Oświęcim is a city associated primarily with the German Nazi camp of Auschwitz, which operated here during World War II. However, apart from it, there is also a castle and a lot of historic buildings.
The history of Oświęcim goes back to the Piast times. From the beginning of the 14th century, it was an independent principality which, due to its location on the border of Lesser Poland and Silesia, developed as a thriving trade and craft center. A Gothic castle in Oświęcim has been preserved from this period, where you can see multimedia exhibitions related to the history of the city.
In the 15th century, the Duchy of Oświęcim was sold to the King of Poland, Kazimierz Jagiellończyk, and until the time of the partitions it was within the borders of the Republic of Poland. With time, more and more Jews began to settle here, and before World War II they constituted about half of the inhabitants. The Jewish Museum and the Synagogue, which is both a cultural center and a gallery, reminds of the history of Oświęcim Jews.
The most famous landmark in Oświęcim is the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. It covers the area of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Birkenau extermination camp with the preserved camp buildings, the railway ramp and the ruins of the crematoria. Moving exhibitions show the crimes that the Germans committed against Jews, Poles, Roma and representatives of other nationalities brought here.
