Why this ride
308 km from Kraków to Kraków, about 4 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes Salt Mine in Bochnia, Auschwitz, Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati and Birkenau. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Krakow day out · Birkenau
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 308 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Krakow
Kraków has the kind of old town that makes you slow down on foot, and it deserves it. At the centre is the Rynek Główny, the main market square, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, with the Cloth Hall in the middle and the two uneven towers of St Mary's Basilica at the corner. Each hour a trumpeter plays a bugle call from the taller tower, and the tune stops abruptly in mid-phrase, in memory of a watchman said to have been shot in the throat by a Tatar arrow while sounding the alarm.
Read the complete Krakow write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Krakow is where the day begins. Next is Salt Mine in Bochnia.
2. Salt Mine in Bochnia
People were mining salt at Bochnia by the middle of the thirteenth century, which makes it the oldest salt mine in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe still open to visitors. For centuries the salt from here and from Wieliczka, about twenty-five kilometres to the west, filled the coffers of the Polish kings; at times it accounted for a remarkable share of the royal income. Together the two mines and the royal castle at Wieliczka form a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Read the complete Salt Mine in Bochnia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Salt Mine in Bochnia comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Auschwitz.
3. Auschwitz
This is a stop to make in silence. Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camps, built in occupied Poland on the edge of the town of Oświęcim, and between 1940 and 1945 around 1.1 million people were murdered here, the vast majority of them Jews from across Europe, along with Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and others. The memorial and museum, which includes the original camp, Auschwitz I, and the vast camp at Birkenau, Auschwitz II, about three kilometres away, was listed by UNESCO in 1979 as a reminder of the cruelty of humanity.
Read the complete Auschwitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 151 km into the recorded legs you reach Auschwitz. Next is Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati.
4. Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati
There is no right way to arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and no ride passes through it casually. This was the largest of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps, built during the occupation of Poland near the town of Oświęcim, which the Germans called Auschwitz. Between 1940 and January 1945, at least 1.1 million people were murdered here, the vast majority of them Jews deported from across Europe, along with Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and many others. On 27 January 1945, Soviet soldiers liberated the camp, and that date is now International Holocaust Remembrance Day. UNESCO listed the site in 1979 as a memorial to the victims and a warning to humanity.
Read the complete Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati, about halfway. Next is Birkenau.
5. Birkenau
Birkenau is the second and largest part of the Auschwitz camp complex, built by the Nazi regime from 1941 on the flat land near Brzezinka, just outside Oświęcim in southern Poland. It is where most of the million or so people murdered at Auschwitz were killed, the great majority of them Jews. The camp was meant to be seen from the entrance, with the brick gatehouse and the railway line running straight through it, and that scale is the first thing that silences visitors. There is no softening it, and nobody who goes should expect to.
Read the complete Birkenau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Birkenau sits at 169 km, about halfway. Next is back through Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati.
6. back through Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati comes up about 156 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Auschwitz.
7. back through Auschwitz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Auschwitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 159 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Auschwitz. Next is back through Salt Mine in Bochnia.
8. back through Salt Mine in Bochnia
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Salt Mine in Bochnia write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Salt Mine in Bochnia, late in the day. Next is Krakow.
9. Krakow
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Krakow write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 308 km.
Leg by leg
Krakow to Salt Mine in Bochnia
Krakow → Salt Mine in Bochnia is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Salt Mine in Bochnia to Auschwitz
Salt Mine in Bochnia → Auschwitz is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Auschwitz to Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati
Auschwitz → Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati to back through Auschwitz
back through Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentrati → back through Auschwitz is 3 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Auschwitz to back through Salt Mine in Bochnia
back through Auschwitz → back through Salt Mine in Bochnia is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Salt Mine in Bochnia to Krakow
back through Salt Mine in Bochnia → Krakow is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.