Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory in Kraków

Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory in Kraków is the building where the German industrialist made famous by Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List employed and ultimately protected more than 1,100 Jews during World War II. Today it houses a branch of the Museum of Kraków with one of Poland's most powerful history exhibitions, "Kraków under Nazi Occupation 1939–1945." It is far more than a film location: it tells the story of an entire city at war, and for most visitors it is one of the essential things to do in Kraków.

Where is Schindler's Factory?

The museum stands at ul. Lipowa 4 in Zabłocie (zah-BWOH-cheh), an old industrial district of Podgórze on the south bank of the Vistula River. It is roughly 2.5 km (1.5 miles) from the Main Market Square — about a 30-minute walk through the former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz and across the Father Bernatek footbridge. Kraków itself is about 2.5 hours from Warsaw by express train, and Kraków Airport is in Balice, west of the city.

The history behind the museum

The building was put up for "Rekord," a Jewish-owned enamelware company that moved here in January 1938 and went bankrupt the following year. In November 1939, shortly after Germany invaded Poland, Oskar Schindler took over its management and soon leased it, renaming it Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik (German Enamelware Factory). Locals still call it "Emalia."

As the Nazis forced Kraków's Jews into the ghetto and later the Płaszów camp, a growing share of Schindler's workforce came from among them; by 1944 the plant employed around 1,100 people. When the camps were being liquidated, Schindler moved production to Brünnlitz (now Brněnec in the Czech Republic) and, thanks to his famous list, brought more than 1,100 people there. They were liberated on May 8, 1945. After the war the site became a state electronics plant, and in June 2010 the museum opened its permanent exhibition.

What you will see inside

The exhibition fills 45 rooms and moves chronologically from September 1939 to liberation. Rather than focusing on Schindler alone, it shows how Polish and Jewish residents of Kraków lived, suffered and survived under German occupation. Highlights include:

• reconstructed sections of the ghetto wall and wartime street scenes,
• a vintage tram and period interiors that recreate everyday life,
• Schindler's office with his desk and a glass installation packed with enamel pots like the ones made here,
• the entrance windows lined with portraits of factory workers,
• witness testimonies, original documents, photographs and a stereoscopic viewer (fotoplastikon).

From October 15, 2026, a temporary exhibition, "Schindler's Factory – Stories of the Place," focuses on the history of the building itself.

Tickets and opening hours

As of October 2026:

• Hours: Monday 10:00 am–3:00 pm; Tuesday–Sunday 9:00 am–8:00 pm. Closed on the first Tuesday of every month.
• Also closed November 1, 3 and 11, and December 1, 24 and 25; reduced hours apply on some December days.
• Last entry: 90 minutes before closing.
• Prices: 60 PLN adult, 45 PLN reduced, 120 PLN family ticket (for example two adults and two children under 16).
• English-language guided tour: 90 PLN standard, 75 PLN reduced.

Tickets are timed, and you must enter within 15 minutes of the time printed on yours. Book online at the official ticket shop (bilety.mhk.pl): sales open 90 days ahead and close six hours before entry. The on-site box office sells only same-day tickets while they last, up to five per person, and popular slots in summer sell out quickly. The museum also releases a limited number of free tickets that cannot be booked in advance; check muzeumkrakowa.pl for the current rules and for winter hours from November.

Your ticket also gets you into two other Museum of Kraków branches about the occupation — the Eagle Pharmacy (Apteka pod Orłem) and the former Gestapo cells at ul. Pomorska — within seven days.

Is Schindler's Factory worth visiting?

Yes. It is one of the clearest introductions to how World War II played out in Kraków, and it pairs naturally with a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, roughly 70 km west of the city. Plan at least 1.5–2 hours inside. Exhibits include disturbing content, so think about whether it suits younger children. Information and guided tours are available in English, and the museum publishes accessibility information and audio description under its "Museum without barriers" section.

How to get there

• By tram: get off at Plac Bohaterów Getta, Limanowskiego or Zabłocie, then walk a few minutes.
• By train: the Kraków Zabłocie suburban rail stop is close to the museum.
• On foot: from Kazimierz, cross the river by the footbridge and continue through Ghetto Heroes Square.
• By car: the museum website does not list parking; public transport is the easier choice.

Next door is MOCAK, Kraków's Museum of Contemporary Art, and a short walk away is Ghetto Heroes Square with its memorial of empty chairs and the Eagle Pharmacy.