Visiting
We welcome all visitors, whether you are a group, a couple or on your own. This House of Life is for people who love Jesus, and it all centres on Him!
A typical first visit
If you are visiting for the first time, we would love to sit down with you over a cup of tea or coffee, so we can get to know you and you can get to know us. This is important as the House of Life is about community, about doing things in the opposite spirit to the camp.
We also want to share the vision of the House of Life, and the plans that Father has for Auschwitz-Birkenau. We want everyone who comes to understand this before we join together in the Prayer Room.
For those coming to Auschwitz for the first time there is usually a process to go through.
Some people like to take a tour around the camp, although this is not necessary if you are visiting us. If you want to do that, then you need to arrange the tour yourself by visiting Auschwitz.org. At the time of writing, it is only possible to purchase tickets online, and with so many people wanting to come, you should do this well in advance, as tickets get booked up very quickly.
If you are part of an official tour of Auschwitz Museum, it will take approximately 3 ½ hours to complete. We recommend that you do this on a different day to visiting the House of Life, especially if you are travelling from Krakow, as it doesn’t leave a lot of time.
Normally we require a full day for first time visitors, which includes a tour of the Fountain of Tears, which is located on the other side of the road to the House of Life.
However, if time is short and you only have an hour or so, we would still love to meet you over a cup of tea or coffee and a super quick time in the prayer room!
Fountain of Tears
The Fountain of Tears is a sculptural exhibition of the last seven words of Jesus on the cross, with a Holocaust survivor responding to each of those words. It provides a different perspective as it allows you to see the Holocaust through the lens of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus.
For more information see Fountainoftears.org. You can arrange that tour directly (recommended) at castingseeds@gmail.com. Otherwise, you can contact us.
Special group visits
If you are planning to come as a group for the primary purpose of a prayer / worship journey and would like to join in with the House of Life for two days or more, then please contact us so we can see what we can facilitate.
A few guidelines
- Please contact us before you come, to agree a day and time by emailing: f.livingstones@gmail.com.
- Please note we only allow people in the prayer room after sharing the vision. The Prayer Room is not a facility that people can use for their own meetings. The House of Life is a place where we join together for prayer and worship and to see what Father wants to do.
- Please feel free to bring your slippers, soft non-marking house shoes or grippy socks. We don’t allow outdoor shoes inside the house, except for disabled / medical reasons.
Other matters
Here are some answers to questions that we are often asked:
- We have no accommodation for visitors in the house. All accommodation in the house is reserved for residential volunteers / helpers.
- We don’t allow people to bring sleeping bags into the Prayer Room or anywhere else in the House. You will need to find your own accommodation locally using booking.com or a similar search engine. Oswiecim (town of Auschwitz) has plenty of accommodation to suit almost every budget.
- Visitors are responsible for their own transport. We do not offer any transfer services. Try using Google maps, which is very good at providing public transport information. In addition, if you have an entrance ticket for Auschwitz Museum, there is a free shuttlebus between Auschwitz I (museum) and Auschwitz Birkenau. The House of Life is located just 400 metres from the gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- Visitors are also responsible for their own meals.