Nowa Huta Steel Mill Tour: Explore Communist Architecture and Underground Bomb Shelters

Discover the fascinating history of Nowa Huta, a city built around a steel mill in Krakow. Explore the iconic Communist Palaces of Polish Socialist Realism and underground bomb shelters on a guided tour.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Nowa Huta - Administrative buildings of steelworks, its offices and underground cold war era shelter
What's Included
  • Local guide
  • Professional guide
What's Not Included
  • Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information

While in Cracow, remember to stop by Nowa Huta! It’s a city whose main purpose for establishment was the construction of a massive steel mill in the east of Krakow. Nowadays, you have the opportunity to tour the official establishments of the erstwhile Steel Mill Administration, witnessing the insides of the administrative offices and subterranean bomb…

Location
Ujastek 1
Ujastek
Oposite site of the street
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(10 Ratings)
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1 star
Helen_m
Feb 29, 2024
Highlight of our trip to Krakow - We have done this tour twice (in Feb 2023 and 2024) and both times it was the highlight of our holiday. It is a truly unique experience that I could not recommend enough. The guides are really knowledgeable and passionate about the buildings and the history of communism and Nowa Huta. You feel like an urban explorer wandering around the abandoned managers building, and the underground shelter is one of the most fascinating places I have ever visited. Absolutely superb, if we're ever back in Krakow we'll definitely book for a third time!
Review provided by Viator
Gunnar_k
Feb 20, 2024
Excellent tour - I loved the trip and the guide was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. Going through the tunnels and bunker was very interesting.
Review provided by Viator
21puravida
Aug 25, 2023
A truly fascinating tour around a post-war utopian dream town developed under Communist ideology, highly recommended. - Krakow has so much to offer in terms of history, a necessary reminder of the darkest horrors of the 20th century and these museums will rightly be the first port of call for many visitors, as they were for us. It is perhaps easy therefore to overlook this tour to Nowa Huta but you should definitely make the time to benefit from this unique experience if you can. This tour really completes the later decades of the 20th century, the what happened next part. A utopian dream for many, a Communist symbol to be proud of on the world stage, it is all here. And, just as it was during the height of the Cold War, right down to the cracked leather chairs on which the key decision makers sat and welcomed sympathetic international guests to admire the steel works. Seeing is one thing, but you need a brilliant guide to bring to life the people who sat on those chairs. We were so fortunate that Mateusz Marchocki made room for us all (family of 5 ages 21, 19 and 16) at very short notice and so wonderfully brought to life the steel plant and the era with the added benefit of personal family experience. Mateusz, thank you for sharing so warmly and taking the time to explain the steel works and the role that Nowa Huta played and continues to play. We will long remember your tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessicah825
Dec 29, 2022
Truly memorable tour - Think two hours touring an abandoned administrative building might be boring? Think again. Our guide was so knowledgeable that every detail was a revelation. A sure bet for anyone interested in Cold War history. Go with this organization that's helping preserve the fascinating memory of Nowa Huta.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R0gerandjulie
Dec 18, 2022
Really intereresting visit - A fascinating tour of the 1950's administration building and the underground bomb shelters giving a great insight into the communist era. Mateusz is an entertaining and knowledgeable guide speaking excellent English and has amazing access to the buildings. Easy to get to on the tram from the centre of Krakow or from the Nowa Huta museum.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tour2011_11
Aug 20, 2019
Excellent Tour of Admin Buildings of the Nowa Huta Steelworks - Tour of the administrative offices and underground bunker of the steel works was excellent. It was just as if we had travelled back to the 1950’s to the communist era; it evoked all the craziness of the Cold War. No expense had been spared on the design and furnishings of the management building, however although the workers’ building looks the same from the outside it is far more basic on the inside. The tour of underground nuclear bunker was fascinating and most of the kit down there is still in working order. We travelled out to the site from the centre of Krakow by tram - which was really straightforward. You need to book this tour in advance as the buildings are not a museum and so you need to be escorted with a guide. Unlike all other tours we did in Krakow there were only 4 of us on this whole tour. We booked through Viator. Try and fit a trip to Nowa Huta and the steelwork buildings into your visit to Krakow.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steven
May 20, 2018
must visit - time warp setting in the offices and shelter ,fantastic tour ,very informative guide,very friendly,,tour price good,,worth visiting,
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Frederique_c
Aug 23, 2023
Interesting if you lile abandoned buildings + industrial history - A thorough tour of an abandoned building with access to many offices and meeting rooms and a very interesting bunker. It's a big long (1h45), and be reminded that this building has served until the 2000's so the items are from various periods ranging from the 50's to the 2000's. Many objects on display but it's not necessarily the way they were in that building, since the NGO has gathered them and organized a sort of exhibition.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
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February 2025
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