Kaunas Prison () is a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

in the center of

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, second largest city of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. As of 2007, it houses approximately 300 prisoners and employs around 230 prison guards. Most prisoners are there under temporary arrest awaiting court decisions or transfers to other detention facilities.

History

The Kaunas Prison was completed in 1864, just after the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

during the times of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. At the time it was one of the most modern prisons in the whole region. It had space for 300 prisoners, a chapel, administrative-household premises, and apartments for employees were planned. Later, the number of prisoners that could be housed grew to 550. Kaunas Prison could be seen far from Kaunas center and aroused terror in everybody. Sometimes it was even called the “Kaunas

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

.” During the period of the

1905 Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

, the prison was overcrowded with

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s. A branch of Kaunas Prison was established in the

Ninth Fort The Ninth Fort () is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania. It is a part of the Kaunas Fortress, built in the late 19th century. During the Soviet occupation, the fort was used as a prison and way-statio ...

Kaunas Fortress Kaunas Fortress (, , ) is the remains of a fortress complex in Kaunas, Lithuania. It was constructed and renovated between 1882 and 1915 to protect the Russian Empire's western borders, and was designated a "first-class" fortress in 1887. During W ...

in 1924. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in June 1941, during the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

, the majority of the convicts in Kaunas Prison were

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. Most of them were executed at Ninth Fort. Most of the prisoners kept in Kaunas Prison were under interrogation. Due to lack of food or medical care, the exhausting work and the beatings, the prisoner mortality rate was rather high. Kaunas Prison was completely liquidated in 1960. After the reconstruction, in the place of the former Kaunas Prison the scientific research center of

Kaunas Polytechnic Institute The Kaunas University of Technology (abbreviated as KTU, ) is a public university, public research university located in Kaunas, Lithuania. Established in 1922, KTU has been seen as one of Lithuania's top science education centers. In 2021, KTU ...

was settled. Due to the lack of spaces for individuals under temporary arrest to await court decisions and transfers to other detention sites, Kaunas Remand Prison was to be reconstructed under the resolution adopted by the

Government of Lithuania The Government of Lithuania, officially the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (GRL), is the Cabinet (government), cabinet of and exercising executive power in Lithuania. Among other responsibilities, it executes laws and resolutions of the ...

in 1993. After the reconstruction, Kaunas Remand Prison opened and is the most modern school in Lithuania .

Notable prisoners

Michał Elwiro Andriolli Michał Elwiro Andriolli (, ; 2 November 1836, in Vilnius 23 August 1893, in Nałęczów) was a Polish illustrator, painter and architect of Italian descent. He is notable for his illustrations to Mickiewicz's ''Pan Tadeusz'', as well as a d ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

painter and architect *

Leonas Bistras Leonas Bistras (20 October 1890 in Liepāja – 17 October 1971 in Kaunas) was one of the most prominent Lithuanian politicians of the interwar period. A Christian Democrat, he was in 1925 appointed Prime Minister of Lithuania. Bistras also headed ...

, former

Prime Minister of Lithuania The prime minister of Lithuania (, , colloquially also referred to as the premier ) is the head of government of Lithuania. The prime minister is appointed by the President of Lithuania, president with the assent of the Lithuanian parliament, th ...

Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (; ; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed Iron Felix (), was a Soviet revolutionary and politician of Polish origin. From 1917 until his death in 1926, he led the first two Soviet secret police organizations, the Cheka a ...

, Soviet statesman and founder of the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

Antanas Mackevičius Antanas Mackevičius (; 26 June 1828 – 28 December 1863) was a Lithuanians, Lithuanian Roman Catholic priest who was one of the leaders and initiators of the January Uprising in Lithuania. Mackevičius was born to a family of Petty nobility, ...

, Lithuanian

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and a leader of the

* Vytautas Petrulis, former

* Augustinas Povilaitis, captain of the

Lithuanian Army The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Lithuan ...

and director of the State Security Department * Kazys Skučas, Lithuanian politician and general of the Lithuanian Army *

Antanas Sniečkus Antanas Sniečkus ( – 22 January 1974) was a Lithuanian communist politician who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania ('' de facto'' leader of Lithuanian SSR) from 15 August 1940 to his death on 22 January 1974. ...

, Lithuanian communist leader

References

External links

* {{coord, 54, 53, 42, N, 23, 54, 59, E, display=title, region:LT_type:landmark 1864 establishments in the Russian Empire Buildings and structures completed in 1864 Buildings and structures in Kaunas Prisons in Lithuania Holocaust locations in Lithuania