Gedenkstätte Buchenwald

Top choice


Between 1937 and 1945, hidden from Weimarers and surrounding villagers, 250,000 men, women and children were incarcerated here, some 56,500 of whom were murdered. Buchenwald ('Beech Forest') has been preserved almost untouched as a memorial, with visitors encouraged to wander quietly and freely around the numerous structures, including the crematorium. Tours, pamphlets and books in English are available, as are excellent multilanguage audio guides (€3, or €5 with images). Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.

The camp's prisoners included Jews and homosexuals from 18 nations, German anti-fascists, prominent German thinkers and social democrats, and Soviet and Polish prisoners of war. Many prominent German communists and social democrats, Ernst Thälmann and Rudolf Breitscheid among them, were murdered in Buchenwald.

After 1943, prisoners were exploited in the production of weapons, and many were disfigured and killed in grotesque rimentation. Shortly before the end of the war, some 28,000 prisoners were sent on death marches. Between 1937 and 1945, more than one-fifth of the 250,000 people incarcerated here died.

On 11 April 1945, as US troops approached and the SS guards fled, the emaciated prisoners rebelled, overwhelming the remaining guards and liberating themselves. The clock tower above the entrance still shows the precise time of the rebellion – 3.15pm.

Before you enter the main compound, you'll notice an enormous monument to your left, which you can walk right up to. The monument is perched atop a small mountain with remarkable views; publications from the museum store explain the symbolic significance of its many elements.

After the war, the Soviet victors established Special Camp No 2 here, in which 7000 so-called anticommunists and ex-Nazis were literally worked to death. Their bodies were found after the Wende in mass graves north of the camp and near the Hauptbahnhof.

The camp and memorial are 10km northwest of Weimar. To get here, take bus 6 (direction Buchenwald) from Goetheplatz in Weimar. By car, head north on Ettersburger Strasse from Weimar station and turn left onto Blutstrasse (Blood Road).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Bauhaus Museum

4.05 MILES

Weimar is the 1919 birthplace of the influential Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. This modest museum on Theaterplatz closed in early 2018,…

2. Neues Museum

4.07 MILES

The 'new museum' is actually one of Germany's first, built as the Grand Ducal Museum in 1869. The building itself is a domed neo-Renaissance masterpiece,…

3. Stadtmuseum Weimar

4.15 MILES

Weimar's expertly curated city museum occupies the handsome late 18th-century Bertuchaus, named for the publisher and entrepreneur who built it. The story…

4. Goethe-Schiller Denkmal

4.3 MILES

Dedicated in 1857, sculptor Ernst Rietschel's bronze statue of Goethe and Schiller, standing side by side holding a laurel wreath, was Germany's first …

5. Wittumspalais

4.34 MILES

This handsome neoclassical palace was home to the Duchess Anna Amalia from 1774, after the residential palace (today the Schlossmuseum) burned. Visitors…

6. Weimar Haus

4.39 MILES

Set over seven rooms in the centre of town, the Weimar Haus is a history museum for people who are bored by history museums. Sets, sound and light effects…

7. Schillers Wohnhaus & Museum

4.42 MILES

The poet and dramatist Friedrich von Schiller (a close friend of Goethe) lived here from 1802 until his early death, in 1805. Study up on the man, his…

8. Nietzsche Archiv

4.45 MILES

Belgian architect, designer and painter, Henry van de Velde added some art-nouveau touches to this house, where the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche spent…