# Fort 13 Jilava [Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Muntenia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/muntenia) › [Ilfov County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/ilfov) › [Jilava](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/locality/jilava) > A fort in Bucharest's defensive ring turned political prison: the 1940 massacre, the 1946 executions and thousands of prisoners of the communist regime; on the UNESCO Tentative List since 2024. **At a glance:** Museums and memorial houses in Jilava, Ilfov County. The visit takes ½ – 1 hours. Information verified on 21 October 2026. ## Key facts - **Opening hours:** No public opening hours. Visits are by appointment only, in groups of up to 50 people: send the request to Ilfov County Council (fort13@cjilfov.ro) with the purpose of the visit, the number of participants and the preferred date. The council confirms and coordinates the visit with the prison. - **Visit duration:** ½ – 1 hours — guided tour of ~1 hour - **With kids:** No — difficult subject; from about 14 - **Address:** Strada Sabarului 1, within the grounds of the București-Jilava Prison, Jilava, Ilfov County - **Coordinates:** 44.33312, 26.10681 - **Website:** https://cjilfov.ro/stiri/ati-vizitat-fortul-13-jilava-din-ilfov/ - **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortul_13_Jilava - **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18540239 - **Categories:** [Museums and memorial houses](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzee-si-case-memoriale), [Fortresses and fortifications](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetati-si-fortificatii), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice) ## About Fort 13 Jilava Fort 13 is part of the ring of forts built around Bucharest at the end of the 19th century to plans by the Belgian general Henri Alexis Brialmont. It is a low, earth-covered structure, with a redoubt whose plan resembles an ace of spades. Until 1907 it was an arms depot and barracks; that year the first prisoners were brought here, peasants from the 1907 revolt, and the fort then remained a military prison. On the night of 26–27 November 1940, the Legionary Police killed 64 political prisoners, former dignitaries of King Carol II's regime, in the cells at Jilava. On 1 June 1946, Marshal Ion Antonescu, Mihai Antonescu, Gheorghe Alexianu and General Constantin Vasiliu were executed nearby, at a place called Valea Piersicilor. After 1948 the communist regime used the fort as a transit and sorting prison for political prisoners; its rooms, meant for 50 people each and crammed with up to 200, held Corneliu Coposu, Nicolae Steinhardt, Monsignor Vladimir Ghika and Richard Wurmbrand. The last prisoners were participants in the December 1989 Revolution. The fort is a listed historic monument, and in July 2024 it was added to the UNESCO Tentative List as part of the "Former communist prisons in Romania" nomination, together with Sighet, Pitești, Făgăraș and Râmnicu Sărat. Since 2024 it has also been managed by Ilfov County Council, which is preparing its restoration and conversion into a memorial museum. ### What you can see The visit leads through the long brick-vaulted corridors, with the heavy wooden cell doors, and through the fort's 52 rooms. The shared cells still hold their iron bunk beds, walls with peeling plaster and barred windows. The "Black Room", the underground punishment cell without windows, shows the conditions of detention most directly. Above the entrance, the "Fortul No 13 Jilava" plaque survives. ### Good to know The fort adjoins the București-Jilava Prison, which is still in operation, and access is through the prison grounds, escorted only. There are no public opening hours: visits are for groups, booked through Ilfov County Council. The building is in poor condition and unrestored, with no museum displays. ## Don't miss - The long brick-vaulted corridor, with the heavy wooden cell doors open one after another. - The shared cells with iron bunk beds and barred windows, where up to 200 prisoners were crammed together. - The "Black Room", the underground punishment cell without windows. - The "Fortul No 13 Jilava" plaque above the entrance, with the name and number of the fort in the Bucharest ring. ## Good to know before you go ### Getting there **By car:** from central Bucharest (Piața Unirii) it is ~12 km: Calea Șerban Vodă, then Șoseaua Giurgiului (DN5) south to the ring road (Șoseaua de Centură); turn left there, and after ~1.4 km turn onto Strada Sabarului towards the prison (~25 minutes, longer at rush hour). **Public transport:** Jilava is linked to Bucharest by the bus lines running along Șoseaua Giurgiului; check the current route in the STB app. Groups usually come with organised transport. ### Fees & discounts Ilfov County Council does not publish a fee for visits. The organisers provide the guide; groups may also bring their own guide. ### Rules Access is through the grounds of a working prison, by appointment only and escorted by representatives of Ilfov County Council or the prison; an identity document is required. The organisers set the rules on photography and phones. This is a place of remembrance: keep quiet and show respect. The rooms are cold, damp and unrestored, with uneven floors: wear comfortable shoes and bring a jacket even in summer. ### Facilities No visitor facilities: the fort is not set up as a museum ## Details - **Construction period:** 1870–1890 - **State of preservation:** deteriorated, unrestored - **Collection type:** memorial of political imprisonment - **Guided tour:** Yes - **Historical period:** 1907–1989 ## Frequently asked questions about Fort 13 Jilava **How long does a visit to Fort 13 Jilava take?** A visit to Fort 13 Jilava takes about ½ – 1 hours (guided tour of ~1 hour). **Can you visit Fort 13 Jilava with kids?** No, Fort 13 Jilava is not recommended for visits with children (difficult subject; from about 14). **How do I get to Fort 13 Jilava?** Fort 13 Jilava is located at Strada Sabarului 1, within the grounds of the București-Jilava Prison, Jilava, Ilfov County. By car: from central Bucharest (Piața Unirii) it is ~12 km: Calea Șerban Vodă, then Șoseaua Giurgiului (DN5) south to the ring road (Șoseaua de Centură); turn left there, and after ~1.4 km turn onto Strada Sabarului towards the prison (~25 minutes, longer at rush hour). Public transport: Jilava is linked to Bucharest by the bus lines running along Șoseaua Giurgiului; check the current route in the STB app. Groups usually come with organised transport. ## Nearby attractions - [Văcărești Nature Park (the Văcărești Delta)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/delta-vacaresti) — National parks and reserves · București · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · Top 100 · 11 km Romania's first urban nature park: 183 ha of ponds, reed beds and willows inside an abandoned reservoir in southern Bucharest, home to over 180 bird species, otters and foxes, a few hundred metres from the tower blocks. - [Carol I Park](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcul-carol-i) — Parks and gardens · București · Free · 1 – 1½ hours · 12 km A historic park laid out in 1900–1906 on Filaret Hill for the General Romanian Exhibition, with a lake, a monumental central avenue, the Zodiac Fountain and the Heroes of the Nation Memorial on the upper plateau. - [People's Salvation Cathedral](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/catedrala-mantuirii-neamului) — Churches · București · Free · ½ – 1 hours · 14 km Romania's National Cathedral, on Arsenal Hill next to the Palace of the Parliament: a 127 m Neo-Byzantine church with its altar consecrated in 2018 and its painting consecrated in 2025, open to visitors only in announced periods. - [Manuc's Inn](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/hanul-lui-manuc) — Monuments and historic sites · București · Free · 45 min · 14 km An inn from 1808, built by the merchant and diplomat Manuc Bei beside the Old Court: a listed building with an inner courtyard and wooden balconies, where the 1812 Russo-Turkish peace talks took place. - [Alexandru Ioan Cuza Park (IOR Park)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/parcul-alexandru-ioan-cuza) — Parks and gardens · București · Free · 1½ – 2 hours · 14 km One of Bucharest's largest parks, about 85 hectares, laid out in the 1960s around Lake Titan, with five islands and a wooden church on the shore. - [Palace of the Parliament](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/palatul-parlamentului) — Castles and palaces · București · 85 lei · 1 – 1½ hours · Top 20 · 14 km The heaviest building in the world, raised by Ceaușescu in the 1980s on Spirii Hill; the guided tour passes through marble-clad state rooms hung with crystal chandeliers weighing several tonnes. --- Full page: https://peplaiuri.ro/en/fortul-13-jilava Other languages: Română: https://peplaiuri.ro/fortul-13-jilava.md · Deutsch: https://peplaiuri.ro/de/fortul-13-jilava.md · Italiano: https://peplaiuri.ro/it/fortul-13-jilava.md · Français: https://peplaiuri.ro/fr/fortul-13-jilava.md · Español: https://peplaiuri.ro/es/fortul-13-jilava.md · Magyar: https://peplaiuri.ro/hu/fortul-13-jilava.md Last updated: 21 October 2026 Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania