and Poles were imprisoned, forced into labor, and murdered during WWII. Visit key remains including the Grey House, ruins of the Jewish Pre-Burial House, cemetery remains and tombstone pavements, Hujowa Górka, and the Monument to the Victims.
Basic Information
Total time
2h
Language
English (check the calendar for availability)
Price
Our “Pay What You Wish” tours don’t have a fixed price — you decide how much the experience was worth. At the end of the tour, please make a fair contribution that reflects your satisfaction and appreciation for your guide’s work. Most guests give between €10 and €50 per person.
Meeting point
Grey House, Jerozolimska 3, 30-555 Krakow Nearest public transport: Dworcowa 01 tram stop; Dworcowa 02 tram stop
Additional info
☂︎ This tour is organised by Walkative Krakow guides. Look for the guide with the yellow umbrella.
♿️ Tour not suitable for people with reduced mobility or strollers
❗Our tours run in all weather conditions. High or low temperatures, rain, or snow are never a reason for us to cancel. We’re always here for you! The only reasons for cancellation are extreme weather conditions (such as heavy storms), a guide’s sudden illness, or if there are fewer than 5 registered participants. In such cases, we will always notify you using the contact information you provided when booking the tour.Booking rules
Booking is obligatory. Our “Pay What You Wish” tours are meant for individual travellers and small groups. Large groups (8 or more people) cannot join these tours, as they significantly affect the experience for others and the guide. For school trips, organised tours, or groups of friends, please book our paid option (18€ per person) or arrange a Private Tour. For more information or to schedule a group visit, please contact us directly.
About the tour
Just 20 minutes from the heart of Kraków lies a quiet, windswept terrain that still echoes with the tragedy and despair of World War II and the Holocaust. Hidden in plain sight, the area of the former KL Plaszow concentration camp is a haunting reminder of the Nazi occupation and the brutal history that unfolded here. Join us as we step off the beaten path to explore one of Krakow’s most horrific historical sites — where layers of silence, memory, and loss still linger.
A place of forced labor, suffering, and death
In 1942, four years after the brutal invasion and two years after the creation of Kraków’s ghetto, the Nazis began to build the KL Plaszow camp. Established on the grounds of two Jewish cemeteries and originally intended as a forced labour camp, it quickly turned into a site of systematic terror, mass executions, and unimaginable cruelty inflicted under the brutal command of the infamous Amon Göth. It became a place of forced slave labour, inhuman conditions, disease, persecution, and death for thousands of innocent people — Jews and Poles. Most of them perished. Those who did survive carried memories that were almost too painful to share.
After the war, KL Plaszow received little public attention and remained forgotten for decades. Its story returned to global awareness thanks to Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” which portrayed the horrors inflicted there. Today, efforts are underway to restore the memory of this place and honor those who suffered and died here. Walking through today’s quiet, and seemingly, peaceful fields and hills, we work to ensure their stories are never lost again.
This 2-hour walking tour takes you across the original grounds of the former KL Plaszow concentration camp, where no buildings remain but the history is deeply etched into the landscape. With the help of survivor testimonies, historical context, and powerful storytelling, your guide will bring this silenced chapter of history back to life. During the tour you will learn not only about the creation and history of the camp, but about the people imprisoned here — their lives, their struggles, and the enduring memory of their suffering. You will also hear about the post-war silence, and the modern efforts to preserve memory and give voice to those who suffered and died here.
Join us as we remember those whose voices were nearly silenced — and ensure they are never forgotten.
Highlights
- 1
The Grey House
A building on the camp grounds used by the Nazis as the main prison and torture chamber.
- 2
Jewish Pre-Burial House
The ruins of a Jewish ceremonial hall destroyed on the orders of the camp commandant Amon Göth.
- 3
Jewish Cemetery Grounds
The site of former Jewish cemeteries desecrated and destroyed by the Nazis to build the camp.
- 4
Tombstone Pavements
Pavements built by prisoners using tombstones taken from the destroyed Jewish cemeteries on the camp grounds.
- 5
Hujowa Górka
A hill within the camp grounds which became one of the main sites for mass executions.
- 6
Monument to Victims
A large, post-war monument standing in tribute to the thousands of people who perished in the camp.
Map
Grey House, Jerozolimska 3, 30-555 Krakow Nearest public transport: Dworcowa 01 tram stop; Dworcowa 02 tram stop
Our customers said about us
Krakow
5.0Adrienne Broeders
Powerful and thoughtfully guided tour of Plaszow
The walking tour of the former Plaszow concentration camp was incredibly powerful. Our guide, Tomasz, was both deeply knowledgeable and respectful, striking the right balance between historical facts and the emotional weight of the site. He has a real passion for his work and brings history alive in a thoughtful, meaningful way. This was our third tour with Tomasz (we did two last year), and once again he was outstanding. I`ve been doing tours with Walkative since 2014, and this is exactly the kind of tour I want to follow - informative, respectful and deeply engaging. Highly recommended!
Krakow
5.0Paul
Fascinating tour that shows the reality of the impact of Nazism on Poland
Big Tom did a wonderful job of bringing to life this incredibly important site despite the relative lack of remaining buildings, etc. Despite knowing a lot about the period, I gained a huge amount. I wish it started earlier so that it could last longer!
Krakow
5.0Carmel Joe
Amazing Tour
Big Tom leads a really informative, important tour of this special site. He was engaging, so well educated and very respectful of this difficult topic. Highly recommend!
Krakow
5.0Janina
A definite recommendation!
A great tour which will give you the a very good and detailed insight to the happenings in the KL Plaszów. Tomasz is truly an expert on his field, will give you an answer to every question and the tour should definitely be continued!
Krakow
5.0Roland
Most Recommend
Great Insight to a very deep but nonetheless most important issue. The guide "Big Tom" did an outstanding job! Most Recommend.
Krakow
5.0Sarah
Excellent Tour
Thanks so much Tomasz for his very informative tour of the grounds where Płaszów Concentration Camp stood. The site is full of beautiful nature now, but was witness to such horrors. I appreciated Tomasz's indepth knowledge, his careful explanations, and his commitment to being there on a Friday evening! I actually found this tour more informative than the one we took at Auschwitz and would recommend both if you are interested in this period of history and want to pay your respects to the memory of the people who suffered. I would also recommend taking some bug spray if doing this tour at dusk, if you are tasty to the bugs like we are!
Krakow
5.0Niamh
100% recommend
Tomasz led us through the camp and explained what had happened and what life was like here. Such an eye opening experience and would definitely recommend, Tomasz did a great job at explaining the atrocities that people experienced, this is definitely a needed tour and experience
Krakow
5.0Philipp
Amazing tour by Tomasz
Tomasz lead us through the camp with a lot of knowledge and interesting facts. Even though the weather was very rainy he guided us to every major point of the camp. He connected some parts with the movie Schindler's Liste and showed us the parts of the movie which actually happened.
Krakow
5.0Chana Wynick
100% recommend this tour
We booked this tour after Tomasz guided us around the Old Town and found that exceedingly insightful and informative. Tomasz guided us round this relatively unknown concentration camp with great knowledge, answering any questions we had. The tour is exceedingly important for anyone who visits Krakow, especially to ensure more people know about the horrors that took place here. As someone with a good knowledge of the Holocaust, I found that I still learnt so much from the tour - Tomasz guided us with expertise and respect for the site. My only feedback would be to run the tour on a different day or earlier in the day, to allow more Jewish attendees as the tour coincided with Sabbath. We would 100% recommend this tour and Tomasz as a guide!
Krakow
5.0Connor Hynes
Eye opening and informative
After enjoying the Jewish walking tour with Tomasz, We came to do the Plaszow Concentration Camp tour. Incredible history and such an eye opening experience retold in such a way that it was easy to understand and very impactful. I recommend doing the Jewish Krakow Tour first and then the Plaszow Concentration Camp Tour, It was one of the highlights of our stay in Krakow Thank you again Big Tom you were great! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
