Lonsky Prison National Memorial Museum — Attraction in Lviv Urban Hromada

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded and then taken by the oppressed"

Saw the Oppression Museum that was built in an old Soviet prison which is now a memorial for those who passed here over the last 100 years. It was quite moving and very well done! Honestly it was very impressive to me to be able to walk in the very cells where people were tortured and executed.

I believe one of the reasons I love Ukrainian people so much is because of their incredibly difficult past... No struggle no strength 💪🇺🇦💜

Over the last few years of travelling I have come to realize one of the reasons why we are currently having such a difficult time in the United States..... The current generation in the States doesn't have a war to fight so they are creating their own- climate change🐻📈🐢, polarising political arguments🐴🐘⬅️🤯➡️, exploitation of gender roles🤦💇🧜🧚🕵️ , or whatever the flavor of the month might be🤔

"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

We are doomed to repeat this cycle until we exist...

Over nearly 100 years, this prison was used in a variety of occupations of Ukraine (by the Soviets, the Nazis, and the Poles.) It has a bloody history and Ukraine has chosen to peserve it as it was just after Ukrainian Independence in the 1990's. You walk through hallways and rooms, including cells and interrogation rooms. It's a grim place and the exhibits paint a horrible story, but one which must be remembered. During the Soviet era many of the inmates went from here to Siberia and there are clothes and embroidery that they made on display. There is also a display of materials recovered from the Ukrainian resistance fighters in the countryside. It will take you maybe an hour or so to walk through and it's worth it to remember those who...

Very personal, very real. Curators have a story to tell, and they work hard to convey that story with limited resources.

An English pamphlet is available but it doesn't tie to exhibits in any meaningful way (e.g., numbered descriptions, captions), so museum can be tough to follow. But it's a prison, so walking through looking at photos, you get the gist.

I had the good fortune of having one of the founders of the museum walk me around and explain in English what I didn't quite grasp from the English writeup. That put this museum in context and made it special. If this is available to you, take the...