Private Former Concentration Camp Terezin Tour from Prague
Description
Theresienstadt, the concentration camp, also referred to as Theresienstadt Ghetto, was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín. During World War II it served as a Nazi concentration camp staffed by German Nazi guards. Tons of thousands of people died there, some killed outright and others dying from malnutrition and disease. More than 150,000 other persons (including tons of thousands of children) were held there for months or years, before being sent by rail transports to their deaths at Treblinka and Auschwitz extermination camps in occupied Poland, as well as to smaller camps elsewhere. I will pick you up with a professional driver at 9am in a lobby of the hotel you are located in. It takes approximately an hour to get there. Entrance fees are included in this tour. After the tour we will have delicious Czech meal in a local small Terezín restaurant you enjoy.
Tour Options
Itinerary
It was originally built to become a proud and impregnable fortress surrounded by walls and protected by a sophisticated system of flood trenches. Built in 11 years at the end of the 18th century this fortress, whose first cornerstone was laid by Emperor Joseph II, and the city carrying the name of his mother Empress Maria Theresa,never protected anything from anyone in the end.Terezín was determined to become a huge jail. It first became a jail as early as in the mid-19th century. Its most famous prisoner was Gavrilo Princip, who fired the first shot in Sarajevo and started the First World War before being brought here in 1914. However, the fate of this town was fulfilled during the Second World War. In 1940 the Small Fortress of Terezín became a prison of the Prague Gestapo, to which especially political prisoners were sent. Only one year later the whole town was turned into a collective and pass-through camp for Jews.
The National Cemetery was created artificially after liberation in 1945. The stimulus for its creation came from among former prisoners and the heirs of those who died, at whose request physical remains were exhumed from six mass graves in the ramparts of the Small Fortress which had been in use from March 1st to May 7th 1945. Among those who were exhumed were prisoners from the death march that in May 1945 arrived at the Small Fortress.
Terezín Ghetto was opened in the former municipal school in 1991. In this way, efforts for a dignified commemoration of the Ghetto victims and correct explanation of its history, tasks facing not only the employees of the Terezín Memorial together with the former inmates but also other representatives of the country’s public life, finally come to fruition after more than forty years. The Museum’s newly conceived permanent exhibition entitled ”Terezín in the 'Final Solution of the Jewish Question '1941 – 1945“ was inaugurated in 2001. We can also find here a Memorial Hall of the Terezín Ghetto’s Children, devoted to its youngest victims, plus a selection from the world-famous drawings made by children from the Ghetto, a scale model of the Ghetto with an electronic orientation system showing its individual thematic units and with relevant information for visitors, for the local reading room and the cinema where documentary films are screened.
The small Jewish prayer hall was founded during the Ghetto period and served spiritual needs of the prisoners who were accomodated in the neighbouring houses. Owned by František Bubák, the space served as part of a funeral parlor before World War II. Though forced to leave Terezín during 1942, Bubák reclaimed the property after the war. Because his family feared repercussions from the Communist regime, they kept the prayer room’s existence a secret while using it as a storage facility. Bubák’s descendants did not notify the authorities about it until after the 1989 Velvet Revolution that brought democracy to what was then Czechoslovakia. Visitors have been allowed to see the room since the late 1990s.
The Jewish ghetto’s local government was headquartered in the former Magdeburg Barracks building. It officially took care of the internal affairs of the ghetto, though all important issues were fully under the control of camp SS command. Opened in 1997 following renovations, the Magdeburg Barracks today features a replica of prison barracks from the ghetto period and other items, though its main function is as the venue for an exhibition on the ghetto’s artistic and cultural life. This includes artefacts relating to music, the visual arts, literature and theatre that attest to the huge desire of the forced inhabitants for a little humanity and hope in concentration camp conditions. Alongside the exhibition the building houses an educational Meeting Centre.
The crematorium at the Terezín Jewish Cemetery was built by ghetto prisoners by order of the SS commanders. Its operation was launched at the beginning of October 1942. The central part of the facility comprised four oil-powered incinerators supplied by Ignis Hüttenbau from Teplice-Šanov. The front section served as a space for unloading the corpses from coffins. On one side it bordered with the autopsy room, on the other there was an annex that housed the guards made up of Czech police officers and prisoners working at the crematorium. At the time of the highest mortality rate, there were up to eighteen prisoner workers who rotated in permanent shifts. Whenever the mortality rate dropped, the number of workers decreased to four. The crematorium was supervised by SS-Scharführer Heindl, one of the camp's feared top officers, yet routine checks were carried out by the camp commanders as well.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We pick up the clients from the hotel or an airbnb accommodation. We just need to know an exact name and the address of the hotel or the other place.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Dress code is smart casual
Reviews(8)
Terezin/Theresienstadt was a significant destination I had long thought about visiting, but never had the chance to over the many years I had been living as an expat in the Czech lands during the mid-aughties. Upon my recent return to Prague, I decided to it was time to finally take the plunge and get over my childish trepidations about visiting this site of abject human evil, where the carnage of more than 35,000+ precious souls lost their lives at the hands of the rapacious Nazi regime in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. I could think of no better "sherpa" to accompany me through Terezin's hallowed grounds than Miss Eva herself. In my experience, the only way to truly see Terezin is via a private guide. Diving into this place along with a large gaggle of people from all across the face of The Big Blue Ball -- gawking, squawking, and taking endless photos for their socials -- somehow cheapens the entire holy process, stealing away from the required emotions you need to undergo to fully take in the immensity of what you're about to experience. It needs to be done sotto voce, with an expert and done correctly. Between its Little Fortress, the Terezin Ghetto (the town, in other words), the horrors of the four crematoria and the adjacent (aghast!) autopsy rooms, along with the various museums in town which painstakingly describe the baleful tragic backstory of this Northern Bohemian town, your emotions will fluctuate from fascination to astonishment to downright tragedy. You not only need a guide to show you the sites, but a professional to introduce you to these various venues, unfurling them delicately with tact, easing you into the Terezin story and perhaps potentially helping you exit it on the other side, a kind of "guide therapy" which Miss Eva is only too happy to assist with. If you feel like going the extra mile, consider taking a private shuttle to Terezin from your Prague hotel -- it gives you the requisite time to ponder -- in conjunction with your savvy-as guide -- what you're about to undergo. Make sure to discuss some of the relevant history surrounding the establishment of the Ghetto, and how and why (almost primarily and exclusively) Jews and various other prisoners: both political and military, were dispatched to this forlorn town at the nexus of two major river systems established by the Austrian Crown to defend against Prussian militarism (which, ironically, ended up happening during the Nazi era, as bad luck would have it). I fully recommend Miss Eva's services: she's fun, very knowledgeable, fully bilingual (Czech/English). I only wish I had more time on this trip so Miss Eva and I could partake of at least two more sites in and around Prague...but that, alas, is, as they say, for the next time. Happy to answer any questions if someone needs some more specifics!
Dear Adam, it was my pleasure ❤️happy to hear you had such a terrific experience. Happy New Year 2026! Warmest Regards, Eva
Thankyou Simona for an amazing in-depth tour and guide. Even though we thought we were well informed, we both learnt so much from your presentation at each venue. Jindra was an excellent driver and very attentive..
Thanks so much ❣️🍀🥰 Warmest Regards, Eva
Eva, took us together with Felix Vonssek to Terezin camp , Ghetto and so much more Both were incredibly knowledgeable , personable & an absolute pleasure to be with for 7 hours I would not hesitate recommending them for any future tours for us, our family & friends
Thanks so much. We had fabtastic time together. More clients like you would be very much appriciated. Warmest Regards, Eva
I don't even know where to begin! Eva was an outstanding tour guide - I can't imagine that there's anyone better our there! We went to Terezin Former Concentration Camp on a private tour and she took us to so many different places. While we were on a Viking cruise, we had cancelled our tour through them in order to join Eva and spend as much time as we wanted at the various places we visited - and I'm so glad we did. When visiting with fellow cruisers at dinner, we discovered that they didn't have as rich an experience as we did, saying they wished they had gone with us. Eva has so much incredible knowledge and was so comfortable sharing it with us and answering all the various questions we had. A real highlight of the tour was when we visited the river where the ashes of over 20,000 who had died in the concentration camp were dumped as the war was beginning to come to an end. It was just so beautiful and peaceful, in sharp contrast to the concentration camp itself and was the perfect place to reflect and pray. The visit at the crematorium was especially sobering, but, I feel, was a real reminder (as if we needed one) of what a horrible time that was for the world. At the end of the tour, I felt that Eva was no longer just a tour guide - she had become a friend as well. My advice - don't hesitate! Booking any tour with Eva will be a blessing and an experience you will never forget!
Wow ♥️ I am totally impressed. Thank you So much. I have tears;)
If you're visiting Prague then my advice is to take a day and go to bear witness to the horrors and resilience of humanity at the Terezin concentration camp complex. I hired a car in Prague as I didn't want to be tied to a tour. I wanted to take my time at each of the various sites. The site itself is very large and be prepared to walk a fair bit. I won't say much about the complex itself. You can read about it and I suggest that you do read the history of the complex and the atrocities committed there prior to visiting. It's an emotional experience but I feel an extremely important one. Especially in a period when far-right ideologies are on the rise again. Go. Think. Reflect. I won't say enjoy as that's not the right word. Experience. Bear witness.
Eva was passionate about the history and shared with us many interesting facts. Would definitely recommend her.
It was such a moving and memorable time at Terezin. Eva's enthusiasm and knowledge of the concentration camp and the times around WWII only added further. We had an amazing time on our tour. Driver was also tremendous.
A journey in the history of the persecution of the Jews. Place that carries a sadness in the air interesting to know and feel a bit of the terrible history written there
Thank you very much!!!
