The Wolf’s Lair is a place where we wanted to go for a long time. When we were planning a summer holiday trip to eastern Poland we decided to visit it finally.
We like fortifications, which you probably already know from previous posts. The Wolf’s Lair, called in the original Wolfsschanze is the former headquarters of Hitler and the High Command of the Armed Forces. It was camouflaged in a forest. Hitler was stationed here in 1941-1944. There were overall 8 major headquarters during WWII, but it is known that here he officiated the longest, up to 800 days.
The Wolf’s Lair consisted of 200 buildings: some huge reinforced-concrete bunkers, smaller buildings, brick and wooden barracks, shelters, warehouses, 2 airports, power station, railway, air conditioning, water supply, heating plants and two teleprinters. Through the center of the object passed the railway line. The whole area covered about 250 ha and was surrounded by barbed wire and minefield. The entrance to the complex was made possible through three guard-houses. Inside were three separate security zones, and the zone I and II was additionally enclosed by 2 meter high fence with barbed wire. The crew consisted of 2200 people.
Today, it is mostly ruins. The wooden houses and barracks had fallen apart. Some of the brick buildings are basically skeletons (walls and roof) in a heavily destroyed state (mold on the ceiling and walls). Bunkers are destroyed, everywhere we could find openings where you could get inside. For safety reasons, on each of the structures there is a sign that entering is dangerous. Walking is therefore at your own risk. In one of the bunkers there was a wooden barrier that blocked the entrance. The other structures were open for exploration.
How to explore the Wolf’s Lair?
First, you need to get to Gierłoż near Kętrzyn. Signposts will lead us to the site itself (the first we saw before Kętrzyn). When we were on site, a group of attendants was taking care of cars in the parking lot. At the entrance they charged an admission fee for parking and at the same time sold tickets. We drove to the parking lot and left the car. The car park was quite crowded.
We decided to look for a guide and find out how tours work here. And here we found a big disappointment. Our idea was completely different from what we found. The guides were there, but you could hire a guide for PLN 70. For larger groups of tourists it makes sense. For one family — the price was too high. Guides led groups in Polish, English, German, Russian, and French. We decided to explore on our own. Why isn’t a guide included in the ticket price? Why are there no scheduled tours? Strange.
At the entrance there is a map of the whole area with a legend showing the buildings. The buildings are marked with painted numbers you can find on the map. If anyone is curious whether you get anything for the ticket price at the entrance — the answer is no. No leaflets, maps, or anything besides the receipt. It looks poor. The only way to have a map with you is to take a photo of the plan at the entrance. You can also buy one of the many books and maps in the kiosk. Commerce everywhere.
Sightseeing the way we had chosen had its advantages. We visited everything at our own pace, and at most buildings we found a group with a guide and could overhear for a moment what the guide was saying. We visited what we are interested in, also bunker interiors (places where a guide would never enter).
At the Wolf’s Lair, important decisions were taken about the course of World War II. The most important event that took place here was conducted by Claus von Stauffenberg (on 20 July 1944) failed attempt to kill Hitler. You can see details about this attack in the movie Valkyrie, which takes its name from the codename of the action. We have seen this movie and recommend it to everyone. We found a poster on the way with a detailed description of this event, hour by hour. Who knows, maybe if this attack had been successful, WWII would have ended much earlier?
The tour follows colored routes. The red trail (longer) leads around all objects, and the yellow trail (shorter) covers just selected ones. We went on the longer one.
The area around the Wolf’s Lair during the war was surrounded by a minefield. This field had a length of 100 m and a length of 10km. The mine density was so high that no one could walk 100m forward without hitting a mine. There were anti-personnel mines and anti-tank, some of them were impossible to disarm, and there were also those hidden in glass containers, which were not detected by sappers’ devices. The area was repeatedly demined. The first actions by Soviet engineers had already been taken in 1945, shortly after the conquest of the land. Interestingly, inside the Wolf’s Lair they did not find any mines. The mines were hidden in the tall grass, bushes, on the terrain protected by machine guns and turrets. Practically it was impossible to attack the enemy. Immediately after the war it was more important to demine fields and factories, so this area was left mined until 1951. Arable land was cleared of mines using a driverless tractor to plow the fields. There is a commemorative plaque with a dummy mine, placed in 2003 in memory of sappers, who died in the mine clearance. Kris was very interested in the mines around the site, who, as always, tried to grasp the scale of the project.
The Red Army undertook a campaign to destroy the Wolf’s Lair by blowing up concrete bunkers with such force that concrete blocks flew into the air to a height of 20–30 m. Apparently, witnesses say that the force of the explosions was so great that ice on nearby lakes cracked. For the demolition of one bunker, about 8 tons of TNT was used.
This area was looted after the war by the local population, who used whatever they could for their own economic purposes.
To sum up: a shame that the land is not used in a better way. The places that were not blown up could be reconstructed in wartime style and filled with exhibits of that time. Surely it would be better for the imagination, especially for children. None of the structures had lighting, and none were officially open to the public.
We can compare the exploration of this place to our visit to the Międzyrzecz Fortified Region, where a small part of the facility was restored for tourist purposes.
Tips: If you choose to visit with children, it is best to organize a larger group (eg. excursion in the family) – then it pays to take a guide. On the tour you have to spend at least an hour, and with a guide that accurately tells the story of all the buildings — 2–3 hours.
Before arriving worth seeing the movie Valkyrie.
Walking through the Wolf’s Lair is a walk in the woods. Even in the heat it is not hot in here, and inside the bunkers is even pleasant chill. Mosquitoes are present, so you should bring some insect repellent. Tracks between the bunkers are passable for cars, although here and there you can find protruding roots.
We invite you to watch the cutscene of our visit: