The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and Memorial announced on Wednesday that, beginning March 1, all tickets must be booked through its online reservation system. Previously, individual visitors could obtain entry cards on site.
In a post on the museum’s website, officials said the change was “primarily a response to the unethical practices of certain tour operators.”
“They sold museum tours that included transportation from Kraków. At the last minute, customers were informed that, due to alleged booking issues, the departure time was being moved to very early in the morning or even the middle of the night,” said Andrzej Kacorzyk, the museum’s deputy director for visitor services. “Unfortunately, this misleading practice became a business model for some entities. Furthermore, they shifted the blame for the supposed difficulties onto the museum, which was entirely untrue.”
With nearly 2 million visitors last year, the museum is one of Poland’s most visited sites and offers free admission. In the past, visitors often arrived as early as 3 a.m. to stand in line for entry cards. Tour operators would frequently queue on behalf of large groups, a practice that led to what museum spokesman Bartosz Bartyzel described as “heated conflicts” over places in line. In some cases, museum security and local police were called in to resolve disputes.
Under the new system, visitors can book entry cards exclusively through the museum’s website, up to three months in advance.
