The Auschwitz Museum, due to the growing number of visitors, is changing some of the rules for entering its grounds as of May 1. Free entry cards for visitors without a guide will be available online only, the institution announced.
“We have recently observed a dynamic increase in the number of visitors. In the first four months of this year, attendance is approaching, and sometimes even exceeding, that of the analogous period of the record-breaking year 2019. The changes being introduced primarily serve to ensure the comfort and safety of people entering the museum and visiting the historic area,” said Andrzej Kacorzyk, deputy director of the facility, who is responsible for visitor services.
The museum's spokesman, Bartosz Bartyzel, stressed that there were many situations where visitors were taken to the memorial site without any reservation by various companies. They charged a high fee, many times higher than the cost of traveling by train or bus on their own.
“These people, in groups of even several dozen people, were added to the queue for free entry cards. In fact, we can talk about misleading people at the very least. What's more, when the entry cards ran out, these companies blamed the museum for the inability to enter. This resulted in complaints from visitors directed directly to us,” said Bartyzel.
Paweł Sawicki from the museum's press office announced that from May 1, free entry passes for visitors without a guide will be available exclusively online on the official website visit.auschwitz.org. “They will not be available on site at the museum. They can be booked from 90 to 7 days before the planned visit date,” he said.
From May to September, people with free admission cards will be able to enter the museum from 5 p.m. This will apply to both the former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau camps.
Only admission cards for guided tours for individuals on a given day will be available at the visitor service point.
Paweł Sawicki said that the change also applies to organized groups: after making a reservation, it will not be possible to increase the number of visitors in a given group.
Last year, the museum was visited by 1.83 million people, the highest number since the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, this number exceeded 2 million people. The record was in 2019. At that time, the Memorial was visited by 2.32 million people. (PAP)
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