The Wolf's Lair (Wolfsschanze in German) was a military headquarter of Adolf Hitler during World War II. It is located near the village of Gierłoż, 8km east of Kętrzyn in northeastern Poland.
Built between 1940 and 1941 by 3000 German workers, it consisted of 80 structures including 7 bomb-proof bunkers spread over an area of 18 hectares. It was here that the assassination attempt against Hitler took place in July 1944. The complex was blown up by the Germans in January 1945, as they retreated from the invading Soviet army.
Nowadays the compound is an open-air museum with ruins spread over the forest. From the parking it is possible to visit a section of the Wolf's Lair in 2-3 hours, walking on a number of trails.
How to get to the Wolf's Lair
The Wolf's Lair is best visited by car. The closest airport is the one in Olsztyn, which has flights to a few European cities.
Accommodation
There is a hotel immediately at the site, more in the region around it, all bookable via the international booking portals.
01 Wooden soldier sculpture 02 Reich security service casino 03 Forest trail 04 Ruins of barracks of count Stauffenberg
05 Visitors bunker 06 Visitors bunker 07 Bunker 08 Chief of criminal police post office
09 Chief of criminal police post office 10 Chief of criminal police post office 11 Ruins 12 Stenographers barracks
13 Bunker ruin 14 Forest trail 15 Collapsed walls 16 Wolf lair 17 Door and staircase
18 Air raid shelter 19 Air raid shelter 20 Air raid shelter 21 Bunker ruins
22 Fragment of bunker roof 23 Fragment of bunker roof 24 Forest and ruins 25 Forest and ruins 26 Ruins of Hitler bunker
27 Wolf lair 28 Ruins of staff quarter 29 Bunker ruins in the forest
30 Forest 31 Forest 32 Camping area
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©Copyright Alfred Molon