Back to TourPoint 7 of 10
Credits
Provisional editorial image for the Streetours route; review before publication.
Point 7 of 100 of 10 completed
The Prison of Nations — but check the floor plan
Get Directions
49.1949, 16.5990
On arrival
Move to the north wing or the exterior area associated with the later prison buildings.
Look closer
Look up, not down. Windows, floors and barrack-like wings are part of the prison story just as much as the underground corridors.
Špilberk becomes an international symbol of repression — and its reputation starts travelling farther than the building itself.
After the fortress era faded, Špilberk became famous across Europe for a different reason. From 1820 it functioned as a state prison, and political prisoners joined ordinary criminals and other detainees. Italian Carbonari and members of Young Italy were held here; the poet Silvio Pellico later turned his imprisonment into the memoir My Prisons. Nearly two hundred Polish revolutionaries also passed through Špilberk, many connected with the Kraków uprising of 1846. But here is another useful correction: the celebrated political prisoners were generally not thrown into the underground casemates. They were kept in above-ground prison areas, including parts of the north wing. The “Prison of Nations” was real. The popular mental image of everyone chained in one Gothic underworld is not.
Accessibility at this stop
This stop is designed for the exterior or courtyard level. The Carbonari memorial lower in the park can be treated as an optional extension rather than a required detour.
These notes describe known conditions at this stop. Urban conditions can change, so assess the situation on site.
Your tour
0 of 10 completedMy location
You are here
7. The Prison of Nations — but check the floor plan
10 stops to complete