Top Side Trip from Prague: Terezin
8:27 AM
Location: Terezin, Czech Republic
Okay, call me a history-geek; but whenever I travel to a certain country, I try to read as much stories about its history as possible. I want to understand how a specific country came about- what made them be the country that they are now and the significant places that would make me process each information better.
During this trip to the Czech Republic, I read about the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp (also known as the Theresienstadt Ghetto) located in the town of Terezin, in the Ústí nad Labem Region, north of the capital city of Prague.
How to reach Terezin?
If you want to see more of the Czech country-side, I suggest taking the train from Praha hlavni nadrazi to Litomerice mesto as the usual 45-minute car ride is tripled to a 3-hour ride but it passes by a lot of interesting landscape. On the other hand, If you plan on really exploring the concentration camp, I suggest arranging a private car and going straight to Terezin which only takes about 45-minutes to an hour, depending on traffic.
What's interesting about Terezin?
A lot of significant events happened in Terezin's 1,352 hectares of land. Starting with the imprisonment of the catalyst for World War I, Gavrilo Princip and being turned into a Nazi Concentration Camp during the World War II. It was just in 1944 that the Nazis began to transport more prisoners to Auschwitz and Treblinka (both in Poland) and to other extermination camps due to over population. It was said that almost 75,000 prisoners were crowded into barracks that were designed to accommodate just 7,000 combat troops.
What to see in Terezin
Cell No. 1
In this exact cell, over a century ago, was where the murderer of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenburg was imprisoned.
Jewish Cemetery
The cemetery contains graves of the victims of the Nazi persecution. Out of the 2,386 graves, only half of it is named since in many cases, they've only found the remains in mass graves after the war and they could not be identified.
Mala Pevnost (Small Fortress)
Also served as a part of the fortification of Terezin, Mala Pevnost served as the largest Gestapo Prison and operated separately from the Ghetto but is still considered as part of Terezin.
If you want to really understand and feel how it is during the World War II, I suggest visiting this one of a kind place. It's not just informative, but it will also gives you a sneak peak into one of the darkest times in the Czech history. Imagine passing by the underground passage to the scaffold where more than 250 people were hanged!
Would you add Terezin to your itinerary whenever you're in Prague?
Photos and Words by Passport Out
What to see in Terezin
Cell No. 1
Jewish Cemetery
Mala Pevnost (Small Fortress)
If you want to really understand and feel how it is during the World War II, I suggest visiting this one of a kind place. It's not just informative, but it will also gives you a sneak peak into one of the darkest times in the Czech history. Imagine passing by the underground passage to the scaffold where more than 250 people were hanged!
Would you add Terezin to your itinerary whenever you're in Prague?
Photos and Words by Passport Out
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