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Karosta Prison
Location: Karosta, Liepaja
Period: 1900-1997
History
Karosta (translated as ‘Military Port’) is a small town 10 kilometres north of Liepaja. It was founded as a military port in 1890 by decree of Tsar Alexander III. During the Soviet period it remained a military town with a closed area, inaccessible even to the civilian population of Latvia.
The ruins of the military gymnasium, the forts by the sea and other buildings, including the garrison prison, are reminders of Karosta’s military past. The military men who served their sentences here included all kinds of people: revolutionaries, sailors and junior officers of the Tsarist army, deserters of the German Wehrmacht, enemies of the people of the Stalin era, and soldiers of the USSR and Latvia.
Nowadays
Today it is the only military prison in Europe open to tourists. The Karosta Rescue Society (Karostas glābšanas biedrība) is responsible for its preservation, restoration and promotion. Check the website for opening hours and to register for the tour (approximately time is 45 minutes).
From 15 May to 17 October, guests can stay in the former cells, which have been converted into double and single rooms (booking information here). The prison also has a souvenir shop and a buffet serving hearty lunches. While you eat, you can read the Soviet press or watch a 16-minute film about Karosta.
People also come here for its eerie reputation among ghost hunters: the American organisation Ghost Hunters International named Karosta Prison the most haunted in the world. It is said that you can sometimes hear strange footsteps and even see the ghost of a prisoner.
Lukiškės Prison
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Period: 1901-2019
History
The high-security prison was built at the end of the Russian Empire, in 1901-1904, on the personal order of Nicholas II. The prison has survived several changes of power – Tsarist Russia, the Polish period, German, Soviet and the restoration of Lithuanian independence. The complex was in continuous operation during both world wars, holding political prisoners and those sentenced to life imprisonment.
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At the time of its construction, it was one of the most modern penitentiaries. The prison had its own hospital and artesian well, and the buildings had modern heating, ventilation, running water and sewers. The prisoners’ quarters are designed as a panopticon, an ‘ideal prison’, where one or more jailers can observe all the prisoners at the same time. In the centre of the block there is an open space with cells arranged in a circle. Another famous prison of Tsarist Russia, Kresty in St Petersburg, was built on a similar principle.
One of the largest buildings on the territory of the Lukiškės Prison is the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. It was built because it was believed that the way to correction was through faith and repentance. At first the church was richly decorated: icons, carpets, a huge silver iconostasis. Unfortunately, none of this has survived. There was room in the prison for a Catholic chapel (exactly six times smaller than the main temple), and there were plans to build a synagogue.
At the end of the Soviet era, the church was turned into a youth club with discos, the sounds of which were heard by the prisoners. After the restoration of Lithuanian independence, the hall was used for concerts.
Nowadays
The last prisoners left Lukiškės Prison in 2019. According to tour guide Daniel Tuchkovsky (who wrote an academic paper on the prison), this was because when Lithuania joined the European Union, it was necessary to bring all prisons up to European standards: a minimum of 3.5 square metres of space per person.
In Lukiškės Prison, the cells were 7 square metres, which meant that they could hold a maximum of two people. But there were 6 or 8 people in one cell. Prisoners began to write complaints to the Human Rights Court that their rights were being violated, and often won such cases. Compensations in these cases reached up to 10,000 euros, and in recent years some people have specifically sought to go to prison to earn money.
After its closure, the prison was turned into a community centre ‘ Lukiškės Prison 2.0’. Today it is one of the most interesting cultural phenomena in Lithuania and the only open panopticon in the Baltics. Entrance to the territory is free. There is a bar, cafes, art studios and concert venues. Now the prison has 350 tenants – painters, sculptors, dancers, photographers, directors – representatives of various creative professions. They rent premises, and the amount of rent depends on the cultural significance of the person: for famous artists the price can be symbolic. The Church of St Nicholas the Wonderworker was returned to its original status, and now on Sundays it hosts services of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The buildings preserved the layout and many historic details, including tiles and decorations. These are shown on themed tours. Half of the guides are people who used to work at the prison: former guards and social workers.
Tuchkovsky says former inmates also come to the tours:
They were curious to see how others lived here. They had only seen their cell and the road to the exercise yard during their sentence, and everything else was a mystery to them.
The prison is often used as a film set. For example, the fourth series of the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” was filmed here.
Contacts: Lukiškių skg. 6, Vilnius, 01108 Vilniaus m. sav., Lietuva everyday 12:00-22:00
Patarei Prison
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Period: 1920-2002
History
The prison on the shore of Tallinn was built in the 19th century as the Battery Sea Fortress. From 1863 to 1917 it housed barracks for infantry and artillery units. The newly established Republic of Estonia turned the fortress into a prison after the 1917 revolution burned down the former prisons: Toompea Castle in the Old Town (now occupied by various institutions, including some embassies and the Estonian Academy of Sciences) and the artillery tower of Fat Margaret (now the Estonian Maritime Museum).
In its first decades, the prison held about 500 prisoners. In modern Estonia, the place has become one of the main symbols of communist crimes: from 1940, the NKVD used it as an investigation prison, including for political prisoners. Among the first prisoners were Estonian policemen who fought against communist activities. During the German occupation, Jews were also held here, many of whom died and were deported to the Gulag after Estonia’s liberation. In the post-war period, the Ministry of the Interior of the Estonian SSR turned it into a prison again.
The prison was in use until 2002, when it was closed. Most of the prisoners were transferred to the newly opened prison in Tartu or to other prisons near Tallinn – Harku, Murru and Rummu.
Nowadays
The building had been empty for 15 years. Some of the rooms on the ground floor were used for art exhibitions or small shows, and many of the walls outside were covered in paintings and graffiti.
In 2017 it was decided to open a museum there. In February 2020, Urmas Syõrumaa, a major Estonian businessman known for his work in the reconstruction and development of Tallinn’s historic Rotermanni district, bought them to open cafes, restaurants and public spaces, as well as the International Museum of Victims of Communism. The exhibition is scheduled to open in the summer of 2026. The Estonian Institute of Memory is preparing to open it in the east wing.
Contacts: Kalaranna tn 28, 10415 Tallinn, Estonia
Soviet flooded prison
Location: Rummu, Estonia
Period: 1938-2012
History
In the late 1930s, a special type of limestone – Vasalemma “marble”, named after the neighbouring area. It was extracted from a quarry in the town of Rummu, an hour’s drive from Tallinn. Its structure and texture resemble marble, and many buildings in Estonia (including one of the most neo-Gothic castles nearby) are made of it. The quarry was also used for finishing, for example workers would make steps for stairs and polish them immediately.
The stone was quarried by convict labourers: On 1 January 1938, the Murru prison for 400 prisoners was opened near the quarry. In addition to limestone, the quarry was also used to extract gravel during the Soviet era. In the 1960s another prison, Rummu, was opened nearby.
Until the early 1990s, prisoners dug stone from the drained quarry. According to one version, the demand for stone and rubble fell, the water was no longer pumped out and the quarry quickly filled up with groundwater, flooding some of the outbuildings and parts of the prison. The result was a lake of an unusual turquoise colour, due to the high calcium content of the water. In addition to the buildings, tractors and excavators are still submerged. Near the lake, the huge slag heaps left over from the mining of the stone are very spectacular. They are up to 70 metres high and offer an impressive view of the surrounding countryside.
The Rummu and Murru prisons were merged in 2001. Both prisons were closed in 2012.
Nowadays
After the quarry closed, the area became a popular holiday destination. People come here for swimming, rafting, music and sporting events. There is an inflatable obstacle course on the water, where children in life jackets are allowed. Paekalda Puhkekeskus, a recreation centre with a café, is located on the shore. Here you can rent a small cottage or take a sapa or catamaran ride. Diving is an important part of recreation and you don’t have to be an experienced diver to go diving. The organisers provide all the necessary equipment and have a motorised floating platform.
It is also possible to take a guided or audio-guided tour. A self-guided tour takes about two hours and is available in eight languages.
