Built in 1900 due to overcrowding of inmates, on the site of a Tatar cemetery, the Lukiškės Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania stands as a historical monolith — containing within its walls a century of history. In use from 1904 until 2019, the prison has withstood Tsarist rule, both World Wars, the Polish interwar occupation, the Soviet occupation, and the liberation of Lithuania.
Holding various people throughout the years, the prison was a clear representation of Lithuanian cultural diversity. During the times of Nicholas II, the Lukiškės Prison contained a synagogue, a Catholic church, and a larger Orthodox church.
Between 1941 and 1944, the prison was used by the Nazis and their collaborators to imprison tens of thousands of Lithuanian Jews, Russians, and Poles. Many were killed just outside the prison in what is now known as Paneriai.
When Soviet troops occupied Vilnius, the walls of the Lukiškės Prison served as confines for a large number of political dissidents from all over the Soviet Union. Run by the NKVD, the prison was a final stop for those who were either sent to the Gulag or killed.
The final execution on prison grounds was in 1995. In 2007, one thousand prisoners were still being detained there. The permanent inmates numbered 180, and awaited transport to other correctional facilities in Lithuania. Lukiškės Prison was shut down on July 2nd, 2019. Recollecting their experience, former prisoners say that they were notified of the prison’s closing the day before transfers were to begin — in some cases they only had a few hours to prepare before being moved.
Now the structure is being repurposed by the city. Although the memory of its past is preserved through tours, the building has become home to artists, shops, restaurants, and cafes. It is also noted as being “one of the most unique concert venues in Europe”. An ice-skating rink is set up in the courtyard during winter time. There are even attempts to turn Lukiškės Prison into a themed hotel, as the site was popularized by an episode of the Netflix show “Stranger Things”.
The transition of Lukiškės prison into Lukiškės 2.0, has been met with conflicting opinions from different sectors of the local population. The younger generations see the changes as an opportunity to modernize and to convert the space into something other than a tragic monument. The older generations want Lukiškės Prison to be memorialized and “put to rest”.
