A cell in the Museum of Political Prisoners in Ternopil.

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Museum of Political Prisoners

Top choice in Western Ukraine


A block back from bul Shevchenka, this former KGB prison is where several prominent members of UPA and OUN were held, tortured and shot in the years of Soviet repression following WWII. The prison only closed in 1986 and became a museum in the mid-1990s. The dank cells and other spaces contain various chilling exhibitions but have been left in their original state complete with crumbling plaster and barred cellar windows. Access is from the back of the building.

One cell contains an interesting shrine-like exhibition on Stepan Bandera himself, others have displays on the Soviet Union and one a mock-up of an UPA underground hideout. Enthusiastic guides are on hand with heaps of detail.