Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site: Visiting, Opening Hours and History

Planning your visit: hours, admission and time needed

The visitor center, the exhibitions and the grounds are open daily from 9 am to 5 pm. The only closing day of the year is December 24. If you want to see the former crematorium area, you need to be there by 4.30 pm at the latest.

Your visit is free of charge and does not need to be arranged in advance. Allow half a day for the grounds and the exhibitions – if your time is limited, it makes sense to focus on the main exhibition in the former maintenance building and the route across the assembly area to the reconstructed barracks.

👉 Visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site is free of charge and requires no advance booking; it is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm and closed only on December 24.

Guided tours, audio guides and documentary film

The memorial site offers public guided tours every day. They last about two and a half hours and cost 4 euros per person. Reservations are not possible: tickets are available on the day of the tour only, at the information desk in the visitor center, up to 45 minutes before the tour begins. Each tour is limited to 30 participants.

If you prefer to explore on your own, you can borrow an audio guide at the visitor center for 4.50 euros, or 3.50 euros for groups of ten or more. Alongside historical information, it includes accounts from survivors in several languages. The visitor center also screens a documentary film on the history of the camp several times a day.

Important for families: all of the memorial site's educational offerings – including audio guides and public tours – are intended exclusively for visitors aged 13 and over.

👉 Public guided tours at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site last about two and a half hours, cost 4 euros and cannot be reserved – tickets are available only on the day of the visit at the visitor center

What you can see on the grounds

The main exhibition in the former maintenance building follows the "Path of the Prisoners": arrival at the camp, life and suffering in the camp's daily routine, death or liberation. It is divided into six sections and 13 rooms and ends in the room of remembrance.

Also on view are the exhibition in the former camp prison, the barracks exhibition and the former crematorium area, which is open to visitors. The grounds are home to the Catholic Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel, the Protestant Church of Reconciliation and the Jewish memorial.

👉 At the heart of the permanent exhibition at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site is the "Path of the Prisoners" in the former maintenance building, which documents the camp's history from admission to liberation across 13 rooms.

The history of the Dachau concentration camp

The camp was set up in 1933 on the initiative of Heinrich Himmler, on the site of a former powder and munitions factory – the first concentration camp in Germany. In the early years, those imprisoned there were primarily political opponents of the Nazi regime.

With the Nuremberg Laws, further groups of prisoners were deported to Dachau, among them Jehovah's Witnesses, emigrants and gay men, and later Sinti and Roma as well as prisoners of war. Between 1933 and 1945, more than 200,000 people from numerous countries were imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp, at least 41,500 of whom died. The US Army liberated the camp on April 29, 1945.

👉 More than 200,000 people were imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp between 1933 and 1945; at least 41,500 died before the US Army liberated the camp on April 29, 1945.

From camp site to memorial

After the end of the war, the site initially served as a prison run by the Allies and then as a camp for people who had lost their homes. It was not until 1965 that the memorial was established, on the initiative of surviving prisoners.

Today the memorial site is also a place of research and education. Its digital book of remembrance lets you search online for the names of more than 33,000 people who died in the Dachau concentration camp.

👉 The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site was established in 1965 on the grounds of the former camp; its digital book of remembrance makes the names of more than 33,000 victims searchable online.

Getting there, parking and accessibility

Dachau is part of the Munich suburban rail network. From Munich Central Station, the S2 toward Dachau/Petershausen takes about 25 minutes; regional trains toward Ingolstadt or Treuchtlingen are an alternative. From Dachau station, bus 726 toward Saubachsiedlung brings you to the memorial site in about ten minutes. A Munich M-1 day ticket covers both the train and the bus.

By car, take the B 471 to Dachau-Ost. The visitor parking lot at Alte Roemerstrasse 73 charges 3 euros for cars and motorcycles and 5 euros for buses and campers – card payment is not available. Spaces are limited and the lot is full at times, which is why the memorial site explicitly recommends arriving by public transportation.

For blind and partially sighted visitors, the memorial site provides a detailed accessible PDF describing the routes on the grounds, and there are accessible educational programs.

👉 The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site can be reached from Munich Central Station in about 40 minutes using the S2 and bus 726; the visitor parking lot charges a fee and is frequently full.

Frequently asked questions about the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

Is there an admission charge?

No. Access to the grounds, the visitor center and the exhibitions is free. Fees apply only to guided tours, audio guides and parking.

How long does a visit take?

Most visitors need half a day for the grounds and the exhibitions. A guided tour on its own lasts about two and a half hours.

What is the minimum age for a visit?

The memorial site's educational offerings – guided tours, seminars and audio guides – are intended exclusively for visitors aged 13 and over.

How do you get there without a car?

Take the S2 from Munich Central Station to Dachau station, then bus 726 toward Saubachsiedlung to the KZ-Gedenkstätte stop. The whole trip takes about 40 minutes.

Do guided tours need to be booked in advance?

Public guided tours cannot be reserved. Tickets are available on the day of your visit at the visitor center, up to 45 minutes before the tour starts – each tour is limited to 30 participants.

Is the memorial site open on public holidays?

Yes. The Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site is closed only on December 24.

Is photography allowed on the grounds?

Photography is generally permitted, but the memorial site's visitor regulations govern conduct on the grounds. Appropriate restraint goes without saying at a place of remembrance.