Terezín Memorial

Terezín is one of the most important and most difficult places you can visit from Prague. The town, about an hour's drive north, was built in the 1780s as a military fortress and named after the Empress Maria Theresa. During the Second World War the Nazis turned it into two things at once. The walled town became the Theresienstadt ghetto, through which Jews from Bohemia and Moravia and from across Central and Western Europe were funnelled; tens of thousands died there of hunger and disease, and most of the rest were deported to the extermination camps in the east. Across the river, the Small Fortress became a Gestapo police prison for political prisoners, resistance members and others, with the infamous slogan over its gate. The Nazis also used the ghetto for propaganda, staging a cleaned-up version for a Red Cross visit and a film, and the cultural life the prisoners kept up against all odds, with concerts, lectures and children's art, is one of the most moving parts of the story. Today both sites form the Terezín Memorial. A visit includes the Small Fortress, with its courtyards, cells and execution ground, and the town itself, where the Magdeburg Barracks show how prisoners lived and where the memorial's main visitor centre now sits. The linked Tiqets product is a guided tour with transport from Prague of about five hours, run with live guides in several languages, which is the simplest way to go: the guide gives the context that the bare buildings cannot, and you do not have to worry about buses. Important for visits from November 2026: the Ghetto Museum in the town closes for a reconstruction expected to last until 2029, so exhibitions are concentrated in the Magdeburg Barracks and other sites.

What you will see in 2026 and beyond: according to Expats.cz, the Ghetto Museum closed on 2 November 2026 for more than two years of reconstruction, with reopening expected in 2029. During the works the Magdeburg Barracks becomes the main visitor centre and ticket office, with a temporary exhibition on the history of the ghetto, and the Small Fortress and other locations remain open. Some tours also visit the crematorium and the Jewish cemetery outside the town; check what your tour includes, because these sites have their own hours. Many of the children's drawings made in the ghetto under the art teacher Friedl Dicker-Brandeis are now displayed in the Pinkas Synagogue in Prague's Jewish Quarter, which makes a powerful companion visit.

Doing it well: Terezín is not a place for a rushed half hour. Allow at least four or five hours from Prague, wear comfortable shoes, as the fortress grounds are large and partly unpaved, and dress for the weather, since much of the visit is outdoors and the Small Fortress can be bitterly cold in winter. It is a living town, with residents, a few cafes and shops, but do not expect a choice of restaurants; bring water and a snack. Respectful behaviour is expected, and photography is generally permitted in the grounds but not always inside exhibitions. The visit is emotionally heavy, and many visitors prefer to plan a quiet evening afterwards.

Going independently: buses run from Prague to Terezín, and the town is compact once you arrive, but the Small Fortress, the town and the outlying sites are spread out and opening times vary by season. For first-time visitors the guided tour with transport is better value than it looks, because the guide brings the empty buildings to life with names, dates and stories. Families should consider the age of their children carefully: the history is unflinching, and the visit suits teenagers better than younger children.