Pitești Prison Memorial

About Pitești Prison Memorial

Pitești prison was built between 1937 and 1941, on what was then the edge of the town, as one of the most modern prisons in the country. After 1944 it held mostly political prisoners, and from 1948 almost all students arrested for opposing the communist regime were brought here. Between 1949 and 1951 the prison was the site of the “re-education”, later called the “Pitești phenomenon”: prisoners led by Eugen Țurcanu, under the direction of the Securitate, tortured their cellmates to force them to denounce their friends, renounce their families and faith, and in turn become torturers themselves. According to the memorial, more than 600 students were tortured here and at least 11 died; the method was later extended to other prisons.

The prison was closed in 1977, and the buildings became the headquarters of a construction company, then offices for several firms. Since 2014 the Pitești Prison Memorial Foundation, founded by Maria Axinte, has run a private museum in the wing it owns; the permanent exhibition opened in 2018. In 2023 the whole complex was listed as a category A historic monument, and in 2024 the former prison was added to the UNESCO Tentative List, in the nomination “Former communist prisons in Romania”, together with Jilava, Sighet, Făgăraș and Râmnicu Sărat.

Information verified on 21 October 2026.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: from Bucharest it is ~117 km on the A1 to Pitești, then through town along Calea Bascovului and Strada Victoriei to Strada Negru Vodă (~1h20). From Craiova, ~127 km on the DEx12 expressway and the DN65 (~1h30); from Sibiu, ~155 km on the DN7 through the Olt Valley (~2h30–3 hours). The memorial is in the residential district of apartment blocks north of the centre, ~1 km from the town hall.

Public transport: Pitești railway station has trains from Bucharest Nord (~2 hours); from the station to the memorial it is ~3 km, by city bus or taxi. From the town centre it is a ~15-minute walk.

Where to park

The memorial does not advertise a car park of its own; you park on the streets of the surrounding residential district, where spaces are scarce in the evening and at weekends.

Fees & discounts

Memorial (official website, 2026): 25 lei per person; free for people with disabilities. Museum of Communism for Children: 10 lei, free for memorial ticket holders. Guided tour, booked on arrival if a guide is available: 40 lei per person for 2 people, 30 lei per person for groups of 3 or more, 50 lei per person in English. Groups of more than 10 book by phone or email; school groups get a 45-minute tour at 10 lei per pupil (40 lei in English), with the accompanying teacher free.

Rules

Children under 12 are not admitted to the memorial because of the subject matter; the Museum of Communism for Children is there for them. This is a place of memory: quiet and respect, especially in the chapel, where services are held. Groups of more than 10 should book in advance. Do not touch the exhibits.

Facilities

Guided tours in Romanian and English · Manuscris bookshop · Orthodox chapel · Museum of Communism for Children in the same building · the basement exhibition and the upstairs chapel are reached by stairs