Hoa Lo Prison, known as “Hell on Earth”, is one of the famous historical sites in Hanoi, which witnessed the arduous days of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers during the period of expelling the French colonialists. The relic site still stands today, attracting a large number of tourists to visit during their trip in Hanoi.
General information about Hoa Lo Prison
Hoa Lo Prison (Vietnamese: nhà tù Hỏa Lò) was built in 1896, originally named Prison Centrale (Central Prison), but to avoid the curiosity and agitation of the people, it was changed to Maison Centrale (Central House) and the name is still on the main gate leading to the relic. It was built on the land of Phu Khanh village, a craft village specializing in pottery production, with kilns blazing day and night, so the village is also called Hoa Lo.
This prison was built by the French in 1896 in the suburbs of the city with the purpose of serving as a central prison for both Central and Northern Vietnam. Known as hell on earth, during its operation, Hoa Lo prison became a place of detention for political prisoners, patriots, revolutionary activists with the prison architecture designed with extremely brutal and cruel forms of torture and forced confessions. The most typical is the guillotine that put the prison in the “top 10 most notorious prisons in the world” according to CNN in 2014.
After the Paris Agreement in 1954, the Vietnamese Government took over and used Hoa Lo Prison as a civil prison and renamed it Hanoi Prison Detention Camp.
From 1964 to 1973, Hoa Lo Prison was also the place to detain American pilots, including Douglas Peterson, later became first US Ambassador to Vietnam, and Senator John McCain, who played an active role in developing the normalization of relations between Vietnam and the US.
After 1993, a part of the southeast of Hoa Lo Prison was restored and preserved as the Hoa Lo Prison Memorial Area, and was recognized as a National Historical Site. The remaining area was planned to become a commercial building called Hanoi Tower.
Opening Hours and entrance fees
Hoa Lo Prison opens to visitors during the following hours. The prison is open every day of the week, including holidays: Morning: 8:00 – 11:30, Afternoon: 13:30 – 17:00.
In particular, Hoa Lo Prison also has a tour and experience program from 19:00 to 19:45 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays every week.
Address: 01 P. Hoa Lo, Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem District.
The ticket price to visit Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi:
- 50,000 VND/person for adult
- 25,000 VND/person for students; people with severe disabilities; people aged 60 and over.
- Children under 15 years old: Free
Architecture of Hoa Lo Prison
The total area of the former prison was up to more than 12,000m². However, today, only 2,434m² is retained for preservation to become a relic site, serving the purpose of sightseeing for those who want to come and witness with their own eyes what the colonial prison looked like when exploring Hanoi.
The French colonialists paid special attention to the construction of the prison, especially the materials. All equipment and accessories had to be imported from France and approved by the architect. The cells at Hoa Lo Prison were designed in the same style: tiled roofs, solid brick walls, painted with gray lime and tar. The cells only had some small windows opened close to the roof, making the cells even darker and more stuffy.
Surrounding the prison was a solidly built stone wall (4.3m and 5.4m high, 0.5m thick), on which were placed sharp pieces of glass to prevent prisoners from escaping. A patrol line along the corridor more than 2m wide separated the prison’s protective wall. At the four corners of the prison were four guard towers so that the guards could observe all activities both inside and outside the prison.
The entire prison area is divided into 4 zones A, B, C, D. In which:
– Zone A, B: For prisoners under investigation, unimportant prisoners or prisoners who violate prison discipline.
– Zone C: For French or foreign prisoners.
– Zone D: For prisoners awaiting death penalty.
Within the relic site, there is also a memorial to depict the image of the miserable prison and to commemorate the soldiers and revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives at Hoa Lo Prison. This is a place that attracts many people to visit and express their gratitude to the deceased.
The most notorious prison in the world
Even before its completion, in January 1899, Hoa Lo Prison was in charge of detaining people. According to the original design, this place was only enough to detain 500 prisoners, but the prison was expanded many times to have more space. In the years 1950-1953, Hoa Lo imprisoned up to 2,000 prisoners. It became a “hell on earth” that no one wanted to come.
In the southwest corner of the prison, the French colonialists built cell area 1 to detain prisoners sentenced to death. The conditions of detention here were dark, stuffy, cramped, and lacking in oxygen. Prisoners were shackled day and night, beaten, punished with bland food or starved, and had to urinate on the spot.
According to regulations, death row inmates will be detained here for 10 months, then if they were retried, their sentences can be reduced to life imprisonment. However, many people were executed after only 2-3 days of being exiled here.
Many barbaric torture weapons
When you come to Hoa Lo Prison, you will also witness many barbaric weapons of the French colonialists. Some typical torture instruments such as guillotines, electric cameras, walking sticks…
The French colonialists paid great attention to the construction of all the door designs, locks, and shackles here were specialized designs brought from France, and were managed very strictly.
The most barbaric crime committed by the French colonialists here was the guillotine. Currently, the guillotine is on display at the Hoa Lo Prison Historical Site.
This is a tool that the French colonialists considered more humane than the medieval execution method.
American pilots in Hoa Lo Prison
During the time when the US was bombing and shelling the North, the country was still facing many difficulties, the Vietnamese government still treated humanely, creating the best conditions for captured American pilots to live in prison. Here, each pilot was provided with full supplies as well as treated for injuries, examined and cared for daily.
In prison, pilots were still able to participate in cultural activities: playing sports, listening to news on the radio, watching movies… Along with that, they were still able to celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving and prepare their own meals.
On January 27, 1973, after the Paris Agreement was signed, Vietnam returned all captured American pilots.
Special activities at Hoa Lo Prison
Hoa Lo Prison also regularly organizes activities and exhibits, aiming to attract tourists to admire the works of art associated with prison. The night tour will be held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 19:00 p.m. to 20:30 p.m. At the same time, the tour will also limit the number of participants and often have stricter regulations on clothing, discipline, movement, etc.
At each attraction, visitors will receive vivid information in many different forms such as images, explanations, historical reenactments, etc. More specifically, tourists can also transform into former political prisoners to have the opportunity to experience the hardships and pain that historical heroes had to endure in the past at Hoa Lo Prison.
Source: collected by An
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