Walim Tunnels (Rzeczka complex)

In the hillside above the village of Rzeczka, right by regional road 383, run rock-cut tunnels with a total length of about 500 m. This is the "Rzeczka" complex, one of seven underground sections of Project Riese ("Giant"), which Nazi Germany began digging in the Owl Mountains in 1943 and never finished. Today it is the Walim Tunnels (Sztolnie Walimskie), which you can only visit on a guided tour.

History: Project Riese

As Allied air raids intensified, in 1943 Germany moved strategic arms production to the Sudetes, which were thought to be safe. The complexes "Rzeczka", "Jawornik", "Włodarz", "Osówka", "Soboń", "Gontowa" and "Książ" were first built by the company Industriegemeinschaft Schlesien, headquartered in Jedlina-Zdrój. From April 1944 Organisation Todt took over and gave the project the code name "Riese". The work was done by forced labourers, prisoners of war and inmates of subcamps of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, many of them Jews. Mortality was very high because of hunger, exhaustion and dangerous work underground.

The purpose of the tunnels is still a mystery. The most common theory is a headquarters for Hitler, but there are also theories about underground arms factories. Work was abandoned before the Red Army arrived, leaving cement sacks, aggregate, cables and the foundations of unfinished buildings in the forest.

What to see

• The underground route in the "Rzeczka" complex – the tunnels are about 500 m long, with 2,500 m² of floor area and 14,000 m³ of volume.
• Traces of mining work and unfinished chambers that show the scale of the project.
• A V-2 rocket model by the entrance – a nod to one of the theories about what the tunnels were for.
• The human story – guides talk about the prisoners and forced labourers without whom the project would never have existed.

Interesting facts

The tourist route in the "Rzeczka" complex opened in 1995 and became the Walim Tunnels Museum in 2001. The site is owned by the Walim municipality and run by its Centre of Culture and Tourism. According to accounts quoted by the museum, 150 million Reichsmarks were spent on the Riese complex, far more than on the bunkers near Kętrzyn (Wolf's Lair). At the ticket desk you can buy a cheaper combined ticket with nearby Grodno Castle.

Practical information

According to the website, the tunnels are open daily: from October to April 9:00–16:00 on weekdays and 9:00–17:00 at weekends and on holidays; the rest of the year 9:00–17:00 and 9:00–18:00 respectively (these are ticket office closing times). A standard ticket costs PLN 40, reduced PLN 30, and an audio guide in English, German, Czech or French is PLN 14. The tour takes about 60 minutes, and you may wait up to 40 minutes for a group to start. There is free parking on site. Animals are not allowed, except guide dogs.

Tripto tip

It is 5–7°C and very damp underground, so bring a jacket and sturdy shoes even in summer. For the last entry, arrive a quarter of an hour before the ticket office closes. With a full day, combine Rzeczka with the Osówka or Włodarz complexes.