Kusien, Poland
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The road to Kushien Castle feels too peaceful. Forested hills stretch into the distance, with yew trees as far as the eye can see. And a gigantic building looms over the landscape of Lower Silesia. It’s dramatic and cannot be ignored.
A combination of Baroque palace and Renaissance fortress, Poland’s third largest castle looks like something out of a fairy tale.
However, beneath the luxurious architecture lies a dark story. Here, deep in Poland’s Owl Mountains, lies a vast underground Nazi facility linked to one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious construction projects and, legend has it, a lost train full of stolen gold coins.
The history of Kusien dates back to the Middle Ages, when Bolko I, Duke of Silesia, built a fortress on the top of this hill. Over time, it was expanded into a grander mansion.
Hans von Schellendorff acquired the castle in 1466 and named it Fürstenstein Castle. This title would be held until the end of World War II. Since Lower Silesia was part of Prussia until the 20th century, the castle became one of Germany’s most important aristocratic residences.
Its legacy can still be seen today. Visitors pass through manicured gardens and through huge front doors into ornate rooms that would look right at home in a palace in Vienna or Paris.
Maximilian Hall, filled with grand chandeliers, marble fireplaces, and ornate plaster walls, reflects the castle’s heyday, when it was frequented by royalty from all over Europe. Another highlight is the room that once belonged to the English-born Princess Daisy, wife of the castle’s last owner, Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg. Decorated in playful pinks, it features a large mirror and plush sofa.
A tour of the castle will take you through many decorated rooms, lined with oil paintings and antique furniture. However, the scene suddenly changes.
Two gloomy elevator shafts sit in what at first glance appears to be just a luxurious room. It stands in sharp contrast to its gorgeous surroundings.
“These elevators were built by the Nazis in 1944,” says Mateusz Mikityshyn, Kusiensz’s head of public relations. “The mineshaft extends to a bunker 50 meters below the castle and serves as a quick evacuation route.”
The transition from a luxurious salon to a practical machine is shocking. It marks the beginning of a dark chapter related to the Riese Project, one of the Third Reich’s most secret construction activities.
In 1944, as World War II raged on, the Nazis took control of the castle from Count Hans Heinrich XVII, who had already emigrated to England. Later, Kusiensch and the Owl Mountains became the base of the Riese Project, which means “giant” in German.
The project aimed to create a network of extensive underground facilities throughout Lower Silesia. Although seven major underground facilities have been discovered so far, the true purpose of the tunnels remains unknown. After the war ended, many documents were destroyed or hidden by the Nazis.
Kushien’s tunnels are located far from the core of most of the structures in Project Riese, and this is where the mystery deepens. It is widely believed that this was because the castle was intended to be Adolf Hitler’s headquarters, but no conclusive evidence has yet emerged, Mikityshyn said.
What is known is the human cost.
More than 13,000 prisoners were brought to the area to dig tunnels and build underground infrastructure. The Tod Organization, Nazi Germany’s civil and military engineering agency, supervised the work and relied heavily on prisoners (many of them Jewish) transported from Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen concentration camps.
Workers faced harsh conditions and unrelenting pressure. Disease outbreaks, including typhus fever, occurred frequently. Researchers estimate that about 5,000 people died during construction.
Today, that history is a central part of the visitor experience, especially underground.
The tunnels beneath Kushien extend for nearly a mile. Some of the walkways are made of reinforced concrete, making them smooth and precise. It is 5 meters high, or about 16.5 feet, and wide enough for a car to pass through.
Some sections are just exposed rocks. In one of the tunnels you can see the remains of the narrow gauge railway that was used during the excavation.
Here you will find a contemporary exhibition that uses projections and sound to tell the story of Project Liese. Screens illuminate dark rooms with archival images and historical context. The effects are immersive and often unsettling, especially due to the human cost of creating the spaces they are in.
Many visitors say its scale is what impresses them most.
Despite its documented history, Lower Silesia is rife with myths, most notably the story of a hidden train laden with stolen Nazi gold coins.
“Even today, many people are looking for treasures and hidden tunnels here,” says Michał Miszczuk, a local guide at Underground City Osovka, another major Project Riese complex nearby.
Legend has it that when Nazi troops retreated from Wrocław (then Breslau) in 1945, they hid a train full of valuables somewhere in the Owl Mountains. In 2015, treasure hunters received permission to excavate a suspicious site near Wałbrzych, known as Zone 65, but nothing was found.
But the mystery persists, with missing documents and many undiscovered tunnels believed to remain sealed. When the Nazis retreated in 1945 as the Red Army approached, they destroyed or concealed the entrances to many of the underground passages.
“Lower Silesia has been part of Germany for centuries,” Miszczuk explains. “Even though they knew they had lost the war, they were confident they would get this land back.”
In contrast to Kusien’s almost smooth concrete, Oshovka’s dark tunnels are rugged and rocky, making it easier to believe in buried treasure.
The complex is approximately two kilometers long, or just over a mile, and includes towering chambers and a 48-meter shaft. Some researchers have speculated that it may have been intended as a central hub to be connected to other Riese ruins.
Here, visitors walk down a dimly lit hallway that ends abruptly in rubble. There is a stream underground, and it is possible to tour the pitch-black part of the tunnel by small boat.
Abandoned equipment is scattered throughout the site, highlighting the harsh conditions endured by workers. The exhibits here focus on human suffering, and deliberate efforts have been made to ensure that the site serves as a site of remembrance as well as tourism.
Today, Kusien Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Poland. A flower and art festival is held in spring and attracts many people. The nearby hotel, which was once an annex, is visited by tourists all year round. The castle also hosts conferences, weddings and cultural events.
The worldwide frenzy over the alleged Nazi Golden Train has garnered international attention. But the site’s administrators face a delicate balance between promoting tourism while respecting the suffering associated with its history.
For many travelers, that contrast defines their visit.
After spending hours underground, returning to daylight feels liberating. Rumors of buried treasure may be captivating, but the deeper story is one of ambition, secrets, and unfathomable human tragedy.
