STAIRS OF TERROR (MAUTHAUSEN STAIRS)
The Stairs of Terror, also known as the Mauthausen Stairs, were located above the Svornost Mine directly in Jáchymov and formed a guarded corridor between the mine and the labour camp. The camp originated during the Nazi occupation and after the war was used first as an internment and prisoner camp, later primarily for political prisoners forced to work in uranium mining until its closure in 1954.
During this period a fenced corridor with a staircase about three metres wide was constructed. It overcame a height difference of roughly seventy metres and consisted of approximately 230 to 260 wooden steps. The route was lined with barbed-wire fencing, strong lighting, control gates, watchtowers and a guard building. Besides moving prisoner work groups, the corridor was also used for transporting drinking water because the camp had no direct water supply.
After the camp was abolished, the structure lost its purpose and was later dismantled as part of efforts to conceal the uranium-mining complex. In 1993 the route was rediscovered and partially restored by the Barbora Mining Association while marking the Jáchymov Hell educational trail. A further reconstruction took place in 2015 by the Sokolov Museum during the opening of Adit No. 1 and the creation of a mining heritage area. Volunteer initiatives continue to maintain the site today.
The name “Stairs of Terror” originated after 28 September 1950, when two escaping prisoners were shot and left at the foot of the stairs as a warning. The alternative name “Mauthausen Stairs” refers to the similarity in the number of steps to those in the quarry of the Mauthausen concentration camp.
