KGB Museum (Genocido Auku Muziejus)
KGB Museum (Genocido Auku Muziejus)
4.5
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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- alyson.johnson-smith_123London, United Kingdom219 contributionsReally InterestingThis is a fairly small museum but is packed with information exposing some of the horrors of Lithuania's past right up to the 1980's. The price to enter was 6 euros per person and we easily spent 2.5 hours here. So much to read & look at but if you prefer you can pay for an audio tour which I believe was around 20 euros. Included in the price you can visit the cells & outdoor yard space downstairs, there were far more than I was excepting which gave a grim but interesting insight into what took place here.Visited October 2023Traveled as a coupleWritten October 18, 2023
- TJeinsteinwoodDeal, United Kingdom1,028 contributionsDisturbing but informativeWhat an experience. We didn't really know much about the history of Lithuania and Soviet Union and this was very informative and disturbing. When you find the main building along the main road, walk past it, then turn up alongside it to find the entrance to the museum. Costs €6 per adult which is well worth it. We spent around 3hrs looking round. Really well documented in English - well laid out and leads you around each room and in time. The prison and execution room is disturbing.Visited October 2023Traveled with friendsWritten October 27, 2023
- Jeff456789Bristol, United Kingdom384 contributionsThis is a good if quite small museumEnjoyed this museum, everything was presented in Lithuanian and English which was good. I did see some people walking around with audio guides. I am unsure if these are offered in English but this would have been good to provide further detail as it would have been good to learn more. Price was very reasonable at 6 euros each.Visited January 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten January 21, 2024
- livinglifetothefull1Hertfordshire, United Kingdom1,069 contributionsBook the tourWe booked an English tour beforehand. We were so glad we did. The tour was just for the two of us and the guide was excellent. He answered all our questions and gave us a really comprehensive explanation how the building was used by the KGB. We had previously visited the KGB museum in Riga - we enjoyed this one more as the tour was personal and there more displays.Visited July 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten July 15, 2024
- Richard MHampstead Norreys, United Kingdom937 contributionsVery interesting museumThe museum covers the main period of occupations of Lithuania from the start of the 20th century. The history is fascinating but incredibly moving and sad at times. The museum rooms cover the information with lots of items that link the stories to real people. The basement is the chilling prison used by the KGB to hold and torture people. There is also the place where executions took place. A sad but important place to visit.Visited July 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten August 4, 2024
- Gayle C153 contributionsSoberingI have been to many museums such as this all over Europe. The cells and execution area were harrowing and unbelievable to get your head around the brutality. The museum itself was interesting - and I would probably give it 5* if I hadn’t seen ones that were more informative and education elsewhere.Visited August 2024Traveled soloWritten August 19, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
3,382 reviews
Excellent
1,922
Very good
1,116
Average
263
Poor
40
Terrible
42
Petra T
Helsinki, Finland14 contributions
Jul 2020 • Solo
I asked beforehand for the possibility to take the guided tour. As a solo traveler I would have wanted to join other tour groups. For some reason they didn’t allow that, which I found a bit surprising. As I didn’t want to take the tour only for myself, I paid the normal entrance (very modestly priced, only 4 euros/adult). Even without the tour the visit was great - very informative and, well, grim (especially once you go to see the prison cells and the execution room). However, I’m sure the tour would have added some good extra value for the visit.
Written July 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Coryy20
Port of Spain, Trinidad6,366 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
Be sure to visit inside. This museum is located in the Old Town of Vilnius. It's located to the top of Gediminas Ave opposite Lukishki square on the left. To get to the museum go around the side of the building on the side with the trees, the entrance is about 3 minutes walk from the Avenue.
The entry cost is quite reasonable. However, it's a truly depressing place. There are torture rooms with padded doors and walls. I guess so the screams wouldnt be heard outside. There is also a death chamber, through the dooruip the steps and down another steps with glass floor. There are shoes under the glass as s reminder of this. and the.
Truly horrible place with very tiny prison cells. The explanations/descriptions at each door are written in english as well..
As bad as it may be I will highly recommend a visit to this museum.
The entry cost is quite reasonable. However, it's a truly depressing place. There are torture rooms with padded doors and walls. I guess so the screams wouldnt be heard outside. There is also a death chamber, through the dooruip the steps and down another steps with glass floor. There are shoes under the glass as s reminder of this. and the.
Truly horrible place with very tiny prison cells. The explanations/descriptions at each door are written in english as well..
As bad as it may be I will highly recommend a visit to this museum.
Written June 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John
Dublin, Ireland151 contributions
Feb 2022 • Couples
Deeply moving exhibit on the occupied history of Lithuania and eventual independence.
The upstairs exhibition rooms are packed with artefacts, photographs etc. which provide a powerful overview of the lived experience of this time period.
The basement prison cells are not for the faint hearted. They are left in their original condition and it is incredibly grim.
We'd definitely recommend visiting if you are interested in this aspect of Lithuanian history.
The upstairs exhibition rooms are packed with artefacts, photographs etc. which provide a powerful overview of the lived experience of this time period.
The basement prison cells are not for the faint hearted. They are left in their original condition and it is incredibly grim.
We'd definitely recommend visiting if you are interested in this aspect of Lithuanian history.
Written February 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
alyson.johnson-smith_123
London, UK219 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
This is a fairly small museum but is packed with information exposing some of the horrors of Lithuania's past right up to the 1980's. The price to enter was 6 euros per person and we easily spent 2.5 hours here. So much to read & look at but if you prefer you can pay for an audio tour which I believe was around 20 euros. Included in the price you can visit the cells & outdoor yard space downstairs, there were far more than I was excepting which gave a grim but interesting insight into what took place here.
Written October 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Derek S
Roslyn, NY859 contributions
Mar 2020
This is a great must see museum. There is a lot of information. The first floor of the museum covers the fight for Lithuanian indepencdence, the second floor covers life under the KGB, and the basement allows vistors a look inside the KGB prison and explains what life was like in there. Excellent museum.
Written March 19, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan
Vilnius, Lithuania24 contributions
Nov 2019
Soviet times were horrible times. But that does not mean that this museum is depressing: if you are truly interested in learning about Lithuania then this will help you understand. Well worth a visit to remind all of us just how terrible humans can be...
Written June 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Work.Save.Travel.Repeat
24 contributions
Apr 2022
The KGB Museum is dedicated to dark chapters in Lithuania's 20th century history.
The upstairs exhibition rooms on the first and second floor are packed with powerful artefacts and photographs. The English explanatory panels are well designed and give an impressive overview of the time of Nazi and Soviet occupation. The stories and personal fates get under the skin.
Especially the prison cells in the basement gave me goosebumps, even though I've been to other museums with KGB or Nazi prisons in the past. The cells as well as the execution chamber are left in their original condition.
Not a museum for small kids!
I would definitely recommend visiting (plan for ~2h)! Best combine it with the
Soviet Vilnius Walking Tour by Vilnius with Locals!
The upstairs exhibition rooms on the first and second floor are packed with powerful artefacts and photographs. The English explanatory panels are well designed and give an impressive overview of the time of Nazi and Soviet occupation. The stories and personal fates get under the skin.
Especially the prison cells in the basement gave me goosebumps, even though I've been to other museums with KGB or Nazi prisons in the past. The cells as well as the execution chamber are left in their original condition.
Not a museum for small kids!
I would definitely recommend visiting (plan for ~2h)! Best combine it with the
Soviet Vilnius Walking Tour by Vilnius with Locals!
Written April 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matt B
6 contributions
May 2019
I came across this museum during my time in Vilnius, so thought I'd check it out not expecting much...how wrong was I!! The history lesson was unbelievable, I had no idea Lithuania had such a horrific past, I was amazed by all of these informative rooms within the building, giving a detailed picture/overview of the countrys past...a must for anyone interested in history, in fact even for anyone not a history fan...its still a must see/do!
Written April 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Numenor
Cherry Hill89 contributions
Sep 2020
We took a guided tour of this former KGB prison. It talked about the atrocities of the Soviet Union. Outside of the museum you will find paintings created by school children as a testament to the many Jews who were killed during WWII.
Written August 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
blodwin52
Derby, UK385 contributions
Oct 2021
This place just makes you wonder how humans can be so evil. It is extremely informative and everything has an english translation. Amazing amount of history contained. The death chamber and torture chambers are truly terrifying. Give yourself at least a couple of hours for the visit
Written November 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Здравствуйте, есть ли доступность для инвалидов- колясочников?
Written January 23, 2019
Это реальное бывшее здание тюрьмы с подвалами. Лестницы крутые и довольно узкие. Расширить там ничего нельзя. На коляске реально посмотреть только саму экспозицию на первом этаже, для подвала потребуется помощь.
Written January 24, 2019
Bonjour, y a t-il des audioguides français au musée ? Merci d'avance
Written January 20, 2019
Bjr. Il y a des visites en langues étrangères. 20 euros en plus. Franchement , si vous avez google translate ,il n'y a pas besoin. En tout cas, c'est un excellent musee.
Written January 21, 2019
Do you need to prebook the tours?
I see you can buy tickets online but are these for entry or are they for a tour?
I can see any times for when the tours start.
Written December 19, 2018
We did not book in advance. We got headphones for a self-guided tour when we got there, and that really helped with the tour. I don't remember the audio guide purchase being obvious so be sure to ask when you buy your entry if you don't see at first.
Written December 19, 2018
Do you need to prebook the tours?
I see you can buy tickets online but are these for entry or are they for a tour?
I can see any times for when the tours start.
Written December 19, 2018
Hi. Not necessary to pre-book tours. Special rates for senior citizens - a couple of Euros - but you have to ask!. About ten minutes walk from the Cathedral square. Headphones and a running commentary in English is available for a small charge too. Lots of pamphlets for free and books for sale also. All in English. Gruesome and thought-provoking but well worth the visit.
Written December 20, 2018
Hi! Is the museum accessible for a person in a wheelchair?
Written July 16, 2018
There are a lot of stairs , very narrow in part , I don't think there is a lift , not 100% sure, check website
Written July 16, 2018
Buonasera, vorrei sapere quanto tempo richiede la visita al questo museo. Grazie mille, Elisa
Written May 11, 2018
io ci ho messo circa due ore, ma se non leggi i pannelli con le notizie, che sono in polacco e in inglese, ci metti di meno.
Written May 17, 2018
Buonasera, vorrei sapere se vengono effettuati dei tour in italiano oppure con un audioguida italiana e come poter fare per prenotarla, vi ringrazio
Written December 21, 2017
Mi dispiace, non ricordo se è disponibile audio guida e non so se vi sono tour in italiano. Comunque al museo vi è abbondanza di pannelli descrittivi e spiegazioni in inglese
Written December 28, 2017
We walked from the KGB museum to what I would call the centre of the city (decent shops, restaurants) in about 10 minutes. Another 10 minutes to the touristy areas.
Written September 17, 2017
Corporatesaint
Apple Valley, California
Which bus do I take from city center to reach museum?
Written July 16, 2017
Number 3 or number 7. But make sure you are going in the right direction or you will do a roundabout trip of the city. Not really a problem as it is only 1 Euro for each trip on a tram or bus.
Written December 20, 2018
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