Hỏa Lò Prison, Former prison and historical museum in central Hanoi, Vietnam
Hỏa Lò Prison is a former detention facility and museum in central Hanoi, Vietnam. The building still shows the thick yellow walls and narrow corridors of the colonial era and spreads over several blocks with communal cells, isolation rooms, and open courtyards.
The French colonial administration built the prison in the late 19th century to hold Vietnamese resistance fighters. Later, during the war, American pilots were held here and ironically called the place Hanoi Hilton.
The site takes its name from the pottery kilns that once occupied this area before colonial authorities claimed the land. Visitors today see reconstructed cells with life-size figures depicting prisoner life and providing a sense of daily routines behind bars.
The museum sits near the intersection of Hoa Lo and Hai Ba Trung and opens most days from 8 AM to 5 PM. The rooms are self-explanatory and signs guide visitors through different sections of the exhibition.
Part of the original outer wall still stands and marks the boundary with modern high-rises nearby. The site was once much larger, but most buildings were torn down in the nineties to make room for new construction.
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