Leopoldov prison

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Entrance gate to the prison

The leopoldov prison in the western Slovakian commune Leopoldov is the oldest prison in Slovakia. It is located in a castle-like fortress from the 17th century. After 1948 it served the communist regime of Czechoslovakia as a maximum security prison for mainly political prisoners .

history

The building complex of the fortress Leopoldov was built between 1665 and 1669 as a fortress against the expansion of the Ottoman Empire . In 1855/56 the fortress was converted into a prison with space for 1,000 prisoners, making it the largest prison in the Kingdom of Hungary at the time .

Use after 1948

Tomb with a memorial plaque for Pavol Gojdič and Metoděj Dominik Trčka, who died in Leopoldov

Under Gottwald's communist regime , the prison became the most important facility of its kind for political prisoners in Czechoslovakia after 1948, especially in the 1950s, and gained a notorious reputation. After modernization in 1975, up to over 2,000 prisoners were housed here.

Various celebrities were also imprisoned in Leopoldov, such as the later President Gustáv Husák , Central Committee member, minister and resistance fighter Laco Novomeský as well as his secretary Ernest Otto , politician and writer Artur London , former Prime Minister Rudolf Beran , General and Air Marshal of the Royal Air Force Karel Janoušek , generals and resistance fighters Karel Kutlvašr , František Nosál , Miroslav Kácha , Cardinal Štěpán Trochta , auxiliary bishop Stanislav Zela , the bishops Pavol Gojdič (died in prison), Ján Vojtaššák , Michal Buzalka , Vasil Hopko , Prof. Silvestr Mario Brait , Metoděj Dominik Trčka , poet Václav Renč , Zdeněk Rotrekl , Jan Zahradníček and many others. Between 1952 and 1963, members of five governments of Czechoslovakia were detained in Leopoldov under inhumane conditions.

Since 1989

The fortress also served as a prison after the so-called Velvet Revolution of 1989. On March 15, 1990, a revolt broke out in the prison when more than 200 inmates barricaded themselves for about two weeks, and one person was killed. In November 1991, five guards were killed in an outbreak. Following these events, the prison was supposed to be closed, but the decision was reversed. Today the prison in Leopoldov has room for around 1,500 prisoners.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Okres Hlohovec, online at: www.progresit.sk , Slovak, accessed on January 28, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b Väznica (ÚVTOS a ÚVV), online at: www.leopoldov.sk ( memento from January 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), in Slovak, accessed on January 28, 2011.
  3. ↑ generálmajor vv Miroslav Kácha (* 1923 † ︎ 2010) , document from the portal Paměť národa (Memory of the People), online at: pametnaroda.cz/
  4. ↑ vězeňství - věznice Leopoldov , report of the Totalita portal . cz , online at: totalita.cz/
  5. ↑ a b Väznica v Leopoldove má 150 rokov , online at: dennik.hnonline.sk/ , Slovak

Coordinates: 48 ° 26 '39.4 "  N , 17 ° 46' 39.8"  E