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Where there was darkness, mud, and pain, now sounds and colors explode, and culture flourishes. In Lithuania, one of the Baltic states that was part of the Soviet bloc and is now growing within the European Union, what was once a dungeon has turned into a cultural pole, without abandoning its past, but rather projecting itself into the future as a beacon of art.
Made in the heart of Vilnius Something unprecedented. Where people used to go to serve their sentences, today people go to have fun, enjoy, and exploit their creativity. Lukiškės prison complex is now a cultural center where Artists live, and there are concerts, exhibitions, festivals and tours that recall the early days of Soviet annexation.
In what is now called Lukishkis Prison 2.0 Season 4 of Stranger Things has been filmed. His cell and part of the backyard represent the Soviet prison in Kamchatka where he was interned. Jim HopperOne of the heroes of the series, which premiered its fifth season last week.
The former prison complex is In the center of Vilnius, A few blocks from Parliament. The property covers an area of two hectares and includes six buildings, the most prominent of which is the monumental dome of the church Orthodox Church of Saint NicholasIt is one of the most symbolic buildings in the city, surrounded by prison walls.
It originally started as Catholic Church MonasteryBut in 1837 it was given its function as a prison. The convict They spent a short time in prison before being sent to concentration camps in Siberia.
At the end of the 19th century, Lukiškis Prison gained greater importance. It was expanded, adding a hospital, an administration building, a renovated kitchen, bathrooms, and a laundry room. There were sections for the commissioner, his four deputies and 37 officers.
The prison took into account the religious diversity of the inmates: they added a Catholic chapel and a small synagogue. In one of the wings. about The year 1905 was one of the strictest, but also comfortable, prisons in Eastern Europe; For example, the cells are equipped with a heating system.
After the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states in 1940, it began to house political prisoners of the regime. Vilnius was a city with a majority Polish and 40% Jewish population.
He was one of the prisoners who passed through Lukiškės Menachem Begin, He later became Prime Minister of the State of Israel and won the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Egyptian President Mohamed Anwar Sadat after signing the Camp David Peace Accords.
Begin was there in 1940, he was To torture In 1941 he was sent to a concentration camp for eight years. In June 1941, the Germans began invading the region and Officers of the NKVD – the Soviet secret police – slaughtered dozens of prisoners.
During the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, which lasted from the launch of Operation Barbarossa in 1941 to the Soviet counteroffensive in 1944, it was used by the Gestapo – Hitler’s bloodthirsty secret police – as a detention center for Jews and Poles who participated in the Vilnius Ghetto resistance..
When the Soviets expelled German forces from the Baltic states, Lukishkis was again under the command of Stalin’s NKVD. In 1995 The last execution in Lithuania.
Change perspective
about 2007 Lukishkis It housed about 1,000 inmates and employed 250 guards.. Most inmates were held in pretrial detention awaiting sentencing or transfer to other prisons. There was also a section of the prison designated for those sentenced to life imprisonment, which could accommodate 180 inmates.
But Lukiškės was overcrowded and already had serious maintenance problems. In 2009, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture reported complaints of prisoners receiving poor medical care and reported deplorable conditions of prison infrastructure.
It was officially closed on 2 July 2019 and after a long debate over its fate, it was finally opened to the public as a cultural center and museum featuring exhibitions, concerts, festivals, book displays, painting, sculpture and photographic specimens. A space dedicated to sharing ideas and art and encouraging the production of creative materials.
in Lukishkis Prison 2.0 Installed 250 artists and musicians In the various buildings of the complex, with Convert cells into offices Joint workProfessional studios, training and recording halls and exhibitions. The hall and yard of the old prison are now a house Rock concerts and classical music concerts; In addition, it has a bar and has become a meeting place for Lithuanian youth.
Currently this can be done Guided tours to see how inmates live and learn about history from former prisoners; Tickets cost €15 during the day and €20 for night tours. Lukiškės receives about 70,000 visits annually.
Its bleak and sinister past made it an attractive location for films. In 2020 it was used as the location for the fourth season of Strange things. In 2022, the Vilnius Tourism Authority announced the establishment of… cell group In the 1980s, according to the famous Netflix series, Available to rent on Airbnb As a home. viewer Chernobylthe miniseries HBO Max.