News
111 declarations of intent to enter the competition for the new visitor service centure
There have been 111 declarations of intent to enter the competition for the architectonic and urban planning design of the new visitor service centure at the Auschwitz Memorial . It will be built at the site of the PKSiS bus garage adjacent to the Museum.
"We are happy to note such interest in the competition," said Jolanta Banaś-Maciaszczyk, head of the Museum Conservation Department. "This will enable us to pick a genuinely interesting architectonic concept that also fully serves the functions of the Service Center."
The deadline for submitting entries is May 31. The winner will be announced three weeks later.
The International Auschwitz Council has approved the plans for the new Visitor Center, and the Minister of Culture has appropriated special funding for the project. It will feature parking and a modern reception center. The number of visitors remains steady at a very high level. The Auschwitz Memorial was visited by 1,300,000 people from around the world in 2009.
With visitor services in the new location, it will be possible to set up a new introductory exhibition in the original camp building that now serves as the reception center. This exhibition will provide visitors with essential information about the 1930s, the rise of Nazism, propaganda and totalitarian government, the outbreak of the war, and German policy in occupied Poland.
"Thanks to this investment, we will be able to offer even better conditions, so that the people who come here can learn about one of the most tragic chapters in all of history," said Andrzej Kacorzyk, head of the Visitor Services Section.
"I hope that we will finally see the end of all the administrative obstacles that have so far blocked this exceptionally important project, which has great local significance because it will create new jobs and space for local companies to operate in," added Kacorzyk.
