Beyond the city
Terezín: the back story
Memorial
About Terezín: the back story
Terezín, a fortress town about 45 minutes’ drive north of Prague, was used during the Nazi occupation as a police prison, in the Small Fortress, and as a ghetto, in the Main Fortress. From November 1941 Jews were deported there from Bohemia and Moravia, and later from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Slovakia and Hungary: more than 140,000 people were brought to Terezín, and more than 35,000 died there, as the Terezín Memorial records. The Memorial was established in 1947 to preserve the site.
Getting there
Bus 413 runs direct from Praha Letňany (metro line C, platform L) to Terezín: get off at “Terezín, U památníku” for the Small Fortress. By car it is about 45 minutes from Prague, near the D8 motorway. There is no direct train: the nearest stations are Bohušovice nad Ohří and Litoměřice, about 40 minutes away by bus or on foot (pamatnik-terezin.cz).
The sites
The Small Fortress, the Ghetto Museum, the Jewish Prayer Room and the replica attic, the former Magdeburg Barracks, the Ceremonial Halls and Central Morgue of the Ghetto, the Jewish Cemetery and Crematorium, and the crematory of the concentration camp at Litoměřice.
The Terezín Memorial is a place of remembrance: allow a full day and read the Memorial’s visitor code of conduct.
Opening hours
Small Fortress: daily 9:00–16:00 from November to March and 9:00–17:00 from April to October. Ghetto Museum, Museum of Art, Prayer Room and the replica attic: daily 9:00–17:00 all year. Crematorium, Columbarium, Mortuary and Ceremonial Halls: daily except Saturdays (pamatnik-terezin.cz).
Our advice: book a guided tour through the Memorial’s own site, and give the visit a whole day.
Why it's on our list
- Getting there
- The sites
- Opening hours
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Terezín: the back story before you go.