Váci Prison and Prison

Did you know that the Vác Prison is the only prison in Hungary with an amazing view of the Danube? 

Many famous political prisoners have served their sentences in the prison, including Mátyás Rákosi, János Kádár and Árpád Göncz, as well as Szilveszter Matuska, the bomber of the Biatorbágy viaduct. 

It's important to know that the building on the banks of the Danube is not the same as the stately building once called the Theresianum. The original Baroque part of the building was originally commissioned by Bishop Christopher Migazzi as a convent for noblemen and named Theresianum in honour of Queen Maria Theresa. From 1808 it housed the Ludovico Academy, and has been used as a prison since 1855. 

The current building is surrounded by the former building, which is open to the public once a year. It is here that the so-called "Doberdo" exhibitionwhich, in its puritanical way, shows the conditions of the prisoners of the period. Next to the Theresianum there is a neo-Gothic chapel with a fan-shaped dome, visible from the Danube excursion boats and from the riverbank.

The building can be walked around and has the only triumphal arch in the country, also built in 1764 in honour of the Empress. 

2600 Vác, Köztársaság út 62-64.