Estonia: Patarei

Walking along the culture Kilometre in Tallin a few years ago, we found an old building with the entrance door half opened. We saw a small reception with a very old woman in it and asked her what that building was. The sweet old woman started explaining it to us in Estonian, and as soon as she saw our confused faces she changed to Russian (which didn't make any difference to us). We didn't know Russian either, but she was good enough with mimics to let us know that that building used to be a prison. She even told us which rooms we should visit and what to find in each room. She could have been a talented Estonian actress in the past. I have mixed feeling about seeing the sweet old lady pretending to hang herself in the hanging room though. 

We were in the old Patarei, used as a prision from 1919 to 2002. Once we went inside, we realized that it was a paradise for horror film lovers: it was left just the same as when they closed it in 2002. Nothing was repainted, some lights were not working, you could freely walk around without no one keeping an eye on it, the pornographic posters from the prisoners were still on the walls, and some of the prison papers were still there for anyone to read them. Once in a while you will find other tourist visiting it and giving you a heart attack any time they appear out of nowhere . The old fortress was still trapped in the old soviet era. It was creepy and fascinating at the same time.

I just saw in their website that they have restored it a bit and it looks nicer and cleaner. It looks as if they even do some events there such as concerts and workshops. It is nice to see that they are giving a good use to that old building, but I hope it doesn't lose that creepy look that made it so special. 

In their Website you can check some of the events they do (they even have guided tours!). 

Here you have some of the pictures I took, enjoy them!