Hoa Lo Prison

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 city’s suburbs to serve 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, and 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, who later became the 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, part of the southeast of Hoa Lo Prison was restored and preserved as the Hoa Lo Prison Memorial Area and recognized as a National Historical Site. The remaining area was planned to be developed into 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 offers a tour and experience program from 19:00 to 19:45 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Address: 01 P. Hoa Lo, Cua Nam Ward.

The ticket price to visit Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi:

• 50,000 VND/person for adults
• 25,000 VND/person for students, people with severe disabilities, and people aged 60 and over.
• Children under 15 years old: Free

Architecture of Hoa Lo Prison

The total area of the former prison was more than 12,000 m². However, today, only 2,434 m² is retained as a relic site, serving as a sightseeing destination for those who want to see with their own eyes what the colonial prison looked like while exploring Hanoi.

The French colonialists paid special attention to the construction of the prison, particularly the materials used. 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 had only a few small windows near the roof, making them 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 sharp pieces of glass were placed 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, allowing the guards to observe all activity 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 the 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 visitors to express their gratitude to the deceased.

The most notorious prison in the world

Even before its completion in January 1899, Hoa Lo Prison was used to detain 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 1950-1953, Hoa Lo imprisoned up to 2,000 people. It became a “hell on earth” that no one wanted to come to.

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 oxygen-deprived. 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 are 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 door designs, locks, and shackles; these were specialized designs brought from France and were strictly controlled.

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 method of execution.

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 and 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 and 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 hosts activities and exhibits to attract tourists to admire the prison’s art. 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 various forms, such as images, explanations, and historical reenactments. More specifically, tourists can also be transformed into former political prisoners to experience the hardships and pain that historical heroes endured at Hoa Lo Prison.

Source: collected by An

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