KGB Cells Museum (Vangla Muuseum)

The KGB Cells Museum occupies the basement of what was the KGB's regional headquarters in Tartu, known locally as the 'Grey House.' The cells and interrogation rooms in the basement were used from the 1940s through the Soviet period to detain and interrogate Estonian citizens — political prisoners, suspected dissidents, anyone the security services wanted to question.

The museum preserves the cells as they were and uses documents, personal testimonies, and artefacts to explain what happened here. It is not a comfortable visit, but it is an important one for understanding the Soviet period in Estonia. Combined with the Estonian National Museum, it provides the most complete picture available of 20th-century Estonian history. Located on Riia Street, a short walk from Raekoja plats.

things to do museum
A story
The basement cells of the KGB's Estonian regional headquarters — the 'Grey House' on Riia Street — were used to interrogate, torture, and detain Estonians from the 1940s through the late Soviet period. The building was also the headquarters of the Nazi Gestapo during the German occupation. The cells have been preserved as they were, and a small museum documents both occupations.