We will be flying into Vienna and taking a train to Salzburg. We have 3 teenage sons and would really like to see a concentration camp. We had thought about seeing both. (After Salzburg, be will be heading north towards Dachau) Should we try to see both? Our problem will be that we will be traveling with our luggage. If we wanted to see Mauthausen, we wouldn%26#39;t arrive there until the afternoon unless we left Vienna the following day. Would we even have enough time to see Mauthausen on that first day or should we try to see it the next day? We would have to stay at a nearby hotel if we saw it. Does anyone have any know how long we should allow ourselves to tour it and what we should do with our luggage?
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If you are someplace near to Mauthausen it is very much worth a visit.
many fewer people visit this Camp. Thus it provides a much more intense visit as you are sometimes alone in some places.
It is much easier visited by car from Salzburg or Vienna- the small town of Mauthausen is several kilometers from the camp- really too far for a walk. Take a taxi
By train, it is about a 2 1/2 hour ride with a change in St. Valentin from Vienna.Numerous trains early in the morning.
The time for your visit depends on your interest- at least 2- 3 hours.
The original SS Barracks, stone walls , kitchen, medical area , gas chambers and stone quarry remain.
Barracks are reconstruction for most but still on original sites.
A museum is also available..
Mauthausen and Dachau do differ in appearance and both worth a visit if you are near.
With many less visitors at Mauthausen, the impression seems much more vivid and real to me.
The trip to Salzburg from Mautausen takes 2 + hours. It is probably easier to continue to Salzburg rather than trying to find a place in Mauthausen.
for train information look to the Austria Rail website
www.oebb.at
I believe luggage lockers are available at the Mauthausen station.
For more info , including pictures to assist in your decision making
www.scrapbook.pages.com/mauthausen/tour
As an alternative, you may wish to rent a car in vienna when you leave the city, visit Melk Abbey and the Wachau Valley of the Danube River and then visit mauthausen, continuing through the Salzburg Lake country and then to Salzburg where you could return the car.
You may find the price of a car compared to train tickets may not be much different and you could see much more on your own schedule.
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Mauthausen is a good example of a camp, however, I found Dachau to be more emotional. Mauthausen is being restored but the visitor center is not as good as the one at Dachau IMO. However, they did have a good documentry describing the history of the camp as well as some personal interveiws that I thought was worth seeing. There are examples of the ovens, gas chambers, the barricks, bathrooms, etc. and there several memorials.You could visit this camp in 1/2 a day without a problem. There is a cost to get in, but I can%26#39;t remember now how much it was. Your sons may be able to get a student discount with their student IDs, but I think it really depends on who is working the window! There is a small cafeteria at the visitor center with a limited selection of food for purchase.
Mauthausen was a day-trip for us, we were staying in Salzburg, so I%26#39;m not help with lodging and luggage issues, sorry.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the reply. We are pretty sure that we are going to Dachau. But, Mauthausen will take a lot more planning in order to make it on the way to Salzburg. We have taken our kids to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and now would like for them to see a concentration camp. I was thinking that Dachau would have the most impact on them as far as what they will be seeing. Am I correct?
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Since you are already planning on going to Dachau and have been to the Holocaust museum in D.C., I wouldn%26#39;t worry about missing Mauthausen. If you had the time and it was convenient, I would suggest going, but I think you are right in only going to Dachau with your time limitations. Have a great trip. Vienna/Germany are wonderful places.
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Thank you for your advice. I think I will stick to that plan. It will make the trip easier.
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