Patricia Watkins 
Published on: Amended:
Vilnius (AFP)
Lithuania is looking for investors to redevelop a historic former prison used by Tsarist Russia and Nazi Germany, which recently served as a Netflix film set and concert hall.
Built in 1902, the sprawling Lukiskes Prison was closed in 2019 and was used in the fourth season of the Netflix drama “Stranger Things”.
Lithuanian authorities say it could be transformed into coworking spaces, museum, workshops, places of recreation and entertainment as well as hotel rooms.
The facility includes an Orthodox church as well as offices and apartments for prison guards.
“We are looking for the best possible solution to create a dynamic place, focused on the revitalization, meaning and openness of our national heritage to the needs of society,” said Inga Urbonaite-Vadokliene of the State Real Estate Bank of Lithuania.
The complex is currently leased to a music agency called “8 days a week” which is planning to organize a series of events and host coworking spaces there.
During World War II, it was used by the Gestapo to detain Jews from the Vilna ghetto, and it held political prisoners during Tsarist and Soviet times.
Most recently, he hosted French rock star Bertrand Cantat who beat his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant to death in a Vilnius hotel room in 2003.
© 2021 AFP
