Bautzen

Bautzen ( for German speakers) - darkometer rating : 7 - A town in the far east of Germany primarily associated with the most infamous prison of the GDR era. Here the Stasi locked up political prisoners in a special, secret facility. Bautzen's also long had a large "regular" prison, which has had its own dark history too, in particular during the Nazi era and during the post- WWII Soviet occupation. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The fact that there are these two prisons in Bautzen can cause confusion and has frequently done so. Some seem to think that the regular big prison was the Stasi prison. It wasn't. And I've heard from locals who have lived all their life in Bautzen that even they were only aware of that large prison but had no idea there was also a separate special Stasi prison behind the courthouse. So to make it as crystal clear as possible: the main large prison in Bautzen nicknamed "Gelbes Elend" ('Yellow Misery' – after its yellow brick walls) has for the most part of its existence been just a "normal" prison for "regular" criminals. It started operations in 1904 and was actually quite modern for its day. In the Weimar Republic it was more "liberal" than such facilities had ever been. This is the main Bautzen I prison. In 1906, a second, much smaller prison was added to the main courthouse in Bautzen, primarily as a remand prison. This is Bautzen II – where today's memorial is located. Bautzen I, meanwhile, remains in operation as a prison to this day. With the end of the Weimar Republic and the coming to power of the Nazis in 1933, the regime in both prisons changed. Reformist tendencies were over, and harsh treatment of prisoners became the norm again.