KGB Cells Museum

Museum address:

Riia 15b, Tartu

Entrance fee 1 EURO

Museum open during operating hours 18:00 - 23:00

Program

The permanent exhibition at the KGB Prison Museum gives an overview of Estonia’s post-war struggle for freedom, the crimes of the communist regime and life in pre-trial detention. The basement of the building, where the pre-trial detention centre for political prisoners was located, is open to visitors. Some of the cells, the cells and the corridors have been restored to their original state.

Visitors to the revamped permanent exhibition at the KGB Booths Museum will have the chance to enjoy a special experience where selected rooms will jolt visitors with a sense of presence, supported by sounds, video projections, animations and period-appropriate props.

In the interrogation room, you will sit face to face with an interrogator created by animator Priit Tender, in the show chamber you will hear the infamous Section 58 charges while watching the truth unfold with the victims of those charges. In a room dedicated to the Gulag prison network, you can experience the feeling of being arrested and hear extracts from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “Gulag Archipelago” and the journey of its creation in Estonia, right here near Tartu.

A travelling exhibition of the Estonian War Museum, dedicated to the centenary of the coup d’état of 1 December 1924, is open in the Temporary Exhibitions Hall.

The exhibition describes the failed attack on strategic points by the communists, orchestrated by Moscow, and the swift resistance of the Estonian Defence Forces, which prevented a regime change.

It is possible to explore the museum’s exhibitions independently. A museum curator will be on hand to answer visitors’ questions.

Accessibility information:

There is a staircase to the basement.