State Museum at Majdanek

The State Museum at Majdanek in Lublin preserves the site of KL Lublin, a German Nazi concentration and extermination camp that operated from 1941 to 1944. Founded in the fall of 1944, it is the oldest museum in the world commemorating the victims of World War II. Original barracks, watchtowers, gas chambers and a crematorium stand on open fields at the edge of the city, making Majdanek (say "my-DAH-nek") one of the most important Holocaust memorial sites in Europe.

Where it is and how to get there

Lublin, the largest city in eastern Poland, lies about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Warsaw, roughly two hours by direct train. The museum is at Droga Męczenników Majdanka 67, about 4 km (2.5 miles) southeast of Lublin's Old Town. City buses stop at "Majdanek"; check the Lublin public transport website for current routes. Drivers use the museum parking lot by the main entrance (10 PLN per car). Since April 7, 2026, the side entrances from Cmentarna and Tetmajera streets have been closed, so all visitors enter from Droga Męczenników Majdanka.

History of the camp

Heinrich Himmler ordered the camp's creation on July 20, 1941, and the first prisoners arrived that fall. It served both as a concentration camp for people of dozens of nationalities and as a killing site, above all for Jews deported under the "Operation Reinhard" extermination program. According to research by museum historian Tomasz Kranz, about 78,000 people died here, including some 59,000 Jews.

On November 3, 1943, in the massacre the Germans code-named "Erntefest" ("Harvest Festival"), about 18,000 Jews were shot at Majdanek in a single day. The camp was partly evacuated in spring 1944, and Red Army soldiers entered it on July 24, 1944. Because the SS had no time to destroy the evidence, Majdanek – the first major camp reached by Allied forces – exposed Nazi crimes to the world. The museum, which covers about 90 hectares (220 acres), also runs the memorials at the former death camps of Bełżec and Sobibór.

What you'll see

• The Monument to Struggle and Martyrdom by Wiktor Tołkin, a massive stone gateway at the entrance.
• Field III, with wooden barracks, barbed-wire fences and watchtowers.
• The bathhouse with gas chambers and the crematorium.
• The Mausoleum, a concrete dome sheltering a mound of human ashes collected from the camp grounds.
• Exhibitions in the barracks, including "Prisoners of Majdanek" and the art installation "Shrine" by Tadeusz Mysłowski in Barrack 47.

Opening hours and admission (as of October 2026)

Admission to the grounds and all exhibitions is free. The museum is open:

• April–October: Tuesday–Sunday 9 a.m.–6 p.m. (last entry 5 p.m.),
• November–March (winter 2026/27): Tuesday–Sunday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. (last entry 3 p.m.).

It's closed every Monday and on January 1 and 6, Easter, Corpus Christi, November 11 and December 24–31. On November 1 only the parking lot and the path to the municipal cemetery are open.

You can explore on your own with the museum's free app or with a guide. Guided tours in English and other languages must be booked in advance through the museum; walk-in tours in Polish run on weekends at 11 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. (25 PLN, reduced 20 PLN).

Planning your visit

Is it worth visiting? For anyone interested in the history of World War II and the Holocaust, yes – Majdanek is less crowded than Auschwitz and remarkably well preserved. Allow at least 2–3 hours: distances are long and most of the route is outdoors, so wear comfortable shoes and dress warmly in winter. The museum does not recommend visits for children under 14. Pets are not allowed (except assistance dogs), and there is no cloakroom or luggage storage – leave bags at Lublin's main train station or bus station. Accessible parking spaces are located near the gate, the visitor center and the Mausoleum. Please behave with respect: this is a place of mass murder and a cemetery. Candles may be lit only at the Mausoleum.

Nearby

Back in the center, Lublin Castle is worth a visit for this part of the story too: during the occupation it was the main German police prison of the Lublin district, and many of its inmates were sent on to Majdanek. To learn about the history of Lublin's Jewish community, see the "Lublin. Memory of the Place" exhibition in the Grodzka Gate, offered with English-language guided tours.