Râmnicu Sărat Prison

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Râmnicu Sărat Prison

Entrance to the former prison
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Coordinates	45°23′00″N 27°03′19″E / 45.38333°N 27.05528°E / 45.38333; 27.05528Coordinates: 45°23′00″N 27°03′19″E / 45.38333°N 27.05528°E / 45.38333; 27.05528
Status	Closed, listed as historic monument
Capacity	300
Population	Political prisoners (from 1938 to closure)
Opened	End of the 19th century
Closed	1963 (1963)
Warden	Alexandru Vișinescu (1956–closure)
Street address	53 Ion Mihalache Street
City	Râmnicu Sărat
County	Buzău County
Country	Romania

Interior of the prison

Râmnicu Sărat Prison is a former prison located in Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău County, Romania. The building is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.^[1]

Before World War II[]

The prison was built at the end of the 19th century,^[1] and first attested in a document of October 1901. From its establishment until 1938, it housed common criminals with sentences of up to two years. After the onset of King Carol II's royal dictatorship in 1938, the prison began to be used for political prisoners, namely the leadership of the Iron Guard, including Corneliu Zelea Codreanu.^[2]

During the communist period[]

From 1955 to 1963, a significant number of prominent political prisoners were held there by the communist regime.^[2][3] Alexandru Vișinescu was the commander of the prison from 1956 to 1963.^[4] In 2015 he was convicted of crimes against humanity for his treatment of detainees, and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.^[5][6][7]

Unlike the much larger prisons at Gherla, Aiud, and Jilava, the Râmnicu Sărat penitentiary was rather small, with a maximum capacity of 300 inmates, provided there were 4 of them per cell.^[8]

Notable inmates[]

This is a partial list of notable inmates of Sărat Prison; the symbol † indicates those who died there.

Notes[]