Last summer we went on a wonderful weekend break to Tallinn, Estonia. If I’m completely honest, other than spending a bit longer in such beautiful surroundings of the old town, the main reason I wanted to go was to look round Patarei prison.
It was originally built in the 1800’s and has been used as a military barracks and KGB run soviet prison right up until it was abandoned in 2004. It was left just as it was when the last prisoner left, magazines and newspapers laying in the cells.
After my initial excitement of getting the chance to explore the buildings and the grounds ourselves, I then realised what an awful place this must’ve been for any of its occupants. Hearing that conditions actually improved during WWII with the Nazi occupation makes you realise what a terrible place it once was in its KGB years. It was mentioned that the facility was used to ‘disappear’ countless men during this time. Seeing the death chamber and the awful outside cells really left me feeling quite emotional.
However, I had come all this way and I wasn’t going to leave this place without getting the prison notch on my scavenger hunt bedpost