Muzeum Gross-Rosen w Rogoźnicy

About the museum

The Państwowe Muzeum Gross-Rosen (Gross-Rosen State Museum) was established in 1983 in Rogoźnica and Wałbrzych; its founding body was the Ministry of Culture and Art. The KL Gross-Rosen concentration camp operated from 1940 to 1945 near today’s Rogoźnica. After the war a secret NKVD prison was located there for about two years, which delayed the creation of the museum.

After 1999, when the Wałbrzych Voivodeship was abolished, the museum came under the care of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship self-government. The institution secured the few surviving memorabilia and archival materials. Two buildings, small ruins and the foundations of barracks have survived on the site of the former camp. In 2004 the museum bought the historic quarry, which was tidied up, fenced and opened to visitors on 22 September 2005.

Exhibitions are held in Rogoźnica in the former camp complex, while Wałbrzych houses the administration, the archive and research studios. The museum gathers source materials, conducts research and educational work, and secures traces of the camp. Visitors can see, among other things, the reconstructed Barrack No. 7, the so-called French barrack (barak francuski) and exhibitions devoted to the sub-camps and the Riese complex.

Key themes

• permanent exhibition “KL Gross-Rosen 1941–1945”
• “Zaginione człowieczeństwo” (Lost Humanity) in the left wing of the main gate
• “AL Riese – filie KL Gross-Rosen w Górach Sowich” (AL Riese – branches of KL Gross-Rosen in the Owl Mountains)
• reconstructed Barrack No. 7 with an exhibition on the sub-camps
• so-called French barrack with a restored barrack cellar
• around 300 archaeological objects from the project “Kamienne Piekło” (Stone Hell)

Permanent exhibitions

• KL Gross-Rosen 1941–1945 – History of the camp and everyday life of the prisoners: photographs, maps, original documents, everyday objects and works by former prisoners.
• AL Riese – filie KL Gross-Rosen w Górach Sowich – Exhibition on the sub-camps in the Owl Mountains and at Książ Castle, set up from 1943 in connection with the construction of a new Hitler headquarters.
• Zaginione człowieczeństwo – Historical and educational exhibition on the emergence of totalitarian systems in Europe in 1919–1945, with a thread on the fate of a former camp prisoner.

Founded

1983

Operated by

Samorząd Województwa Dolnośląskiego

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission to the museum grounds and the exhibitions is free. Parking is paid (car PLN 5, coach PLN 15, motorcycle PLN 3). Payment by card or in cash, in PLN.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description

A ramp with a handrail leads to the rear entrance of the main building. The museum provides a wheelchair, portable ramps and a stair-climbing device (schodołaz), as well as an electric melex-type vehicle adapted to carry a wheelchair. The audio guide system includes a route in Polish Sign Language (PJM) and audio description. Braille brochures with tactile sheets, a tactile model of the former camp and a tactile plan of the main exhibition building are available. Two parking spaces are reserved for people with disabilities. The site is a historic monument, which limits architectural changes.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

Because of the subject matter, the museum recommends that children and pupils visit under the supervision of adults.

Getting there & parking

Rogoźnica lies 7 km from Strzegom, on national road no. 374 (Strzegom–Legnica).

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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