Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Though the dam crest is long gone, the tower still stands.
Den Hvide Jomfru (The White Maiden)
The front of the mosque.
Şakirin Mosque
Ornate decorations are part of some of the music boxes.
Terranova Music Box Museum
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
Books are available inside for borrowing or purchase.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
Passersby stop to admire the punny offerings of Brooklyn’s only dinosaur bodega.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope
Native Americans have a longstanding, rich, and vibrant culture in Wyoming.
Wyoming’s Sacred Landscapes: A Journey Through Native American History

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Germany Dresden Slaughterhouse Five

Slaughterhouse Five

Slaughterhouse Five opens its dank doors to fans of Kurt Vonnegut.

Dresden, Germany

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
  William A. Blake
  tripadvisor.com
  tripadvisor.com
  tripadvisor.com
  William Blake
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death, the main character Billy Pilgrim is captured by the Germans and taken to Dresden. In Dresden, Billy is held in an unused slaughterhouse, "Slaughterhouse number 5." From this location, Billy, as well as his captors, survive the bombing of Dresden, which killed some 25,000 people in the ensuing firestorm.

This fictional account almost perfectly mirrors Vonnegut's real experience in the war. In WWII, Vonnegut was imprisoned in Dresden, was beaten, and made a prisoner in Schlachthof Fünf or Slaughterhouse Five, a real slaughterhouse in Dresden. When Vonnegut emerged from the slaughterhouse, he saw what "looked like the surface of the moon," the result of the massive Dresden bombing by the allied forces. In Vonnegut's words: "There were too many corpses to bury. So instead the Germans sent in troops with flamethrowers. All these civilians' remains were burned to ashes." It would be these horrific experiences that inspired Vonnegut's 1969 book, named after the place that likely saved his life.

Curiously, most residents of Dresden couldn't tell you who Kurt Vonnegut was, let alone where the actual Slaughterhouse Five is. Today, the Slaughterhouse Five complex has been converted into a convention and event center, but the original architecture is largely intact and is now protected. The basement itself has been renovated, but now includes a memorial wall to Kurt Vonnegut and his novel. Recently, it has become possible to visit it on a two-hour tour with a guide. 

Related Tags

Disaster Areas Ruins Repositories Of Knowledge World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

Detailed directions can be found here: http://www.oneyeartrip.com/2009/11/getting-to-slaughterhouse-five-in.html

Community Contributors

Edited By

chapelsauce, Blindcolour, mbison, wblake89

  • chapelsauce
  • Blindcolour
  • mbison
  • wblake89

Published

February 14, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://nightwalk.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/in-the-footsteps-of-kurt-vonnegut/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughterhouse-Five
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut
  • http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187399-d1587579-r49522968-In_the_footsteps_of_Kurt_Vonnegut_Slaughterhouse_5_Tour-Dr
Slaughterhouse Five
6 Messering
Dresden, 01067
Germany
51.068, 13.7167
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Yenidze

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Elbehochwasser 2002 Memorial

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault)

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dresden

Dresden

Germany

Places 18
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Yenidze

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Elbehochwasser 2002 Memorial

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault)

Dresden, Germany

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Dresden

Dresden

Germany

Places 18
Stories 3

Related Places

  • Mill Valley, California

    Mount Tamalpais Aircraft Crash Site

    Law-protected wreckage serves as a peculiar memorial for an almost forgotten World War II tragedy.

  • Wiltshire Secret Underground City

    Corsham, England

    Burlington Bunker

    Below a historic English market town lies a secret underground city complete with kitchens, laundries, storerooms, and an underground lake.

  • The hypocenter and surrounding devastation immediately after the detonation of the bomb

    Hiroshima, Japan

    Hiroshima's Hypocenter

    A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

  • The water tank

    Oxford, England

    Slade Camp

    A lost World War II military camp and post-war suburb swallowed by the woods.

  • Old and new churches side by side.

    Berlin, Germany

    Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

    An imperial church bombed to ruins during WWII now stands as a jagged memorial.

  • Stony Batter Historic Reserve

    Auckland, New Zealand

    Stony Batter Historic Reserve

    Large World War II gun emplacements and tunnel systems remain hidden near a remote end of Waiheke Island.

  • Ruins of the castle in Rocchetta

    Rocchetta Alta, Italy

    Rocchetta a Volturno

    This medieval settlement was abandoned after a series of landslides. What remained was largely destroyed during a mock battle for a WWII film reel.

  • Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Poland

    Modlin Fortress Granary

    In northeastern Poland, the ruins of a massive granary overlook the Narew River.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.