“The creation of the National Museum, a memorial to the victims of the occupation regimes “Lontsky Prison”, was important in view of its social and historical significance for the preservation of national memory. This largest prison in Western Ukraine is not only a reminder of the horrors of the totalitarian past of the USSR, the German and Polish occupation regimes, but also a warning to Ukrainians against repeating the terrible tragedy of totalitarian society.

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Many specialists, organizations and institutions worked on the creation of the museum, including the public scientific organization Center for Research of the Liberation Movement, the Security Service of Ukraine, Lviv Regional Administration and Lviv Regional Council, Lviv City Council, representatives of the Society for the Search for Victims of War “Memory” and Lviv Regional Society “Search”.

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In the spring of 2006, on the initiative of the public and the assistance of the Directorate of Security Service in Lviv Oblast, a memorial cross was erected in the events in the courtyard of the prison, and the prison premises were visited for the first time by the public and journalists.

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A working group was created, which, in addition to representatives of the public, deputies of Lviv City Council, included representatives of the Department of Security Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region, Lviv Regional Council, as well as researchers of the CDVR.

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In 2007, by order of the Lviv City Council, the CDVR began a study of the history of the “Lontsky prison”. This project was completed in 2008. The study became the basis and working material in the subsequent work on the creation of the museum.

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In addition, the concept of the museum was developed, proposals for exposition content, and a documentary database on the history of the prison was collected.

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In 2008, the SBU Collegium decided to create a museum. In early 2009, the working group developed the charter of the museum. Subsequently, it formed the basis of the Charter of the National Museum of the Memorial of Victims of the Occupation Regime “Lontsky Prison”.

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On June 28, 2009, the DPRK, in cooperation with the SBU, created and opened the first stage of the exposition in the Museum-Memorial of Victims of Occupation Regimes “Lontsky Prison”. Support in the creation of the museum was provided by the Foundation “Ukraine 3000”. The chairman of the foundation K. Yushchenko visited the museum in August 2009, and in September the museum received a Certificate in the amount of UAH 160,000 from the foundation “Ukraine 3000”. The development of the museum was facilitated by the deputies of the Lviv City Council V. Lyaskovska, T. Krushelnytska, Yu. Kuzhelyuk, public figures — Hero of Ukraine Yu. Shukhevych, I. Kalynets, I. Gel and others. The creation of a museum in a former prison that belonged to the SBU administration was made possible thanks to the clear civic position of the Head of the SBU Valentin Nalyvaichenko, the Director of the SBU Archive Volodymyr Viatrovich and the Deputy Director of the SBU Archive Alina Shpak, Head of the USBU in Lviv Oblast Anatolia Matios. The museum was constantly supported by the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, now the Rector of Lviv National University named after him. Ivan Franko Ivan Vakarchuk.

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On September 2, 2009, a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Liberation Movement Research Center, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, the Lviv Regional Council and the Lviv City Council, which was opened to other parties. The treaty provided for the obligations and rights of its participants to create a museum. In the same month, the Charitable Foundation “Promotion and Development of the Memorial “Lontsky Prison” was established.

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In October 2009, the Charter of the museum was registered, and on October 13, by the Decree of the President of Ukraine, it was granted national status.

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During the museum's operation, its researchers recorded on audio and video about 50 memories of former prisoners of the prison and members of the liberation movement, collected and scanned more than 2000 photos and documents related to the research topics of the study of the history of the prison, in particular the period of activity of representatives of the dissident movement. Also, the museum staff searched for exhibits and replenishment of the museum collection, on the basis of which they are preparing for the opening of the second stage of the exposition on the second floor of the museum.

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History of the prison

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In 1889—1890 at the intersection of Leon Sapega (today — Stepan Bandera) and Copernik streets, designed by architect Y. K. Yanovsky built the building of the Austro-Hungarian gendarmerie in the Neo-Renaissance style. The building of the prison itself was erected during the city's accession to Poland, in 1918—1920.

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The prison corps housed the Fourth Division of the Main Command of the State Police, whose powers included the fight against “anti-state” organizations such as the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Communist Party of Western Ukraine. Unofficially, the prison specialized in political prisoners. In 1935, the police investigative department was transferred to the building, and the prison began to be used as an investigative detention center. During the Lviv Trial of 1936, Stepan Bandera, Yaroslav Stetsko, Mykola Lebid and other defendants were held in prison.

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In 1939—1941, during the First Soviet occupation, the premises housed Prison No. 1, designed for 1,500 people, and the adjacent main building was occupied by the regional department of the NKVD. After the attack of the Third Reich on the USSR in June 1941, about a thousand prisoners were shot by NKVD employees (according to the testimony of the Chief of the NKVD Prison Department for the Lviv region Lieutenant Lerman, 924 persons).

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In 1941—1944, the building was used as a Gestapo investigative prison, it housed the SD Einsatz groups. The prison yard was lined with tombstones from an old Jewish cemetery. For a long time, the famous Polish scientist Kazimir Bartel was kept in prison.

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In 1944—1991, the investigative department and the NKVD (NKVD) -MDB-KGB of the USSR operated here, at the same time — the Department of Internal Affairs of the Lviv City Executive Committee - the City Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Lviv region of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.”

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