Abandoned buildings always have a certain spookiness about them, don’t they? But when an abandoned building is a former jail, that eerie feeling gets turned up to eleven. It’s hard not to feel a shiver down your spine in these places, imagining the grim events that might have unfolded within their walls. Tales of harsh conditions, cruelty, and even murder make these locations especially unsettling. Join us as we unlock the gates to 10 of the creepiest abandoned jails in Europe.
10. Isle of Procida Prison, Italy
Perched high on a cliff on the Italian island of Procida, this prison boasts some of the most stunning views of the Bay of Naples. Ironically, this beautiful setting was once a place of misery. Imagine 30 to 40 men crammed into a single “cell,” sharing just one bucket for a bathroom, passed around daily. With up to 600 prisoners and nearly 500 guards, it was a crowded, grim place.
From 1830 to 1988, this former king’s palace served as a prison. It housed notorious mafia figures and, during the 1930s, even fascists under Mussolini. In the 70s and 80s, it became a reluctant “home” for members of the Camorra crime syndicate. Some, like Gigino “The King” Giuliano, even managed to recruit fellow inmates for their operations on the outside.
Since its closure in 1988, the jail has been decaying, its once grand hallways now empty and echoing. If you arrange a tour, you can still feel the despair of those who stared out at the beautiful blue sky, so close yet impossibly far.
9. Spac Prison, Albania
Spac Prison in Albania stands as a haunting relic of the Soviet era, where it functioned as a political prison. Though abandoned for nearly three decades, its walls still tell stories of the horrors experienced within. Prisoners carved their names, simple drawings, and marks into the surfaces, leaving a chilling testament to their suffering.
There have been discussions about converting the rapidly deteriorating site into a museum, but government action has been slow. Its plight was highlighted in 2015 when the World Monument Fund named it one of the 50 most endangered sites globally, hopefully drawing attention to its preservation needs.
Visiting Spac requires caution. The prison is located in a mountainous region, and the road leading to it can be unsafe, particularly after dark. Sturdy footwear is a must for navigating the steep terrain.
8. Goli Otok, Croatia
When the Iron Curtain fell, Goli Otok, a rocky island outcrop, was left to decay. Often called the “Croatian Alcatraz” because of its island location and high-security measures, it’s now a collection of forgotten buildings.
During World War I, Russian prisoners of war were sent to Goli Otok. Arriving on a barren island, they were forced to build their own shelters. In 1949, Yugoslavia officially designated it a top-secret, high-security prison and labor camp, operating until 1989. Inmates endured hard labor in extreme weather, from scorching summer heat to freezing winter temperatures. The prison was shockingly run by the inmates themselves, leading to a brutal hierarchy of violence. Around 16,000 political prisoners served time here, with 400 to 600 perishing on the island.
Since closing, it has become a ruin, initially used by shepherds for grazing sheep, and more recently, an eerie tourist attraction.
7. Patarei Prison, Estonia
Located in Tallinn, Estonia, Patarei Prison is a ghostly and intriguing place. Though it hasn’t operated for over a decade, its cells have found new life through artists and former prison employees who use them for art shows and small exhibitions. The graffiti-covered walls seem to echo its troubled past. Exploring this place, especially alone, is not for the faint of heart.
Patarei’s infamous reputation is amplified by its history of housing death row inmates and being a site for executions. Originally a sea fortress built in the 1800s, it was converted into a prison in 1919. It became severely overcrowded and filthy, particularly during the 1940s. Designed for 1,200 prisoners, by March 1945, it held 3,620 inmates. After the war, the Soviets emptied Patarei, sending many prisoners to gulags in the east.
6. Rummu Prison, Estonia
The Rummu Prison, built in the late 1930s in a limestone quarry, met an unusual fate after the Soviet Union collapsed. When Estonia regained independence in 1991, Soviet-era institutions, including the labor prison at Rummu, were shut down. Pumping at the quarry ceased, and the abandoned prison gradually flooded, creating a partially submerged island of crumbling brick walls.
Today, visitors can explore this underwater prison by boat or by diving through the ruins. The submerged walls, machinery, and buildings create a surreal, mystical underwater landscape. However, access is challenging and can be risky. Many tourists jump into the lake from the ruined structures, despite warning signs about underwater hazards like metal pieces, machinery, barbed wire, and rebar. Sadly, these dangers have led to injuries and even a drowning.
5. Liban Quarry, Poland
One of Krakow’s best-kept secrets is the Liban Quarry, located in the old city district of Podgorze. This site served as the main quarry during World War II and has a somber history.
During the Nazi occupation, Liban Quarry became a detention center and forced labor camp for hundreds of Poles and Jews. Between 1942 and 1944, over 800 people were imprisoned here, and tragically, twenty-one were murdered. A monument honoring the victims was erected in 1948.
The quarry continued to operate after the war but closed in 1986. Later, director Steven Spielberg used the site to film scenes for Schindler’s List, recreating the Plaszow concentration camp.
4. Doftana Prison, Romania
Doftana Prison was one of Romania’s most notorious prisons in the early 20th century, infamous for its brutal treatment of political prisoners. Inmates suffered beatings, starvation, and were held in freezing solitary confinement cells. The prison was originally built to serve nearby salt mines.
Its harsh punishments earned it the nickname “the Romanian Bastille.” Initially a housing complex for mine workers, the Romanian king converted it into a communist prison in 1921. In 1940, a devastating earthquake destroyed much of the prison, injuring many inmates who were then denied relocation even if released.
As of June 2022, there were reports that the prison had been purchased with plans for demolition to make way for a hotel, potentially erasing this dark piece of history.
3. Elgan Gulag, Russia
The Elgan Gulag is a former Russian gulag that now lies abandoned, a relic of a brutal system. During the Soviet era, countless prisoners were sent to gulags like Elgan to provide cheap labor for massive state projects. These camps were scattered across the Far North and Siberia. Prisoners endured grueling days chopping trees, digging in frozen earth, and mining copper.
The gulag system, established in the early twentieth century amid social repression, consisted of hundreds of camps, each holding thousands of prisoners. Most were “corrective labor colonies,” where inmates faced long hours of forced work under constant threats of starvation and execution. These inhumane conditions resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of prisoners each year.
2. Yermakovo Prison Camp, Russia
Built in 1949, the Yermakovo prison camp in Siberia is a vast complex of deserted Soviet prisons. Many of these structures were destroyed during the Cold War, but what remains serves as an eerie reminder of the Soviet prison system’s horrors.
Thousands of prisoners were sent to this gulag, likely to construct a railroad connecting northern nickel mines to Soviet factories in the west. This ambitious railway project was eventually abandoned, and the prison camp became increasingly isolated, swallowed by the forest with each passing winter.
It’s estimated that up to 18 million people experienced life in these forced labor camps. Following Joseph Stalin’s death, the wider gulag system was dismantled, but forced labor camps for political and criminal prisoners continued to exist for some time.
1. Lukiškės Prison, Lithuania
After the USSR’s formation, Lukiškės Prison became a temporary holding facility for political prisoners awaiting transport to eastern gulags. It gained further notoriety during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, when the Gestapo and Saugumas (Lithuanian security police) used it to detain thousands of Jewish and Polish individuals. Most were tragically taken to the outskirts of Vilnius and executed at Ponary.
Lithuania’s last execution occurred on its grounds in 1995. By 2007, it housed around 1,000 prisoners and 250 guards. In 2009, numerous prisoners reported abusive treatment by staff and deplorable_living conditions to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
The prison officially closed on July 2, 2019. Since then, it has been repurposed as a cultural center and event space. In 2020, it was famously used as a filming location for the fourth season of Stranger Things. There are even plans by a Vilnius tourism agency to open a Stranger Things-themed cell in the prison, available for rent on Airbnb.
These abandoned jails across Europe stand as solemn monuments to darker times. Each crumbling wall and empty cell whispers stories of hardship, despair, and the resilience of the human spirit. While some are slowly being reclaimed by nature or repurposed, their chilling histories remain, offering a haunting glimpse into the past.
What do you think is the creepiest aspect of an abandoned jail? Leave your comment below!
