Tours are the most popular way for groups to explore the Memorial and its exhibitions, the historical site, and its history. Please book well in advance using our online form.
A fee is charged for group tours.
We have developed four main tour formats for exploring the site:
- The 2-hour overview tour usually starts at the Visitor Centre and provides a brief insight into the main exhibition – ‘The Ravensbrück Women’s Concentration Camp: History and Memory’ – as well as an initial introduction to the history of the site. This tour also provides information about all of the other exhibitions at the Memorial so that you can explore individual aspects of the history of the Ravensbrück camp complex in more detail afterwards. To facilitate individual exploration in a project-based way, we have put together project materials that can be downloaded from this website [add download link]. An overview tour is often the starting point for more in-depth project work, for which you should allow at least five hours (including the tour).
- Thematic tours explore topics in more depth, such as the history of the female guards ‘in the retinue of the SS’, the men of the SS, children in the concentration camp, individual prisoner groups, or the significance of forced labour. These thematic tours are usually offered as a supplement to an overview tour during one- or multi-day project seminars. In the summer, thematic tours are sometimes also available for individual visitors – the dates can be found on our events page.
- Self-guided tours start with a brief meeting in the Visitor Centre, where we welcome the group and explain the method behind the tour. Participants are encouraged to spend an hour independently exploring the accessible grounds and buildings of the Memorial. Because they can move around the grounds on their own, they are usually able to see much more than on a conventional tour. After this individual exploration, they meet their guide in the Visitor Centre of the Memorial. From there, the group leads the Memorial guide to places they have questions about or would simply like to learn more about. This ‘follow-up’ tour usually lasts around 90 minutes.
- A photo walk is another version of a self-guided tour. The participants are asked to divide into several smaller groups for exploring the site. Each small group is given a digital camera so that each participant can photograph a place, object, or building they have questions about. After this self-guided exploration, the group meets in a seminar room. During a break, the photos are uploaded to a computer connected to a projector so they can be used as the basis for discussion in the following seminar phase. It can often be beneficial to visit the grounds again afterwards with the guide.
For all guided group programmes, we recommend planning enough time to independently visit our exhibitions and to take breaks. We will be happy to advise and support you in preparing for your visit to the Memorial.
