Barbarka Forest and Memorial, Toruń

Barbarka is a forest recreation area on the northwestern edge of Toruń and one of the most important World War II memorial sites in northern Poland. About 7 km from the Old Town, the woods hold a half-timbered chapel of St. Barbara, a forest settlement with a rope park, trails and a forest school, and the memorial to around 600 Poles murdered here by Germans in the fall of 1939. It's a place for a family walk, a bike ride and quiet reflection.

Where it is

Toruń lies on the Vistula River in north-central Poland, about two to three hours by train from Warsaw and some 170 km south of Gdańsk via the A1. Barbarka (pronounced roughly "bar-BAR-ka") is in the city's northwestern forest, about 7 km from the center. According to the forest school that runs the site, a direct city bus (MZK) goes there — check current lines and times on the MZK Toruń website. Many locals cycle out. We couldn't confirm an official parking lot.

The 1939 massacre

In the fall of 1939, weeks after Germany invaded Poland, SS units and the Selbstschutz — a paramilitary force of local ethnic Germans — carried out the "Intelligenzaktion," a campaign to wipe out Poland's educated elite. Members of the educated elite and community leaders from Toruń and the region were held in Fort VII and then taken to the Barbarka forest. Executions began on October 28, 1939 and continued into December. Polish historians estimate at least 600 victims; most remain unnamed. In 1944 the Germans dug up the graves and burned the remains to hide the crime.

What to see

• The memorial "To the Memory of the Murdered," a granite sculpture by Marian Molenda unveiled on October 28, 2009, with plaques listing victims' names and markers of the mass graves. An annual ceremony is held in late October.
• St. Barbara's Chapel, a small half-timbered church built in 1842 on a site of pilgrimage since medieval times, with a tiny cemetery beside it.
• The forest settlement: a clearing with shelters, picnic benches, a playground and a pond, run by the Barbarka Forest School (Szkoła Leśna).
• Rope park, fire pits, bike paths and nature trails, plus the "Forest Hut" education building opened in 2019.

Visiting tips

The forest is free and open to all. Allow 1.5–3 hours to walk between the clearing, chapel and memorial. Spring and fall are the most beautiful; in winter it makes a peaceful walk, but days are short and the woods get dark early. Please behave respectfully at the memorial — it is a burial site. Check rope park and café hours for winter 2026/27 with the forest school before you go.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you want to see a side of Toruń beyond the medieval center and understand what the war meant for this region. No one directly responsible for the Barbarka executions was ever convicted; the regional Nazi leader, Albert Forster, was sentenced by a Polish court in 1948. Contact: Szkoła Leśna na Barbarce, ul. Przysiecka 13, phone +48 56 657 60 85.