Wolfsschanze

Wolf’s Lair


Useful Information

Location: Gierłoż 5, 11-400 Kętrzyn.
8 km east of Ketrzyn (Rastenburg) at Wilczy Szaniec near Gierloz. This is just south of the Russian border.
(54.080661, 21.494214)
Open: APR to OCT daily 8-19.
NOV to MAR daily 8-16.
[2026]
Fee: Summer: Adults PLN 30, Children (6-18) PLN 25, Children (0-5) free, Students (-26) PLN 25, Disabled PLN 25, Families (2-*) PLN 25.
Winter: Adults PLN 25, Children (6-18) PLN 20, Children (0-5) free, Students (-26) PLN 20, Disabled PLN 20, Families (2-*) PLN 20.
[2026]
Classification: SubterraneaWorld War II Bunker TopicWolfsschlucht
Light: bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:
Address: Wilczy Szaniec, Gierłoż 5, 11-400 Kętrzyn, Tel: +48-8974-10031. 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

1940-41 Hitler established his new headquarters near Rastenburg.
20-JUL-1944 the Stauffenberg Assassination Attempt at Wolf’s Lair fails.
JAN-1945 an attempt by retreating Germans to blow the bunker failed.

Description

This is a grim reminder of the thousands of Nazi slave workers who perished whilst building these bunkers, an enormous complex which covers an area of 2.5 km. This was Adolf Hitler’s main headquarters between September 1941 and September 1944. Hitler spent most of his days here, except for short visits to Berlin and Berchtesgaden. These concrete bunkers, with their 6 m thick walls were built by the dreaded Todt Organisation who’s supervisors were notorious for their ill-treatment of prisoners. During the German retreat in January 1945, they attempted to blow up the building, despite this there is still much to be seen today.

A twenty minute walk through dense woodland, which was well camouflaged with netting, making it invisible from the air, leads one to Führer Bunker No. 13, Hitler’s personal quarters. Nearby is a plaque marking the spot where Hitler was nearly assassinated on July 20, 1944 by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (*1907-✝1944). The plaque, in Polish and German, was unveiled in 1992 by the sons of Count von Stauffenberg. It commemorates their father and the other participants of the failed assassination attempt who were all cruelly murdered by the Nazis.

The surface building where Hitler was nearly killed was only partially constructed of reinforced concrete, so that the full effect of the blast was diffused and Hitler survived.

The grim aspect of the Wolf’s Lair is in stark contrast to the fairground appearance of the adjacent area with its crowded car parks, souvenir stands, pivo stalls and amber merchants.


Text by Tony Oldham (2002). With kind permission.


The Wolfsschanze (Wolf’s Lair) is called Wilczy Szaniec in Polish. The common English translation is actually wrong as "Schanze" is from "verschanzen", and the literal translation is thus Wolf’s Entrench. This was Adolf Hitler’s first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. Wolfsschanze was a code name, resembling various wolf related names of gorges and rock formations, but this name was given to the bunker by Adolf Hitler himself. It was based on the pseudonym ‘Wolf’ which he used, a reference to the meaning of his first name, Adolf, which originates in Germanic Athalwolf (noble wolf).

The site is today named Ośrodek Edukacji Historyczno-Przyrodniczej "Wilczy Szaniec" (Center for Historical and Natural Education "Wolf's Lair"), but despite this intellectual title it is a hotspot of "dark tourism". This term means that people are interested in places were bad things happened, like war zones, military installations, but also the sites of famous murders. The term is rather new, the fact itself not. It was already mentioned by Tony Oldham more than 20 years ago.