Guided prison tour in English

Guided prison tours
It has never been so easy to escape to a prison.

A historical Lukiškės prison complex, used for imprisoning people for 115 years, is finally welcoming you to explore life behind bars.

Through the years, this place was used by different regimes to lock up undesirable elements of society. From political prisoners, like former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, to the most cruel people in Lithuania – these walls saw it all.

With the help of former prison guards and inmates, we prepared a unique tour to experience life behind bars in a recently closed prison. Because no documentary or book can convey the feeling of being locked in a tiny cell…

Join a 1.5 - 2 hour guided experience in English to delve deeper into Lukiškės prison history, the daily life of inmates, and the transformation of a prison into the only cultural hub of its kind in Lithuania.

During this visit, you will walk a mile in a former inmate’s shoes – from a temporary holding cell to an interrogation room and finally – the cell where criminals sentenced to life spent their time. However, there was hope even in the shadow of barbed wire. See the praying angels and the former Russian Orthodox church, where inmates could hope for redemption. If not in this life – maybe in the next one.

And you don’t need to commit any crimes to see it all! Just grab your ticket online (by the end of the tour, you will have learned that cash is not allowed in prisons).

Lukiškės Prison Complex

The major part of the complex is included in the cultural heritage list of Lithuania.

It was built in 1904 as one of the most modern and expensive prison buildings in the Russian Empire. Throughout a century of its operation, it was used for convicts and political prisoners opposed by various political authorities, including Tsarist Russian, Nazi German, and the Soviets. The prison survived both World Wars and the Nazi and Soviet occupation and held many political prisoners of Lithuanian, Belarusian, Polish, Jewish, and other backgrounds.

Lukiškės Prison ceased to function as an imprisonment facility in 2019 and opened its doors to the public and artists as a cultural hub, Lukiškės Prison 2.0. Available to the public, the facility has become an open space for culture, artistic expression, and community.

Lukiškės Prison Complex includes the administration building, the former Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker, prison building no.1, prison-hospital building no.2, production building, fence, and the checkpoint.

Lukiškės Prison 2.0

Lukiškės Prison 2.0 is probably one of the most interesting cultural phenomena in Lithuania because the former prison is now considered a hub for music, modern art, design, and culture. A community of around 650 artists, musicians, dancers, painters, and so on have started creating a new story of the prison in summer 2021.

You will not believe how time flies by in a prison today. And everyone is allowed to leave… If they choose to.

Lukiškės Prison 2.0

Venue opening times

Mon-Thu, Sun 12 PM - 10 PM
Fri, Sat 12 PM - 01 AM

Lukiškių skg. 6, LT-01118, Vilnius

www.facebook.com/Lukiskiukalejimas2.0

www.instagram.com/Lukiskiukalejimas2.0

Private tours can be organized upon request.

tours@lukiskiukalejimas.lt