Hitler's alpine bolthole getting multi-million dollar upgrade Josef Stalin's retreat is in the resort town of Sochi Albania's King Zog settled in Parmoor House in Buckinghamshire Napoleon's digs are on view at Château de Fontainebleau '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" DestinationsPlanningInspirationShopSearch SavesOpen main menuShutterstock / Robert Szymanski Hidden in thick forest near the hamlet of Gierłoż is one of Poland’s eeriest historical relics – 18 overgrown hectares of huge This was Hitler’s main headquarters during WWII baptised with the German name of Wolfsschanze (Wolf’s Lair) A famous attempt to assassinate the Führer took place here in July 1944 The location was carefully chosen in this remote part of East Prussia far away from important towns and transport routes to be a convenient command centre for the planned German advance eastwards began in autumn 1940; about 80 structures were finally built including seven bombproof bunkers for the top leaders Martin Bormann (Hitler’s adviser and private secretary) Hermann Göring (Prussian prime minister and German commissioner for aviation) and Hitler himself were among the residents Their bunkers had walls and ceilings up to 8m thick The whole complex was surrounded by multiple barriers of barbed wire and gun emplacements An airfield was built 5km away and there was an emergency airstrip within the camp Apart from the natural camouflage of trees and plants the bunker site was further disguised with artificial vegetation-like screens suspended on wires and changed according to the season of the year The Allies did not discover the site until 1945 Hitler arrived at the Wolf’s Lair on 26 June 1941 (four days after the invasion of the Soviet Union) and stayed there until 20 November 1944 with only short trips to the outside world His longest journey outside the bunker was a four-month stint at the Ukraine headquarters of the Wehrmacht (the armed services of the German Reich) in 1942 Having survived an assassination attempt within the complex in July 1944 Hitler left the Wolf’s Lair as the Soviet Red Army approached a few months later The German army prepared the bunkers to be destroyed should the enemy have attempted to seize them The complex was eventually blown up on 24 January 1945 and the Germans retreated but the extensive minefield was still efficiently defending the empty ruins It took 10 years to clear the 55,000 mines within the complex the site has succumbed to Mother Nature; bunkers are slowly disappearing behind a thick wall of natural camouflage It’s best to pick up a site map or booklet sold from stands in the parking area organise a guide to show you around; English- German- and Russian-speaking guides charge 60zł for a 1½-hour tour All structures are identified with numbers and marked with big signs telling you not to enter the ruins including some guides (bunker 6 appears to be the most popular one to enter) Of Hitler’s bunker (13) only one wall survived but Göring’s ‘home’ (16) is in relatively good shape A memorial plate (placed in 1992) marks the location of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg’s 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler and a small exhibition room houses a scale model of the original camp layout You can also continue 200m past the entrance towards Węgorzewo and take a small road to the right signposted ‘Kwiedzina (5km)’ On either side of this narrow path is a handful of crumbling bunkers that can be explored free of charge ContactAddressGierłoż 89 741 0031 https://www.wilczyszaniec.olsztyn.lasy.gov.pl/ Church of Our Lady and later surrounded by an ample rectangular cloister the hugely popular church was built around four identical corner… Boyen Fortress The Boyen Fortress was built between 1844 and 1856 to protect the kingdom’s border with Russia and was named after the then Prussian minister of war,… Łuknajno Reserve shelters Europe’s largest surviving community of wild swans (Cygnus olor) and is home to… Rotary Bridge Giżycko’s working rotary bridge was built in 1889 and is the only one of its kind in the country Castle Kętrzyn’s Teutonic past lives on in the form of its mid-14th-century brick castle on the southern edge of the town centre Water Tower Giżycko’s seven-storey Water Tower supplied the city with running water until 1997 St George’s Church the Gothic church looks like the town’s second fortress from a distance Its interior has furnishings and decoration dating… View more attractionsNearby The Great Masurian Lakes attractions1. Castle 2. St George’s Church 3. Boyen Fortress 4. Rotary Bridge 5. Church of Our Lady 6. Water Tower 7. Łuknajno Reserve The shallow 700-hectare Lake Łuknajno, 4km east of Mikołajki, shelters Europe’s largest surviving community of wild swans (Cygnus olor) and is home to… No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission