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Doftana Prison  Romanian Bastille
Romania

Reports2
First reportMay 28 2020
by WorkingED
Latest reportOctober 30 2020
by Kaventipovik




by on    Shortlink to this report: [ ]



Visit date    
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More reports on Doftana Prison

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Breaking into prison
by Kaventipovik on October 30 2020 02:14 hr CE(S)T    Shortlink to this report: [ https://urbx.be/yvee ]

Finding out the location
  easy
Access
  hard
Safety
  very unsafe
Risk of being seen
  very high
General condition of the place
  very bad
Traces of vandalism
  many
Good place for taking pictures?
  very good
Did you see other people?
  none or very few


Visit date   August 9 2020 at 1 hr
Visit duration   2 hours

This old prison, famous for the numerous public figures that used to be imprisoned here, among which the notorious dictator Ceausescu, now lies abandoned and is near complete collapse. It used to be a museum, but the authorities currently present no interest in repairing the compound and reopening the museum in the future. You can currently get in by either sneaking in, which is possible if you're stealthy, or by getting lucky with the guards. The prison and it's surroundings are now used to grow sheep, so the administrators are pretty strict with who goes in. While inside, you will enjoy a very eerie scenery which is totally worth it, but the buildings are in an advanced decaying state and the roof/floors are very unstable.

  Text and photos are by Kaventipovik. Click here to see Kaventipovik's profile and other reports.

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Old prison were Ceauscescu stayed
by WorkingED on May 28 2020 20:12 hr CE(S)T    Shortlink to this report: [ https://urbx.be/zfve ]

Finding out the location
  hard
Access
  hard
Safety
  safe
Risk of being seen
  high
General condition of the place
  bad
Traces of vandalism
  many
Good place for taking pictures?
  good
Did you see other people?
  none or very few


Visit date   August 7 2019 at 10 hr
Visit duration   2 hours

DOFTANA PENITENTIARY, DUBBED THE “BASTILLE of Romania,” is among the most enticing of the country’s ruins. Built in 1895 by King Carol I, it had eight wings, 308 cells, a massive defense wall, and seven guard towers. Five wings had cells with windows, and three wings had cells with no natural light whatsoever—these were reserved for those sentenced to more severe punishments.

In the 1930s and ‘40s, fascists and communists were jailed within the complex alongside petty criminals. A legend says that while in prison, communists used to write articles on toilet paper, swing them on a wire from one cell to the other, and smuggle them out for a weekly leaflet that would then be distributed among factory and railroad workers.

Among the future communist leaders serving sentences within the prison were Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Ceaușescu. Both would eventually rule Romania: Gheorghiu-Dej from 1948 through 1965 and Ceaușescu 1965 through 1989.

After World War II, Gheorghiu-Dej transformed the prison into a museum for propaganda reasons, using it to show the entire nation where the bourgeois regime used to lock up those who fought for the rights of proletarians. A miniature of the compound was placed in the first hall at the entrance, statues of Dej and later of Ceaușescu were on exhibition, and the cell of the latter could be seen preserved as it had appeared 30 years before.

Buses full of children, teenagers, workers, and soldiers arrived here every day on a continuous pilgrimage. This prison was chosen because of the scenery and imposing structure, and Ceaușescu had only been there for petty crime in his youth, awaiting his penalty before he was sent away.

After communism fell in 1989, the museum was abandoned and left to decay. Most of the roof has collapsed, there are no windows, and in some parts, water leaks have begun to chip away at floors and walls. The miniature of the compound and the statues have been smashed beyond recognition, probably as payback after 45 years of poverty and terror. Plans to sell the old prison to a real estate developer or a hotel operator have failed, and the fate of the building is now uncertain.

  Text and photos are by WorkingED. Click here to see WorkingED's profile and other reports.

    Send a message to WorkingED