Lukiškės Prison
Lukiškės Prison (Template:Lang-lt) is a prison in the center of Vilnius, Lithuania, near the Lukiškės Square. As of 2007, it houses approximately 1,000 prisoners and employs around 250 prison guards.[1] Most prisoners are there under temporary arrest awaiting court decisions or transfers to other detention facilities, but there is also a permanent prison with about 180 inmates; about 80 of whom are serving for life.[2] After more than a century of continuous service, the prison suffers from overcrowding and is in need of investment in thorough improvements. The prison is located in a prestigious area, next to the Seimas Palace. Discussions about relocating it have continued for several years, but the process is slow and is estimated to be completed by 2014.[3]
The prison was built in 1904, when Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. At the time it was one of the most technologically-advanced prisons in the empire. It had central heating and water supply, modern plumbing and ventilation. The complex also includes Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church. In June 1941, during the German invasion, the NKVD shot prisoners at Lukiškės Prison (see NKVD prisoner massacres).[4]
The prison became more notorious during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, when it was used by the Gestapo and Lithuanian Saugumas as a holding cell for thousands of Jews from the Vilna Ghetto and Poles, picked up in Łapankas in reprisals for actions by the Polish resistance. The majority were taken to the outskirts of Vilnius and executed at Ponary (Paneriai).[5][6][7] When Soviets reoccupied the territory in 1944, the prison was returned to the NKVD who detained thousands of Polish activists and partisans of Armia Krajowa.[8][9]
Notable prisoners
- Menachem Begin, former Prime Minister of Israel
- Mykolas Biržiška, Lithuanian politician
- Bertrand Cantat, French singer
- Kazimierz Pietkiewicz, Polish socialist and independence activist
- Jonas Vileišis, Lithuanian publisher and diplomat
- Jacob Wygodzki, Polish-Lithuanian Jewish politician[10]
- Francišak Alachnovič, Belarusian dramatist
References
- ^ Template:Lt icon Arbušauskas, Ruslanas (2007-03-30). "Lukiškės: prižiūrėtojams blogiau nei kaliniams". Delfi.lt. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ Template:Lt icon "Kalėjimų departamentui prie Lietuvos Respublikos teisingumo ministerijos pavaldžių įstaigų vystymo strategija". Prison Department of Lithuania. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ Template:Lt icon "Atvira žaizda Vilniaus centre – Lukiškės – mena caro laikus". Delfi.lt. 2010-01-30.
- ^ Template:Pl icon Paszkowski, Bolesław (March 2005). "Golgota Wschodu". Moto. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ Langerbein, Helmut (2003). Hitler's Death Squads: The Logic of Mass Murder. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 66–68. ISBN 1-58544-285-2.
- ^ Template:Pl icon Czesław Michalski, Ponary - Golgota Wileńszczyzny (Ponary — the Golgoth of Wilno Region). Konspekt nº 5, Winter 2000–2001, a publication of the Academy of Pedagogy in Kraków. Last accessed on 10 February 2007.
- ^ Template:Pl icon ks. Tadeusz Krahel,Tragiczny marzec 1942 roku, W służbie miłosierdzia, MARZEC 2007, nr 3/2007
- ^ Template:Pl icon Eugeniusz Kościesza, Ojczyźnie skradziona tożsamość, Chapter 19. Last accessed on 16 August 2009
- ^ Template:Pl icon Janusz Hrybacz, Karta dziejów wileńskiej i nowogródzkiej Armii Krajowej. Last accessed on 16 August 2009
- ^ Kruk, Herman; Harshav, Benjamin (2002). The Last Days of the Jerusalem of Lithuania: Chronicles From the Vilna Ghetto and the Camps, 1939-1944. Yale University Press. pp. 53 n.22. ISBN 978-0-300-04494-2.
External links
54°41′29″N 25°15′59″E / 54.69139°N 25.26639°E
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