Torture Museums in Eastern Europe
Tallinn, Prague, Keszthely, Zakopane, Cesky Krumlov, St Petersburg
Museums of Medieval Torture Instruments are the new must-have for Eastern European cities as visitors to Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Russia and the Czech Republic can see.
Eastern Europe: Tourism and the Torture Museum
Now that Communism has been brushed aside and Eastern Europe has embraced tourism as its new pseudo-religion, formerly unvisited cities have had to come up with ideas with which to attract and entertain travellers. Bizarrely, though, it seems as though most of them have come up with the same plan. Yup, throughout Eastern Europe, the Torture Museum is as common as meals of pork, potatoes and cabbage.
Tallinn House of Tourism, Rakoja Plats
Many of these museums are simply a couple of rooms filled with gruesome confession-eliciting devices, and the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments in Tallinn, Estonia is no exception. Inside the Tallinn House of Tourism on Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square), over 60 horrific contraptions have been collected from Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain.
The Rack and the Chastity Belt
Some of them are well known. The Rack – used for stretching victims – and the Chastity Belt – used to protect the virginity of women whilst cities were under attack – are good examples. But some of the others are horrible. Wooden shoes that are a couple of sizes too small and end up crippling the feet (Spanish Boots) are considered mild compared to some of the others. A chair crammed with spikes to sit on, anyone?
Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments in Prague, Czech Republic
Tallinn’s museum is by no means the only one, and the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments on Križovnické nám in Prague, Czech Republic has a pretty much identical collection. Any witches, heretics and enemies of the state going inside should consider themselves lucky – four or five hundred years ago, those scourges, stocks and ducking boards would have been put to use. Just in case one Torture Museum in the Czech Republic isn’t quite enough, there is also one in Cesky Krumlov.
Other Eastern European Cities With Torture Museums
Those really feeling like taking on a torture theme tour of Eastern Europe can also head to the Baltic Sea port of Gdansk or the southern city of Zakopane in Poland. There is also one, complete with the odd grimacing waxwork, in Keszthely, Hungary (not far from the equally absurd marzipan museum) and another in St Petersburg, Russia. Any city that has somehow missed out so far will undoubtedly have one before long…
Torture Museums in Western Europe
It appears as though the Torture Museum idea is spreading to the west as well. There are also torture museums in Amsterdam in The Netherlands, Rudesheim in Germany, Carcassonne in southern France and San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy.
