The Mauthausen Memorial is mostly visited as a day trip from Linz or Vienna, with tours generally only providing transportation to and from the site. Inside the memorial are several permanent and temporary exhibitions with information on the camp’s history, accounts from former prisoners, photographs, and films. You can choose to explore independently, with a virtual or audio guide, or by guided tour. Visiting the memorial takes most people one to two hours.
The Mauthausen Memorial is located northwest of Mauthausen town center, roughly 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) from the city of Linz. From Linz train station, you can take either the #360 bus to the Mauthausen Linzerstraße/Hauptschule stop or the #361 bus to the Mauthausen Linzerstraße/Wasserwerk stop. Both are located approximately 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the museum. Between April and November, the #361 bus runs several times a day to the museum entrance.
Although the Mauthausen Memorial is open year-round, those planning to see the outdoor memorial sculpture garden may prefer to explore the museum in the warmer months. Visiting first thing in the morning is a good idea to get a start before tour groups roll in, but generally the memorial isn’t too crowded.
The Mauthausen concentration camp was the main hub for acts of persecution committed by Nazis in Austria, but there were other subcamps around the country that served as its branches. Several of these camps now host memorials to their prisoners and victims, including the Gusen Memorial, located just a couple of miles from the Mauthausen Memorial. Not much of the Gusen concentration camp remains, but there is a visitor center with exhibitions in its place.
