Projekt Arado

Useful Information

Location:	Lubawska 1a, 58-400 Kamienna Góra. (50.779877, 16.029898)
Open:	16-APR to 14-NOV daily 10-18. 15-NOV to 15-APR daily 10-17. [2022]
Fee:	Adults PLN 25, Children (6-16) PLN 20, Children (0-5) free, Students PLN 25, Seniors (65+) PLN 25, Disabled PLN 25, Family (2+2) PLN 80. Group (15+): Adults PLN 15. [2022]
Classification:	World War II Bunker Factory Underground Museums
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D= min, Max=30.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Projekt Arado, Lubawska 1a, 58-400 Kamienna Góra, Tel: +48-512-561-292. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1943	camps for forced labour established.
18-APR-1944	Kugelfischer and Vereinigte Kügellager Fabriken relocated.

Description

Kamienna Góra is a town in the Bóbr river valley. In the town there are two hills named Góra Zamkowa and Góra Kościelna. During World War II, tunnels were dug into the hill for various purposes, but in general as air raid shelters. The people working at the 10 excavation sites came from concentration camps and were prisoners of war. From 1943, numerous forced labor camps were established: for Jewish Men (600-700 people), for Jewish women (400 people), and branches of the concentration camps Gross Rosen Arbeitlager Landshut (800 prisoners), Burgberglager, Hirschberglager, Boberlager, and Ziederlager. The labor camp in Kamienna Góra were a result of air raids by the allied in the Schweinfurt area in northern Bavaria. They damaged an important factory for weapons. There were severe losses in people and equipment, and so the decision was to split the factory and relocate the sections into different safe locations, preferably underground. The underground tunnels at Kamienna Góra were one of them. On the 18-APR-1944, the ball bearings production of Kugelfischer and Vereinigte Kugellager Fabriken were moved to the Kramsta, Methner and Frahne textile plants in Kamienna Góra. It was beyond the reach of the Allied air force.

Later machines for the production of armaments were transported by rail to Kamienna Góra. Textile factories were ordered to partially liquidate the existing textile production. Only the factories which produced material for parachutes on 75 looms were still operational. All factories in the city were switched to war production.

The tunnels in the hills were intended to protect the factories, only a small part was needed as air raid shelters. But this project was never completed, the war ended before the tunnels were completed and the machines reloated. As a result there is now a huge network of finished and unfinished tunnels which were never used.

Projekt Arado is the name of a rather new tourist venue, which is a combination of World War II museum and real life computer game with Nazis. It is somewhat like those paintball ranges which reproduce a real situation. The participants are equipped with costumes of the time and the idea is to make a sort of time travel. However, the regular tour is just a normal guided tour to a somewhat fantastic museum. It gives a very good overview over the German activities at the end of the war, inlcuding V2 missile sites and factories and German superweapons, but it always tends to be a bit mor like a war movie and less like a documentary. There is always an emphasis on entertainment, while still being educational. As far as we can see this concept works.