Mauthausen

Some people want to go to Mauthausen because that might be where their family might have been. Other people want to visit all of the camps as they are all different. Perhaps they are studying the history or working on a book, who knows?

I had no problem finding connections on the Bahn website, but it is complicated by 1) there is no station in Tandern, you'll have to go by bus to Petershausen, 2) the most direct way from Petershausen is to take the S-Bahn into Munich, which is perpendicular to the direction you want to be going.

If you have a car, anyway, that's probably the easiest way.

But, why Mauthausen?. Dachau is on the same S-Bahn line into Munich, or would be a short drive.

Dachau is a reconstruction. Mauthausen has the original buildings. It's in a very beautiful location, too, which makes a visit there all the more poignant. From every fence you can see beautiful, rolling countryside. Visiting there is a very moving experience.

Mauthausen is not a ruin at all. The buildings are all intact, as are the gas chambers and crematoria. In the holding yard, as well as in the gas chambers, there are memorials to those who died there. I'm sure that all concentration camps, reconstructed or not, are moving experiences for visitors. But somehow seeing the beauty outside of the fences and imagining what it must have been like to be inside looking out made it more so for me.

I have been to Dachau twice and Mauthausen once. In 2008, I visited both in a 2 day period. We visited Mauthausen and then the next day picked up by sister and her husband in Munich and visited Dachau. Originally, my brother-in-law wanted to drive to Mauthausen that day (they arrived at 7:30am) and then back to Hallstatt to spend the night. After we mapped it out, we changed our mind and the four of us visited Dachau. I am glad we did. While Mauthausen is easy to drive to, it does take quite a bit of time. It will be a long day!! Both sites are very educational and worthwhile. If it were me, I would visit Dachau and save Mauthausen for another trip. However, if you have your heart set on it, you can do it in a day with a car. Be sure you stop BEFORE you pass into Austria and buy a vignette for your car (they are sold at gas stations) Do not enter Austria without one (the police tend to hover near the border to catch people without them) Expect to spend more time in the car than you do at your destination. On the up side, you will pass some pretty scenery near Salzburg. I would visit Mauthausen again, but only if I were passing close to it. I think the most moving visit you will have to a concentration camp is your first visit (for me, that was Dachau in 2001.) While it is hard to say you enjoyed the visit, it is very worthwhile and meaningful.

Thank you for all the tips and information. We went to Dachau last year and will go again this year as my FIL will be with us. Dachau was very moving and an experience I will never forget, especially walking into the building holding the ovens. We would like to visit another one and thought Mauthausen was the closest one.

If anyone else has any other information please let me know.

Thanks again!

Hi Karen

I'd make the trip and make a day out of it, and take the car. We went last summer and while we've never been to Dachau, we did find Mauthausen very moving. Definitely worth the visit. There is much to see and seems quite original. The gas chamber, oven, etc.... Many of the buildings have been torn down, but there is much to see in the remaining buildings. As it was an operating quarry, the "Stairs of Death" remain and can be accessed also.

Might I also suggest that for your drive from Munich, do a round trip that includes the Czech Republic. When we left Munich we went northeast into the Czech Republic and drove approx about 10 miles in and then south to Austria and entered Linz from the north. We just wanted to see the Czech Republic while we were there since we were so close. (They also require a window sticker like Austria and there was store right over the border they made it easy to get).

If you do this leg on either your approach to or from Mauthausen and then drove the Autobahn on the other leg I think it would make for a more unique and enjoyable ride. While I don't remember the road numbers off the top of my head, if you are interested, let me know and I'll pull out my maps and find the roads we took.

Best of luck with your plans!

Karen
My husband and drove from Germany to Mauthausen last fall. My only suggestion would be that you have a navigation system with you as Mauthausen is located several miles off the main freeway with very few directional signs. We would have wasted a lot of time stopping for directions had we not had navigation. By the way, it is definitely worth your effort to go there, and it is a lovely drive.